Metal hinges and a latch for a Viking Age inspired feast ware chest.

We needed a sturdy chest to store and transport our feast ware to events and given our Viking persona’s I was looking at Viking designs. I was really inspired to make an accurate reproduction of the Mästermyr chest, a Viking Age tool chest from Gotland, but figured that I should try something more modest first. Then Master Bedwyr Danwyn convinced me to try and make a set of metal hinges and a latch myself to get some experience with metal working.

The finished chest.

Historical background

Chests were common pieces of furniture in the Viking Age. They were used to store goods or transport them and conveniently served as seats at the same time. As a result, there are quite a few preserved examples or Viking Age chests found at archaeological sites. Probably the most well known one is the Mästermyr chest, a Viking Age tool chest from Gotland1, although it arguably deserves its fame not so much due to the chest itself, but for the treasure of tools that it contained.

From a metal working point of view, probably the most impressive chest it the Oseberg chest, made from oak and completely reinforced with metal strips. The lid is secured with a working padlock (although he key is lost) that are shape like an animal head. A nice description of the chest is given by Charlotte Mayhew (2013).

Many other examples can be found in the literature and on-line. Most of them share a similar design. Six boards are used to build the chest, four for the front, the back, the top and the bottom and two for the sides. Quite often the sides are somewhat slanted at an angle such that the width at the top is smaller than the width at the bottom. The front and back boards and the sides are typically fit together by a single “dove tail”, with the front and back boards resting on the sides and held together with wooden dowels. The bottom is usually fitted in a slot in the front and back boards and mortars in the side boards. Metal hinges and a variety of locks are used to secure the top to the chest. Often the chests are strengthened with metal strips around the corners or edges.

Creating the hinge and latch

Master Bedwyr Danwyn inspired and helped me make the metal hinges. I used store bought metal strips for the starting material. In Viking times the metal would have been worked in a forge, but since I have no access to one and no experience with one either, an acetylene torch was used instead.

The hinge itself was created by heating a metal strip and then bending the end of the strip around a metal rod, specifically designed by Master Bedwyr for that purpose. Four of these pieces were created and fitted together in pairs. The hinge pins were created by cutting a piece of rod to size, inserting one in each hinge and hammering the end points such that they were firmly secured.

The two parts that make up the latch were created the same way as the hinges. For decorative effect, one end of the latch, the end that will lock the chest, was bend around a metal rod, with the same rig as used to create the hinges. An elongated slot was drilled and filed to shape to accept the latch ring.

The latch plate was cut from a small metal sheet. Two holes were drilled to accept the lock ring. The lock ring itself was shaped by heating a metal rod, bending it to a U-shape around a metal pipe and cutting it to size with a saw. It was then welded together with the latch plate.

Finally all the holes were drilled to accept the nails for attaching the pieces to the chest.

Learning points

I found an acetylene torch to be a relatively easy and affordable way to work metal, when a forge is not an option. While not period, it does give you the satisfaction of being able to work metal yourself for projects like this.

 

 Test fitting the six boards before gluing the pieces together and drilling the wood pins.

Finishing the chest with linseed oil to preserve and protect the wood.

Bibliography

Arwidsson, Greta and Berg, Gosta (1999), “The Mästermyr Find: A Viking Age Tool Chest from Gotland”, Larson Publishing Company (Lompoc, CA)

Mayhew, Charlotte (2013) “Chests”, http://www.olvikthing.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Viking-Age-Furniture-6-152.pdf (last accessed 04/07/17).

The following websites give on-line examples of Viking Age chests with ample references to the literature (all are last accessed at 04/07/17):

http://www.geocities.ws/chestsandcaskets/catalogueofextantchestsandcaskets.html

http://www.historicallocks.com/en/site/h/safes/mastermyr-and-oseberg/description-of-the-chest-and-lock

http://www.greydragon.org/library/chests.html

https://baroquepearls.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/norse-boarded-chests