Histories of Woodworking Machinery

Modified on 2023/03/22 10:40 by Jeff Joslin — Categorized as: History

The development of woodworking machinery in Europe (especially Great Britain) and the U.S.A. have been much written about. Most of those historical writings merely repeat what was written earlier, with little added except for errors. Careful comparison of these early writings will help reveal something of the provenance of various pieces of information.

1857—On the conversion of wood by machinery (PDF, courtesy Matty Fazio) by Guilford Lindsay Molesworth
1868—A history of American manufactures from 1608 to 1860 Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III (Google Books) by J. Leander Bishop
1872—A Treatise on the Construction and Operation of Wood-Working Machines (Google Books) by John Richards
1881—Wood-Working Machinery as applied to the Manufacture of Railway Carriages and Wagons (Google Books) by James Bernard Hunter
1883—Woodworking Machinery; Its Rise, Progress, and Construction (archive.org) by M. Powis Bale
1889—A History of the Planing-Mill (VintageMachinery.org) by Charles R. Tompkins. Also available through archive.org
1889—Industrial History of the United States (Google Books) by Albert Sidney Bolles
1920—Short History of Woodworking Machinery from Wm. H. Field Reference Book
1978—An Outline of the Development of Wood Moulding Machinery (PDF) by John H. Englund