Category: Historical Images

Talking with a lumber dealer, a short time ago, about dressed flooring, ceiling, etc., and the awful time he had to get his lumber planed right, set me to thinking of the time when as foreman of a planing mill in New York City I used to smile and look pleasant, when receiving some such message as this, delivered at the same time as the lumber, either by the truck driver or as an N. B. on the mill ticket:

“Please run this lot with very slow feed, as the customer is very particular;” or, “put on new, sharp knives so as to run this maple or oak very, very smooth, as any defects in planing will have to be thrown out;” or, “any piece of lumber in this lot that you think is not good or will not plane perfectly smooth, please lay out, and send word to the office so we can send others to replace them,” or, “if any piece is too thin to hold the thickness, lay it out,” and other requests of like nature.
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Perhaps in no branch of our manufactures has England become more famous than in that of those prime necessaries of the workman—his tools. According to an old-fashioned saying—we were almost saying saw—”Tools are half the battle.” It might be said three-fourths.

And from the earliest days, when one in boyhood frequented workshops and watched with insatiable curiosity the carpenter turning off those beautiful silky-looking curls, the shavings, it used to be with pride that the men compared their planes, saws, and chisels—talked of their merits; how this or that was a capital bit of stuff; and almost invariably one saw stamped in on the blades of these tools the word “Moseley,” or “Moseley and Simpson.”
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The novel firearm shown in the accompanying engraving consists of a short barrel attached to a base plate that slides upon two rods projecting from the handle. The barrel is pressed forward by spiral springs which surround the guide rods. The handle or stock is similar to a saw handle, and contains a lock or spring mechanism which throws the needle forward into the cartridge when the trigger is pulled.

The recoil which follows the discharge of the weapon is taken up by the spiral springs, thus relieving the hand from the shocks which generally follow the discharge of firearms.

This weapon would seem to be especially useful in fighting at close quarters, as in the case of a marine engagement. Its large caliber enables it to carry formidable and effective ammunition, while its length is such that it can be used when rifles and ordinary pistols are useless. Either shot or shells may be used.

This firearm was recently patented by Mr. Jarvis Royal, of Rochelle, Ill., from whom further information may be obtained.

Scientific American – January 25, 1879

—Jeff Burks

Keep your tools handy and in good condition. This applies everywhere, and in every place, from the cobbler on the bench to the greatest mechanical establishment in the world, and in no place is it more necessary than in wood-working concerns. Every tool should have its exact place as much as a note in an organ, and should always be returned to its place when not in use.

Having a chest, or any receptacle with a lot of tools thrown into it promiscuously, is just as bad as putting the notes into an organ without regard to their proper place. If a man wants a wrench, chisel or hammer, it’s somewhere in the box or chest, or somewhere else, and the search begins. Sometimes it is found—perhaps sharp, perhaps dull, maybe broken; and by the time it is found he has spent time enough to pay for several tools of the kind wanted.
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Although one is not apt to think of the apple tree as a source of timber, as a matter of fact at least 2,000,000 board feet of apple lumber is manufactured annually into saw handles. This, too, is about the only important use to which it is put, though small amounts are made into smoking pipes, and miscellaneous articles of turnery. The wood was formerly used for shuttles and gave excellent satisfaction, but has been entirely superseded by persimmon and dogwood. As a fuel-wood apple has few superiors.
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