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What did a 'caker' (steel smelting) do?


Beery

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My relative, William Wheelhouse, was a 'caker' in the steel smelting industry. Can anyone here tell me what a 'caker' does (or did)?

Thanks.

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My relative, William Wheelhouse, was a 'caker' in the steel smelting industry. Can anyone here tell me what a 'caker' does (or did)?

Thanks.

Its beaten me; there was a web-site somewhere listing old trades (can't remember it, can anyone else ??)

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Its beaten me; there was a web-site somewhere listing old trades (can't remember it, can anyone else ??)

A few links here ..

Victorian Occupations, job descriptions of the people living in London in the 1890's

Old Trades & Professions

RANKS, PROFESSIONS, OCCUPATIONS AND TRADES

Old English Trade names and descriptions/mixed with some German, French and Latin .. Old_English_Trade_names_and_descriptions.pdf

No mention to a 'Caker'

but a 'Cake' in the smelting industry was another name for a 'Billet'

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Thanks folks. I'm assuming it was the guy who made the cake or billet. I think a lot of the process is automated now, which is probably why the term doesn't exist as a job description anymore.

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Thanks folks. I'm assuming it was the guy who made the cake or billet. I think a lot of the process is automated now, which is probably why the term doesn't exist as a job description anymore.

Probably a digression but there's a term 'cakerd' which means bound with iron, such as an iron shod shoe.

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My relative, William Wheelhouse, was a 'caker' in the steel smelting industry. Can anyone here tell me what a 'caker' does (or did)?

Thanks.

ln relation to the caker, there was another trade involved, a puddler anyone know what he did. Skeets
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ln relation to the caker, there was another trade involved, a puddler anyone know what he did. Skeets

There are a couple of Puddlers Skeets.

See Puddler and Puddling on Dictionary.com

Some are to do with clay working but this one is probably the one you want.

Puddling

2. Metallurgy. the act or process of melting pig iron in a reverberatory furnace (puddling furnace) and converting it into wrought iron.

3. The act or method of making puddle.

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