Handcrafted sheet metal work (working with zinc sheets).

Handcrafted sheet metal work (working with zinc sheets).

Traditional practice of working with zinc sheet metal to produce utensils (e.g. gutters, grain measuring troughs, funnels, pitchers). Today, tinsmithing is merely a residual activity, reminiscent of other crafts that were once more prominent. The municipality of Tondela is no exception. It is therefore important to learn about this art form, which is almost extinct, and to understand the whole range of objects that tinsmiths used to make in the past, now struggling against competition from equivalent items made from other materials, mainly plastic.

918

iain

Portuguese

Intangible

731

Funilaria, latoaria

27/10/2025

28/10/2025

https://old.cm-tondela.pt/index.php/servicos/museu-terra-de-besteiros/investigacao/funilaria http://programasaberfazer.gov.pt/arte/latoaria

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current,40.521326,-8.032804;

University of St Andrews

TEXT

Related practices include metalworking/blacksmithing; agricultural grain handling and volumetric measuring (e.g., the corredor); a strong repair–reuse culture (tool upkeep, patching/retinning, recycling offcuts); oral transmission/apprenticeship with workshop jargon and templates; community/market work (fairs, seasonal gutter maintenance); and heritage/tourism through restoration and public demos/workshops.

Cutting, shaping, riveting/welding; marking out and reading measurements; volume calibration (measuring sticks). Technical drawing & layout: reading/sketching simple plans; sheet-metal geometry (developments for cones/prisms); marking out with rule, dividers/compass, and scriber. Measuring & calibration: accurate use of rulers, gauges and templates; volumetric calibration for grain measures (e.g., the corredor). Cutting & edge prep: straight/curved cuts with hand snips and bench shears; deburring and safe edge treatment. Forming & shaping: hand forming over stakes/anvils; bending/folding, rolling beads (“canelinhos”) on a beading machine; setting angles with wooden mallet. Joining methods: locked seams, lap seams, riveting, and tin soldering (flux control, heat management, “tirar o lume”/clean-up). Finishing & QA: truing (“rigor”), leak and watertightness tests for gutters/containers; functional fit on site. Material knowledge: properties of zinc/galvanised sheet (thicknesses, work-hardening, corrosion behavior), compatible solders and fasteners. Tool care & safety: maintenance of snips, stakes, soldering irons/torches; safe handling of heat, sharp edges, and fumes. Contextual knowledge: local building uses (gutters/downpipes), agricultural uses (grain measuring), and repair practices.

Practical and oral learning, usually in family workshops.

Tinsmiths/blacksmiths; apprenticeship in workshop.

Production of everyday utensils and containers; preservation of traditional know-how.

Tinsmithing is a pre-industrial craft involving the cold working of sheet metal to make and repair domestic, agricultural, and construction utensils. In Portugal, it became established with tinplate and later with galvanized sheet (zinc). Until the mid-20th century it played a central role (gutters, watering cans, funnels, containers), but industrialization and plastics reduced demand, shifting the craft to niches (repairs, custom orders, heritage). Tools have modernized without losing the core know-how, and transmission moved from the master–apprentice model to mixed formats; today the craft focuses on maintaining built heritage, producing durable and custom pieces, and the cultural/touristic valorization of traditional knowledge.

Museu Terras de Besteiros (Lands of Crossbowmen Museum), the University of Aveiro,

The practice is in decline in the region, with few tinsmiths still working. It is a profession that is no longer passed on to younger people, as it once was.

Diminishing participation,Diminishing youth interest,Halted transmission between generations,Reduced practice

The practice is in decline: there are fewer active practitioners due to competition from industrial products and lower demand for repairs; young people's interest is reduced by the perception of low returns and the lack of training courses; the intergenerational transmission that previously took place in family workshops has been interrupted; and daily activity has been restricted to niche areas (restoration, specific orders). Together, these factors — a market dominated by plastic/mass production, an unattractive economy, the closure of workshops and a lack of training — are squeezing the viability of the craft and accelerating the loss of skills.

Insufficient renumeration,Rapid economic transformation

Hand snips and bench shears; folding brake; stakes/anvils and bick; wooden and steel mallets; hammers; punches and rivet sets; seamers/groovers. Beading machine (“caneleira”/“máquina de carrete”) for rolling stiffening beads. Soldering iron or blowtorch, flux/appliances; clamps and simple jigs. Measuring/marking tools: steel rule, dividers/compass, protractor/angle blocks, scriber, templates. Domestic/agricultural: funnels, watering cans, buckets, oil cans, storage containers. Measuring device: corredor — grain-measuring vessel (volume-calibrated).

The practice is in sharp decline: there are few practitioners left (mostly elderly), young people's interest is low, intergenerational transmission has been broken, workshops have closed, and the market has been replaced by industrial/plastic products. Demand is sporadic (restoration/orders), making economic continuity unviable and putting the know-how at risk of disappearing within a generation without urgent safeguarding measures.

Metalworking contributes to environmental sustainability by extending the useful life of utensils through repair and custom-made parts, avoiding replacements and waste; it uses zinc/galvanised steel, a durable and 100% recyclable material, and reuses scrap metal in the workshop itself. Production is local and small-scale, reducing logistics/transport footprint, and the process is low energy consumption (cold work, heat only during welding).

Even in decline, bodywork can contribute to local economic sustainability by: generating repair work and custom-made parts.

Quality Education,Decent Work and Economic Growth

Lobão da Beira - Tondela, Portugal

No measures have been taken.

endangered

UAVEIRO_CP_01