A farthing wheel is a tool for producing a curved line in tooling, much like a small and variable fillet. A farthing wheel can be used for both blind and gold tooling. It consists of a brass wheel, mounted on a brass shank set into a wooden handle. The rim of the wheel is filed down to produce a line of a given width.
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/ _ \ \ brass wheel approximately
| <o\ | | 2.5 cm / 1 inch in diameter
\_\ \ / (the size of a farthing)
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| | |
| | | brass shaft
| | | approximately
| | | 10 cm / 4 inches long
| | | 5 mm / 1/4 inch in diameter
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/___\ /
| | \
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| | | wooden handle
| | | approximately
| | | 30 cm / 12 inches long
| | | 10 mm / 1/2 inch in diameter
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| | V
As with any tooling, tooling using a farthing wheel done by heating it up and impressing the design in (usually) leather. A farthing wheel is generally used on the cover of a fine binding, but not the spine.
Unlike those created by a fillet or roll, lines made with a farthing wheel are generally fine enough to end by simply lifting it off the leather. Overstamping is rarely required.