Editing Wheelwright (section)

{{short description|Person who builds or repairs wooden wheels}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox occupation
| name               = Wheelwright
| synonyms           = 
| pronounce          = 
| image              = File:Wagenmaker.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = A wheelwright taps felloes onto spoke ends
| official_names     = 
| type               = 
| activity_sector    = Trades
| competencies       = 
| formation          = 
| employment_field   = 
| related_occupation = {{Ubl|[[Carriagemaker]]|[[Coachbuilder]]|[[Blacksmith]]|[[Carpentry|Carpenter]]}}
}}
[[File:Stellmacher.jpg|thumb|A wheelwright's shop]]

A '''wheelwright''' is a [[Artisan|craftsman]] who builds or repairs [[wood]]en [[wheel]]s. 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 [[shipbuilding|shipwright]] and [[arkwright]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary |year=1976 |publisher=G. & C. Merriam Company |isbn=0-87779-338-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/webstersnewcolle02spri }}</ref> 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 [[cart]]s (cartwheels), [[wagon|wagons (wains), traps and coaches and the belt drives of steam powered machinery]].  They also made the wheels, and often the frames, for [[spinning wheel]]s. First constructing the hub (called the nave), the [[spoke]]s and the rim segments called felloes,<ref name="OED">{{cite web |title=Oxford English Dictionary |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/69093?redirectedFrom=felloe |website=www.oed.com |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=8 May 2022 |location=Oxford |language=en}}</ref> and assembling them all into a unit working from the center of the wheel outwards. Most wheels were made from [[wood]], but other materials have been used, such as [[bone]] and [[horn (anatomy)|horn]], for decorative or other purposes. Some earlier construction for wheels such as those used in early chariots were bound by [[Rawhide (material)|rawhide]] that would be applied wet and would shrink whilst drying, compressing and binding the woodwork together. After many centuries wheels evolved to be straked with iron, a method of nailing iron plates onto the felloes to protect against wear on the ground and to help bind the wheel together. Straking was considered to be a less skilled practice and could be done with less knowledge and equipment, this made the wheels easier to service without the need for a blacksmith.

Over millennia the overall appearance of the wheel barely changed but subtle changes to the design such as dishing and staggered spokes helped keep up with the demands of a changing world. These small changes in design made a massive improvement to the strength of the wheel whilst reducing its weight; vehicles then became more efficient to build and use.