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Handmade tool for marking where spokes would go on a wagon wheel.
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Cultural Objects, Tools

Blacksmith’s Traveler

People
Maker/Creator: Shepherd Adi Alderman
Date
1890s
Places
Burks Fork (Burks Fork District)
Material/Medium

Wood

Specifications
  • Diameter of wheel: 6 1/4 inches
  • Length with handle: 13 3/4 inches
Description

This tool is called a traveler because its purpose was to roll along a surface and allow the user to mark off consistent distances.  The wheel or disc has notches etched into it at set intervals. By rolling this around a wagon wheel, the blacksmith could tell exactly where the spokes would go so they were evenly spaced. The handle has a hole drilled in the end allowing it to be hung on a nail in the shop. At some point, the handle developed a split and was repaired with additional nails.

Keywords
Blacksmith, traveler tool, wagon wheel
Bio Sketch

Shepherd Adi “Shep” Alderman (1875-1950) married Arbelia Minta Sumner. He was a miller, a musician, and a blacksmith. As he worked in the blacksmith shop, he needed a traveler while working on wagon wheels and carved his own.