Early American Industries Association
Celebrating Trades, Crafts, and Tools in American History and Their Impact on Our Lives
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There is a Stanley No. 145!
The “combination plane” was developed to create a woodworking tool that would perform multiple functions and free a workman from having to own a large number of individual planes. Over a 50-year time span in the second half of the 19th century numerous inventors patented and produced a broad array of combination planes.[i] Many of […]
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Annual Meeting May 20-23, 2020
Staunton, Virginia is the location of the Annual Meeting in 2020. There is lots to see and learn in the wonderful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
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Tools, Techniques & Traditions: A Forum at OSV
As part of the overall initiative to bring woodworking and cabinetmaking back to prominence at Old Sturbridge Village, the Village is hosting an all-day Woodworking Forum “Tools, Techniques and Traditions” on Saturday, October 19. The Forum is one of the activities leading up to the construction of the new Cabinetmakers Shop on the OSV Common. […]
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WHAT A TIME WE HAD!
We came, we were busy, we saw and learned a lot, and we had a great time! That pretty much sums up the 2019 Early American Industries Association’s Annual Meeting in Lowell, Massachusetts. After a Spring filled with rain and cold weather the clouds finally broke, the sun appeared and tailgating started in earnest on […]
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Colonial Homestead: A Midwest Tool Mecca
In almost every woodworking class I teach in Covington, Ky., there’s at least one student who has driven through Ohio to get there who has stopped at Colonial Homestead in Millersburg. Every one of them tells me it’s among the most awe-inspiring stores for vintage tools they’ve ever seen (along with Hulls Cove Tool Barn […]
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Rule Collectors Rule!
The first yearly antique tool auctions bring tool collectors out of their winter hibernation as surely as the vernal equinox marks the coming of Spring. One of the highlights of this “Rite of Spring” is Martin Donnelly’s “Live Free or Die” spring tool auction. This long-standing tradition rekindles friendships young and old, provides a chance […]
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Lowell is Looming!
Apologies for the pun, but, this long hard winter will come to an end, the snow will melt, the trees will bud out and the flowers will bloom, and Early American Industries Association members will gather for our 2019 Annual Meeting May 15th thru May 18th, 2019. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time […]
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Sargent Model Shop Tools: Prototype Successor to Shaw’s Patent Planes?
Here it is at only the second post of this blog and I’ve gone off the subject of Stanley Model Shop tools in my collection to discuss a Sargent prototype plane that joined the collection recently. This plane (Figure 1) suggests that Sargent was considering a successor to its Shaw’s Patent line of planes. As […]
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Who Gets The Credit?
The Stanley No. 97 Cabinet Maker’s Edge Plane In late 1869 or early 1870, shortly after Leonard Bailey started working at the Stanley Rule & Level Company, he produced the “chisel plane” shown in Figure 1 below.[i] This heavy bodied plane is 9 15/16” long and 2 3/8” wide and the body is a cast […]
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Ten Things You Might Not Have Known About Lowell, Massachusetts
With the 2019 Early American Industries Association Annual Meeting coming up in a few months, here are some interesting tidbits of information about Lowell, Massachusetts that will hopefully entice you to join us for our Annual Meeting next May. The young mill girls in the title photo above invite you to learn more about them […]
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Leonard Bailey’s Last Vertical Post?
Leonard Bailey appears to have begun experimenting with and manufacturing vertical post planes sometime in 1860. These planes are called “vertical post” planes because of the two vertically positioned threaded rods located behind the rocking frog. The rocking frog is held in place by a pin that is inserted through the sidewalls of the plane […]
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The 2019 EAIA Annual Meeting – Put It On Your Calendar!
It’s time to start thinking about the 2019 EAIA Annual Meeting Wednesday, May 15th thru Saturday, May 18th, 2019! We will be based at the Westford Regency Hotel in Westford, Massachusetts (https://www.westfordregency.com/). Room rates at the hotel are $125/night. Come and join us for another great meeting full of great activities and great people. On […]
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EAIA’s BIG Sponsors Regional Meeting
The Blacksmith Interest Group (BIG) of EAIA held a regional meeting at the reconstructed Moses Wilder Blacksmith shop in Bolton, Massachusetts on July 28th. The purpose of the meeting was to provide hands-on demonstrations and give participants an opportunity to try basic blacksmithing using coal forges. There were 30 participants which was the number that […]
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Little-Known Anvil Makers
By Clayton Ray Postman’s 1998 book, Anvils in America, is a landmark in the study of American anvils. He documented all of the major makers and many minor ones. It would, however, be too much to expect that he could have exhausted the subject, but not too much to suspect that some among the varied […]
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EAIA’s 85th Anniversary Annual Meeting Was A Great One!
After over a week of heavy rain, the skies began to clear on Wednesday morning May 23rd in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania just in time for the tailgating activities in the Comfort Suites University Hotel parking lot, signaling the start of EAIA’s 85th anniversary Annual Meeting. It didn’t take long for the rather vigorous tool sales to […]
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EAIA’s 2018 Annual Meeting Photo Gallery – 85 Years Young!
The Lehigh Valley was a great place to celebrate the Early American Industry Association’s 85th Anniversary during our 2018 Annual Meeting! Beautiful weather, fantastic historic sites and museums to visit, great workshops, ,demonstrations,tool trading, and member displays. All done while we enjoyed lots of learning, friendship and fun in and around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Watch the […]
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Stanley Model Shop Tools: A Transitional Furring Plane Prototype
This is the first of what is intended to be an occasional series describing some of the Stanley Model Shop tools in my collection and sometimes giving opinions and historical tidbits relating to them. Many of the Model Shop tools are prototypes and, thus, are either one-offs or very limited production models. Although information about […]
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Tales, Teasers, and Enticements – Part II
The 85th Anniversary Early American Industries Association Annual Meeting is not far off. Join us in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as we explore the diverse and fascinating history of the Lehigh Valley May 23rd through May 26th, 2018. We guarantee you’ll have a good time, make new friends and learn more about early American industry and the […]
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Tales Teaser and Enticements – Part I
The Early American Industries 2018 Annual Meeting is only about 3 months away. On May 23rd through May 26th, 2018, we’ll celebrate EAIA’s 85th anniversary during our annual meeting in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. What follows are a few historical facts, some teasers, and hopefully an enticement or two that will convince you to […]
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A Maritime Blacksmith of Lamu
In my professional travels in developing countries, I’ve been amazed how analogous work methods are to those used in America in the early period of our trade history. Several years ago we had the opportunity to join our son in Kenya where he was finishing his junior year at UMass. As Peace Corps volunteers in […]
EAIA Awards Nominations
The EAIA Awards committee is asking for nominations from the membership for the J.D. Hatch Award and the Long Time Service Award to be presented at the annual meeting in Bethlehem, PA in May of 2018. By our policy and procedures, the committee must seek out nominations from the membership at large. This is your […]
2019 Annual Meeting
May 15-18, 2019 Lowell, Massachusetts Registration Options Registration $240.00 USDBlacksmith Workshop $25.00 USDTape Loom Workshop $40.00 USDStone Tool Workshop $10.00 USDLucey Locket Workshop $20.00 USDPlaster Cast Workshop $10.00 USDCandy Mold Workshop $15.00 USDTool EX Registered $35.00 USDTool EX Not Registered $50.00 USDLate Registration $20.00 USD More Options Need a Display Table? First Time Attendee? Option […]
Membership
Learn more about the benefits of becoming a member of the EAIA: Click here:Become an EAIA Member or Renew today Member Benefits: The Chronicle Shavings Invitations to the Annual Meeting Regional Meetings 10% discount on direct purchases from the Astragal Press (Details below) Opportunities to participate in the Eastfield Historic Trades Sampler Access to information […]
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There is a Stanley No. 145!
The “combination plane” was developed to create a woodworking tool that would perform multiple functions and free a workman from having to own a large number of individual planes. Over a 50-year time span in the second half of the 19th century numerous inventors patented and produced a broad array of combination planes.[i] Many of […]