Excerpted from The Chronicle Vol. III no. 17, October 1948 by Glover A. Snow Not much has been written or published about hand and treadle printing presses of the nineteenth century, altho their introduction had a profound effect on American life, and thousands of people either used or were well acquainted with them. Most of …
Hand Printing Presses of the [Nineteenth] Century Read More »
Excerpted from The Chronicle, Vol. 32, No. 4, December 1979 By Donald L. Tuttle and Joyce Baudin, Illustrations by Linda Scharf-Jones Chairmaking in small shops in eastern Pennsylvania reached its peak shortly after the middle of the nineteenth century and before the close of the century had given away completely to the competition of mass …
From the The Chronicle Volume XIV, No. 4, December 1961 by Charlotte Woodhull Judging from accounts of the home life of our early ancestors, they were not particularly fastidious about laundering. Their garments, furthermore, were not usually made of washable materials. Considering the scarcity of implements for the job and the crudeness of those available, …
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 …
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 …
As I told you in my last post, Stanley Rule & Level Company introduced the #110 non-adjustable block plane sometime in 1874. The plane was derived from Justus Traut’s patent No. 159,865 granted on February 16, 1875. Traut had sent in his patent application on November 13, 1874 at about the time Stanley started advertising …
Justus Traut’s Early Adjustable #110 Block Planes Read More »
Hangin’ by a thread: Getting Started “What hobbies are you interested in?” When I’m asked about hobbies and responds with “weaving” or “spinning,” there is usually a silence and/or a quizzical look. Recently, someone tried to explain to me that I could buy dishtowels at Walmart and wouldn’t that be easier? A response to “spinning” …
There’s no question that Pam Howard sets a tough example. Teaching, being a mom and wife, traveling, and still finding the time to spin, weave, dye and blog! Down here in deep South Texas time and people move a lot s-l-o-w-e-r (especially in the summer). I’m waiting for the lovely white wool that I will …
Joseph Fuller (b. 1746 – d. 1822) was one of the most important American planemakers during the later 1700’s through the early 1800’s. He was making and selling planes as early as 1773 in Providence, RI, and died there in 1822. (1) He seems to have been quite successful in his trade and produced …
Before I tell you about it, let’s put this bull-nose plane from the Stanley Model Shop in its proper historical context by delving a bit into 19th century industrial history. In the second half of the 19th century the “inside contracting” system became very popular in American factories. Under the “inside contracting” system, a company’s …