The forge is the workshop of the ferreiro (blacksmith) and the workbench, always placed next to a window, and the forxa (forge) are essential elements in it. The forxa is made up of a regazal, a wooden box and slate slabs filled with clay in which the fire is lit with charcoal, and large manual bellows that injects air into the hearth to stoke the fire. Next to the forge there is a basin with water to temper the iron and a pair of anvils: a solid one, a incre de ferro and a thinner one, a incre de faer argolas (rings).
The tool kit of the ferreiro is ample and varied and includes, among other tools, parafusas (borer) for drilling iron, pliers, craveiras for making nails, lathe, drills or bending machines for the metal harnesses and rims of the wheels of country wagons. The manufacture of the latter required the assistance of a carpenter or a person with knowledge of the techniques of both trades.
In addition to the manufacture of tools of various uses and types, the ferreiros also carried out two fundamental activities in the rural world: ferrar cattle and horses and sharpening and repairing farming tools.
