WORKING WITH WOOD, WORKING WITH IRON: THE ABEGÃO'S CRAFT SOUTH OF THE TAGUS DURING THE 20TH CENTURY

Animal -drawn vehicles and the craftspeople who build them have played a significant role in the first half of the 20th century. The cart builder, also known as abegao, especially south of the Tagus, has the specific task of bringing together knowledge that is typical of two different artisans: the carpenter and the blacksmith. Our aim is to describe and characterize the workshop, the techniques and tools used in this activity from a diachronic perspective, starting from the bibliography that was produced when this craft was greatly important and crossing this information with oral sources from artisans who worked in the second half of the 20th century. We dedicate part of the text to one of the most expressive combinations of both crafts: the construction of the spoked wheel, which, due to its characteristics, demands knowledge on working with wood and with iron.