Figure 57. — 1876: Japanned and splinted \vith heavy brass, this l^race was among the award-winning 

 tools exhibited at the Centennial by E. Mills and Company of Philadelphia. (Smithsonian photo 

 49792-D.) 



Figure 58. — -1827: The bench planes exhibited at Philadelphia in 1876 were a radical de- 

 parture from the traditional. In 1827 H. Knowles patented an iron-bodied bench plane 

 that portended a change in form that would witness a substitution of steel for wood in all 

 critical areas of the tool's construction, and easy adjustment of the cutting edge by a 

 setscrew, and an increased flexibility that allowed one plane to be used for several purposes. 

 (Wash drawing from the restored patent drawings, .August 24, 1827, U.S. Patent Office, 

 Record Group 241, the National Archives.) 



PAPER 51: WOODWORKING TOOLS, 16 00-1900 



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