Engel's Coach Shop - a video interlude

preserving the wheelwright and wainwright trade

These are busy days for me; the work that was postponed during the Christmas holidays has to be caught up with now, and this leaves little time to indulge in blogging. Instead I’ll introduce you to a craftsman I hold in very high regard; I’ll let Mr. Engels of Joliet, Montana describe his business in his own words:

“Welcome to the world's largest video library dedicated to preserving the wheelwright and wainwright trade. Restoring horse-drawn vehicles of the American West. 43 years of blacksmithing, wood working, steam bending wood, wheelwright, paint and striping, upholstery; this channel shares some of the daily workings of a modern carriage shop, building traditional style carriages, coaches and wagons.”

He’s being characteristically modest here, because I’ve gleaned from his videos that he’s also a farmer (with all that entails!), a landlord & entrepreneur, and - having paused the videos, studied his shop and judging by the cleverness of his shop-made contraptions - a gifted inventor. On a personal note, I find his low-key presentation and dry humour very appealing.

It’s impossible to choose only one video, but to get you started, here’s an introduction to the wheelwright’s trade:

When I first came across his YouTube-channel he was working on the Borax Wagon Project — a tour de force of craftsmanship.

Unlike so much of what is found on social media, this is not woodworking or craftsmanship as a vanity project or a preening humblebrag, but rather traditional engineering rooted in centuries of practical experience.

It is what civilizations are built on.

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