A combination mushroom cellar and workshop is a most useful adjunct to the farm or rural home where it is necessary and desirable to economize in space and material. The growing of mushrooms is quite common today on thousands of small county places, and those very fond of these edibles resort to all sorts of methods to raise sufficient for the home table. The cellar of the ordinary house is not a good place for mushroom culture, and very few barns are provided with a good cellar suitable for the work. (more…)
Sir – I have the honor of being in the receipt of your circular requesting information in relation to the effect which the introduction of the manufacturing of planes, in the prisons at Auburn and Sing-Sing, has had upon our business. In reply to which, it may not be deemed improper to state something of the rise and progress of this branch of business in this country.
At the close of the last war, the manufacture of planes was carried on to a very trifling extent in this country, we being chiefly supplied by those of foreign importation; about which time my father (our predecessor,) established this branch of business in the city of Albany; but the strong prejudice in favor of imported planes rendered it necessary to make very considerable sacrifices, to sustain the establishment of the business during its infancy; and for several years it was carried on with scarcely sufficient profit to cover expenses, and afford a livelihood. But, by patient perseverance, he was at last enabled to compete with planes from abroad, both in price and quality; and having gained an enviable reputation for his American planes, for a few years he was enabled to do a very good business, and gave employment to 20 or 30 hands, at good wages; and he looked forward to a reward for the toil and anxiety he had undergone, in aiding to establish a home manufacture for this important article of merchandise. (more…)
Many of the best mechanics prefer the Wood Bench Planes to the Iron and combination iron and wood planes, but have been compelled to use the latter, owing to the poor quality of the wood bench planes commonly sold.
The fact is that the majority of Wood Plane makers for several years past have been trying so hard to find out how cheaply they could make planes, that they have forgotten all about what a good plane means, and the result is that 90 per cent of the wood planes sold in the stores are almost good for nothing, and the other 10 per cent are but little better. The wood is unseasoned and spongy, and the irons so poor that they hardly hold an edge from the oilstone to the work.
It is a positive fact that a first-class double Plane Iron cannot be made and sold at the price that many of the so-called first quality planes are sold at complete.
We have before us a catalogue just issued by a firm who deal quite extensively in mechanics’ tools. In this catalogue the net selling price of a so-called first-class Smooth Plane with 2 ¼ inch double iron, is $0.56. We quote from the description of these planes, “The irons are guaranteed to be the best in the world.” Turning over a page or two we come to Plane Irons priced separately, and find that 2 ¼ inch double plane irons are sold at $0.58. Quoting again from the description of the Plane Irons, “These Plane Irons are guaranteed to be the best made.” It seems a little funny that the “Best irons in the world” should sell at $0.56 with the balance of the plane thrown in, while the “best made” plane iron only, is held at a price of about 4 per cent higher.
The brand of Plane Irons referred to is of excellent quality; in past years we have sold quantities of them, but, in our judgment, they are very far from being the “Best made,” and will not compare favorably with the Plane Irons made by any of the better class of English makers—say Moulson Bros., I. Sorby, Spear & Jackson, or Ward & Payne, French plane irons made by Peugeot Freres, or American plane irons made by Buck Bros.
Our Bench Planes
As we could find no Bench Planes in the market that are suitable for our class of trade, we are compelled to have these planes made to our special order. All of our planes are made of well-seasoned Eastern Beech, are oiled, polished and shellaced; they have steel starts, and the jack, fore and jointer planes have bolted handles. The plane irons used are the Ward & Payne (Sheffield) brand, and if these irons are not the “Best in the world,”they are certainly equal to any, and are the best we have ever been able to find. Every plane is stamped with our name, and we do not believe that the equal of these planes can be found elsewhere.
Chas. A. Strelinger & Co. – Detroit, Michigan 1897
One of the “Rosetta Stones” of 18th-century tool forms is a book with the long-winded title “Explanation or Key, to the various manufactories of Sheffield: with engravings of each article designed for the utility of merchants, wholesale ironmongers and travellers.” Most people just call it “Smith’s Key” because the editor/engraver was Joseph Smith.
What is it? It’s collection of beautiful plates of all sorts of tools for woodworking, some other trades and a big section of cutlery, always a popular item in Sheffield, England.
The Early American Industries Association published a reprint of it in 1975 with a nice essay by John S. Kebabian and an important price list. According to the Kebabian essay, it is likely this “key” was used by salesmen who represented different manufacturers and needed to show the lines of several makers.
There are earlier tool catalogs than this circa 1816 example, but this one is particularly important because it might have been used extensively.
For us, the catalog is important because it shows tools in their new states, without any user modifications from sharpening, mishandling or simple use. Most significant is the page on saws, which shows backsaws with blades that get narrower at the toe. I wrote about this years ago, and saw wright Matt Cianci of the thesawblog.com has been crowing about it, too. (Yay Matt!)
If you’ve ever looked for a copy of “Smith’s Key,” you probably decided to instead spend the money on a mortgage payment or a trip to Europe. And that’s why I’m pleased to present this link, courtesy of Jeff Burks, that allows you to download “Smith’s Key” from Gallica.bnf.fr.
Click here to get started. The link to download the entire book is at the top right part of the screen. It’s a fantastic scan. And though it doesn’t include the essay or price list from the 1975 EAIA edition, it does offer some of the plates in color.
A Minnesota inventor, Andrew Anderson of Crookston, Minn., has devised a portable tool chest which also serves as a workbench. It consists of two parts which can be hinged together, side by side or back to back. If the chest is to be used as a workbench, the two parts, securely fastened together, are raised to the proper height by foldable, firmly braced supports. These legs are hinged to the body of the chest and give sufficient stability to the bench for any ordinary work, like sawing, planing or sandpapering.
One of the parts has two large drawers for saws, planes, and other large tools. The other has three drawers for smaller tools, sandpaper, and light hardware, including screws, nails, brads, hinges, staples, etc. (more…)
