( F C) P E O P L E
STAMPED IN TIN
From Hobbyist to Journeyman Craftsman, Tinsmith Bob North Has Honed a Time-honored Trade and Teaches Others.
by Arlene Karidis + photos by Mahlon Yeager Photographics
A simple, handmade Christmas present got Bob North hooked on tinsmithing. He has since achieved journeyman status and teaches others this heritage craft.
WITH HIS FIRST CHILD ON THE WAY and stretched for money, Bob North decided this was the year he’ d make a Christmas present for his wife rather than buy one. Relying on a few basic tools and just enough knowledge about tinwork to get by, he got busy. Then he got hooked.
That was in 1974. What the Waynesboro resident does today isn’ t just about thoughtful gifts that don’ t cost very much. The craft has long since become about replicating the handiwork of an all but extinct breed.“ The long and short of it is, I like the geometry involved in planning the shapes and measuring the pieces to make them fit. And there’ s a certain charm in this work because it was made with a man’ s hands instead of a machine. You can tell the difference by the solder joints,” says the tinsmith of journeyman status, as he points out the framework around the glass panes of a four-post lantern by his kitchen sink. Describing how he built the lantern, Bob uses the visual of the Egyptian pyramids with their multiple faces.“ The pyramid rests on a base with four posts. The posts connect the base and pyramid top. They provide support, but also define space for the faces on each of the four sides for the glass. So you can see the light shining through.”
116 March / April 2013 Hagerstown: The Best of Life in Washington County & Beyond