TOOLS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

                                                     By Ross Roepke

The twentieth century is the greatest century that ever was.  There has been more improvements made in this past 100 years than in all the prior centuries combined since man appeared on the earth.  Lots of articles have addressed projections of the next century, but if one takes a look at the technology changes of the past decade, it is apparent that this is quite a futile exercise.  I would take this opportunity to document some of the important advances of the past 100 years.  Most of the information is from a magazine Tools of the Trade, January 2000.   The biggest advances have been in the use of power tools that have greatly improved the productivity of the woodworker.

Actually, Wilhelm Fein created the first portable electric tool in 1895.  He fitted a small electric motor onto a drill chuck shaft to see if they could find a way to drill a large number of holes more easily.  In 1897 he produced the first bench drill.  He also used cast aluminum to reduce the weight of the hand drill.

Duncan Black and Alonso Decker introduced the first portable electric drill with pistol grip and trigger switch in 1914.    The idea came from the Colt 45 gun that was lying on the table.  In 1918 they introduced the 3/8 inch drill.

Raymond DeWalt produced the first radial arm saw in 1922.  The saw increased the productivity of woodworkers by a factor of four.  DeWalt also came up with the methods for adjusting the saw for angle and bevel cuts.

Edmund Michel invented the first portable electric circular saw in 1924, which evolved into Skilsaw.  Actually Michel invented the saw in 1921 to mechanize the chore of cutting sugar cane and later adapted it to wood.  The saw used the wormdrive mechanism that still is used on some industrial saws.

Art Emmons, chief engineer for Porter-Cable invented the first belt sander in 1926 and the first sidewinder saw in 1929.

Arthur Langas and Harrison Lingle, engineers for Paslode, invented the first pneumatic nailer for residential construction in 1958.  By 1960, contractors were field testing the first nailers and by 1961, after initial resistance by labor unions, nailers were on their way to becoming the industry standard.

This is but a sample of the power tools that have had a major impact on the woodworking industry.  It is of interest not only to the professional industry but also to the hobby woodworker and do-it-yourselfer that has created a whole new industry over the past several decades.   It would be interesting to know when each type of tool became available to the industry.  Often it took several years before the tools came into common use by the hobby woodworker.

The hobby woodworker has really evolved in the last 25 or so years, fostered in part by the advent of reasonably priced tools.  Sears and Black and Decker sort of led the way with the cheaper tools and many of us got our start with an electric drill, a Skill saw, a vibrating sander, a lathe, and maybe a couple of other DIY power tools.  The power tools have become more useful and a lot lighter over that time through better design and lighter materials. 

The advent of the hobby woodworker was most clearly marked by the advent of a whole host of woodworking magazines. Fine Woodworking celebrated its 25^th year and was one of the first aimed at the hobby market. These were followed over the next few years by American Woodworker, Woodworker Journal, Wood, and many others. Before that, there were a few like Workbench, Popular Mechanics, and Mechanics Illustrated that carried woodworking articles. 

It would be interesting to investigate the reasons for the rapid increase in hobby woodworkers—was it because of better/cheaper power tools, popular woodworking magazines, a larger middle class population, or more discretionary time that resulted from urbanization and industrialization of a large segment of the population.  Probably all had some impact on the rapid growth of the DIY/hobbyist.  I would contend that lots of the hobbyists grew up on the farm, and/or served in the military, and had the basic talents and ambitions to become woodworkers.  But, it is certain that the fine power tools available today have made woodworking more fun and more productive, for both the professional and the hobby woodworkers.

Finis, 28 November 2002