Book details
- ISBN:
- 9781931626408
- Imprint:
- Astragal Press
- Page count:
- N/A
- Binding:
- Hardback
- Dimensions:
- 11.9 in x 9.24 in
- Categories:
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Leonard Bailey and his Woodworking Planes
An Unrecognized Genius of the American Industrial Revolution
Paul Van Pernis,John G. Wells
About this book
New Englander Leonard Bailey was one of the inventive geniuses of the
American Industrial Revolution. His designs and patented inventions solved
problems with woodworking planes that had plagued craftsmen for centuries. His
planes allowed woodworkers to transition from the age of wooden carpenter’s
planes to modern, metallic, fully adjustable planes suitable for any kind of
woodworking. His plane designs are still in use throughout the world and are
essentially unchanged from the planes he first made in the 1860’s. He deserves
more credit than he has received among America’s great inventors.
This book covers the thirty-two-year period in Leonard Bailey’s life
between 1852 when he began inventing, making and selling woodworking
tools in Winchester, Massachusetts, through his years at the Stanley Rule & Level
Company from 1869–1874, and ends in 1884 when he worked in Hartford,
Connecticut, and sold his Victor Tool business to the Stanley Rule & Level Company.
American Industrial Revolution. His designs and patented inventions solved
problems with woodworking planes that had plagued craftsmen for centuries. His
planes allowed woodworkers to transition from the age of wooden carpenter’s
planes to modern, metallic, fully adjustable planes suitable for any kind of
woodworking. His plane designs are still in use throughout the world and are
essentially unchanged from the planes he first made in the 1860’s. He deserves
more credit than he has received among America’s great inventors.
This book covers the thirty-two-year period in Leonard Bailey’s life
between 1852 when he began inventing, making and selling woodworking
tools in Winchester, Massachusetts, through his years at the Stanley Rule & Level
Company from 1869–1874, and ends in 1884 when he worked in Hartford,
Connecticut, and sold his Victor Tool business to the Stanley Rule & Level Company.
About this author
Paul Van Pernis is a retired family practice physician whose lifelong passion has been
the study of woodworking and antique American hand tools. A past president of The
Early American Industries Association, he is a collector of antique tools and an expert
on the legacy of Leonard Bailey. He resides in Ashland, Wisconsin, where he practiced
medicine from 1978 to 2014.
The late John G. Wells was a well-known Bay area architect from 1956 to his
death in 2018. His lifelong hobby was collecting antique American hand tools.
He published over 240 articles on the topic for such publications as The Gristmill and
The Chronicle. His personal tool collection was widely considered to be the best and
most comprehensive collection of Patented American Metallic Planes in the country.
the study of woodworking and antique American hand tools. A past president of The
Early American Industries Association, he is a collector of antique tools and an expert
on the legacy of Leonard Bailey. He resides in Ashland, Wisconsin, where he practiced
medicine from 1978 to 2014.
The late John G. Wells was a well-known Bay area architect from 1956 to his
death in 2018. His lifelong hobby was collecting antique American hand tools.
He published over 240 articles on the topic for such publications as The Gristmill and
The Chronicle. His personal tool collection was widely considered to be the best and
most comprehensive collection of Patented American Metallic Planes in the country.