Thresher

Gaesang is a thresher used to shake off grains, and was also called chaetsang, taesang, or gongsang depending on the region. There were various forms of this tool, and the most typical was made by connecting three or four wooden rafters in a line using straw rope, before attaching legs with the length of 50 to 70 cm to each of the four corners. However, it was uncommon for ordinary farming households to make their own thresher. Instead of a thresher, a thick log would be laid down on a flat side or a wooden mortar would be laid down horizontally. To shake off grains, a sheaf of rice or barley would be tightly bound using straw ropes, raised behind the shoulder and high above the head, then swung down to be struck against the thresher. One male adult could thresh between one-and-a-half to two gama (straw bag, 75-90 kg) of rice or barley per day.