Kerry,
One of my relations was at various times, a tinsmith, a tin plate worker and a dry gas meter maker! He started out in Edinburgh and moved to Finsbury in London in the late 1840s, before ending up in Buckinghamshire. My impression is that, before the days of mass production, he would originally have made [and repaired?] kettles, jugs, cooking and eating utensils, tankards and the like. When he lived in Finsbury, the neighbours included a tailor, an embroiderer, a green grocer, a clock maker, a master baker and a gold beater, so it must have been a fairly skilled occupation!
I've seen an old photograph of a tinsmith in his workshop around 1900 and it looks like a mini blacksmiths - a small fire and pieces of tin of various sizes hanging about. There was also a workbench with an assortment of hammers, pincers and other tools. It didn't look like a large scale enterprise, which perhaps explains why my relation moved South, where there were perhaps more opportunities.
Best wishes
Rockford
