A workshop or furnace used in metalworking where metal is heated and shaped at lower temperatures than in other forges.
From Old French chaufer (to heat) plus the -y suffix indicating a location or practice. Used historically in blacksmithing to describe specialized heating stations.
In medieval ironworks, a chafery was the finishing forge where cooler fires refined metal that had already been worked in hotter furnaces—early specialization in manufacturing!
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