Who knows all about shipbuilding?

[Wearsider]

If you look at some of the old designs of lamps you will see that there were a number made by tinsmiths.  George Stephenson, when he designed his first miners lamp, went to a Newcastle tinsmith to have it made.  The small 'oilwick' lamps are an example of tinsmiths or coppersmiths work

There would be a need for many lamps on a ship and apart from lamps a tinsmith would also make utensils.  It could be that the tinsmith was employed by the shipbuilder or was a contractor to the company.

Wearsider.

[chinakay]

My thinking at the moment is that George may have made lamps for the ship industry, and he may have made cups and plates and sold them in the marketplace...but something made him decide to move on from a nice town some time in the mid 1870s. It could very well be the decline in the ship industry just resulted in a decline in Saint John's economy on a city-wide scale, very possible. Perhaps he and others felt Saint John was a losing proposition. It must have been an act of great courage to try one's luck in a new place...now we can look everything up on the internet before we decide to make a move

You're right, we all learn so much at RC!

Cheers,
China

[J.J.]

Hi, china
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/rhs/tz_listing/150.html
excerpt:
the Greens were among the best blacksmith and tinsmiths in Newfoundland. . The Greens' products were primarily tools, horseshoes, fences and 'items used for"  fishing and shipbuilding.


This museum has- Ship’s tinsmith’s tools
http://www.museumindocklands.org.uk/English/Collections/Artefact/PortTrades.htm

[Wearsider]

In th 1960s I worked for a shipbuilding company in the north-easst of the UK and they had three 'subsidiary companies', all were long established companies.  The first company made riggingg for ships, the second did coppersmiths work and small brass or iron castings for shipbuilding or other engineering companies and, I seem to remember, also some coppersmiths work for the local brewery, the third did car body repairs and also tinsmiths work and thin sheet metal work for shipbuilding.

Wearsider.