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Hand Bellows From a Whole Ram Skin With a Wooden Head and Iron Tube (Theophilus, 12th Century)
The goldsmith's bellows from Theophilus's De Diversis Artibus (12th century): a ram skin stripped off whole through an opening behind, stuffed with straw and dried, cured a day and two nights in lye and salt, stretched, oiled, and fitted with a wooden head and iron tube at the neck, four sticks across the back, and a thumb loop and finger loop to work it.
Intermediate
About 4 days
Instructions
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1
Schedule
Schedule
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2
Read De Diversis Artibus, Book III
Read De Diversis Artibus, Book III
"Then make bellows from the skins of rams, thus: When the rams are killed, the skins must not be cut under the belly, but they are opened behind."
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3
Strip and cure the skin
Strip and cure the skin
Open the ram's skin behind, not under the belly, and turn it so it strips off whole. Fill it with straw and dry it moderately. Lay it in lye and salt for a day and two nights.
Materials for this step:
Sheepskin1 piece
Straw1 piece
Wood Ash Lye1 piece
Salt1 pieceTools needed:
Leather Knife
20-Liter Bucket4
4
Stretch and oil
Stretch and oil
On the third day stretch it lengthwise, but more in breadth. Anoint it (tallow is our choice) and stretch it again.
Materials for this step:
Tallow1 piece5
5
Fit the head and tube
Fit the head and tube
Make a wooden head that passes through the skin's neck and bind it there; bore it for an iron tube (rolled from sheet iron, our method).
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Board1 piece
Iron Sheet (Hammered)1 piece
Jute Twine1 pieceTools needed:
Hand Saw
Brace and BitLeather Knife
Hammer6
6
Fit the back and loops
Fit the back and loops
Across the back opening place four pieces of wood: two joined together and fixed in the middle, two sewn onto the skin, so the joins come above and below. Sew on two loops of the same skin, a smaller one above for the thumb and a larger one below for the other four fingers.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Board1 piece
Linen Thread1 pieceTools needed:
Awl
Two Harness NeedlesLeather KnifeHand Saw7
7
Use
Use
Put the iron tube in the hole of the furnace, lay fire and charcoal at the back and front, and blow, first to dry the new furnace.
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8
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Bellows troubleshooting.
Flow
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History and honest limits
History and honest limits
From Theophilus Presbyter, **De Diversis Artibus** (12th century), Book III, chapter IV, translated by Robert Hendrie (1847) (checked on the archive.org scan essayuponvarious00hend, pp. 211-213). He gives no sizes and does not say what the skin is anointed with; tallow, the rolled sheet-iron tube, the tools and the diagram are ours.
Materials
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