Photo:
Portable tool box and assorted modern hand tools Hardware hand tools are used
by craftsmen in manual operations, such as chopping, chiseling, sawing,
filing, forging, and more. The date of the earliest tools is uncertain.
Tools found in northern Kenya in 1969 maybe about 2,600,000 years old,
and even older tools may remain to be discovered.
Bourdon
Tube Pressure Gauge In 1849, the Bourdon tube pressure
gauge was patented in France by Eugene Bourdon.
Chainsaws
or Chain Saws (Also look under Saws
below)
The history of the chain saw and
the mystery of its invention.
Drills - Drill Chucks Jacob's Chuck A. I. Jacobs invented the first
three jaw drill chuck, Jacob's Chuck. The Jacobs® Chuck Manufacturing
Company was founded in 1902 by the inventor.
Martin Cherrington invented the horizontal
directional drilling in 1972.
Flashlight "Let There Be Light" -- The
flashlight was invented in 1898 and the biblical quote of "Let There
Be Light" was on the cover of the 1899 Eveready catalog.
Hand Tools Center
for the Study of Early Tools Antiques Tools
Illustration:
Handheld hammer Hammer Hammer A hammer is a tool designed for
pounding or delivering repeated blows. The hand held hammer is an ancient
invention no one inventor can be named. A “hammer” is distinguished by
many other names, such as pounder, beetle, mallet, maul, pestle, sledge,
and others.
Pneumatic Hammer Charles Brady King of Detroit invented
the pneumatic hammer (a hammer which
is driven by compressed air) in 1890, which he patented on January 28,
1894. Charles
King exhibited two of his inventions at the 1893 Worlds Columbia
Exposition; a pneumatic hammer for riveting and caulking and a steel brake
beam for railroad road cars.
Hydraulic
Jack Richard Dudgeon, Inc. was founded
in New York City as a machine shop. In 1851, founder and inventor Richard
Dudgeon was granted a patent for a "portable hydraulic press" - the hydraulic
jack, a jack which proved to be vastly superior to the screw jacks in use
at the time. In 1855, Richard Dudgeon astounded New Yorkers by driving
from his home to his place of business in an innovative steam carriage.
The noise and vibration generated by the "Red Devil Steamer" frightened
horses so badly that city authorities confined it to one street. Although
the inventor claimed the carriage could carry 10 people at 14 m.p.h. on
one barrel of anthracite coal, it was too far ahead of its time and failed
to gain popular favor. Other inventions attributed to Dudgeon include:
roller boiler tube expanders, pulling jacks, filter press jacks, steam
forging hammers, railroad lifting equipment, heavy plate hydraulic
hole punches, and many types and sizes of lifting jacks.
Lawn Mowers Lawn
Mowers & Greener Pastures The first patent for a "Machine
for mowing lawns, etc." was granted to Edwin Beard Budding (1795-1846)
from Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, on August 31, 1830.
Machine
Tool - Hall of Fame The American Precision Museum is
the home of the Machine Tool Hall of Fame. It is an incredible collection
of pictures and biographies of some of the leading figures in the development
of the machine tool industry.
Paint Roller The paint roller was invented by
Norman Breakey of Toronto in 1940.
Pliers
- Tongs, Pincers, Plyers Simple pliers are an ancient invention
- no one inventor can be named. Two sticks probably served as the first
uncertain holders, but bronze bars may have replaced wooden tongs as early
as 3000 BC.
Saws Saws are toosl with a thin metal
strip with teeth on one edge or a thin metal disk with teeth on the periphery.
In 1777, Samuel Miller invented the circular saw in England, the round
metal disk type of saw that cuts by spinning and is used hand-held or
table-mounted. Large circular saws are found in saw mills and are used to
produce lumber. In 1813, Shaker-Sister, Tabitha Babbitt (1784-1854) invented the
first circular saw used in a saw mill. Babbitt was working in the spinning house
at the Harvard Shaker community in Massachusetts, when she decided to invent an
improvement to the two-man pit saws that were being used for lumber production.
Tabitha Babbitt is also credited with inventing an improved version of cut
nails, a new method of making false teeth, and an improved spinning wheel head.
In 1807, William Newberry invented
a band saw. In 1780, Gervinus also invented a circular saw, however,
a more primitive one.
Screws
and Screwdrivers Early Screws - Archimedes Screw
- Phillips Head Screw - Robertson Screw - Square Drive Screws - Screwdriver
Scissors There is history behind this cutting
invention.
Photo:
Modern retractable metal tape measure Tape Measure - Alvin J. Fellows
- 1868 On July 14, 1868, Alvin J. Fellows
of New Haven, CT patented the tape measure. Alvin’s measurements were 40-46-42.
Tool
Chests The look of tool chests can tell
us much about workers and workplaces.
Illustration:
Modern handheld wrench Wrenches,
Monkey Wrench, Ratchetless Wrench A wrench is also called a spanner,
it's a tool, usually operated by hand, for tightening bolts and nuts. Solymon
Merrick patented the first wrench in 1835.
Welding
Tools and Welding History In 1885, Nikolai Benardos
and Stanislav Olszewski were granted a patent for an electric arc welder
with a carbon electrode called the Electrogefest. Benardos and Olszewski
are considered the inventors of welding apparatus.