Use Me Up

Wheelwright

A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright", (which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkwright. This occupational name became the English surname Wright. It also appears in surnames like Cartwright and Wainwright. It corresponds with skilful metal workers being called Smith. These tradesmen made wheels for carts (cartwheels), wagons (wains), traps and coaches and the belt drives of steam powered machinery. They also made the wheels, and often the frames, for spinning wheels for home use. First constructing the hub (called the nave), the spokes and the rim segments called felloes, (pronounced fell low), and assemb… more »