Auger Points Was Originally Published As a Complement

Auger Points was originally published as a complement

to a talk made by Robert Carlson before the Early Trades & Crafts

Society on September 22, 1970. It was reprinted in October of

1973 on the occasion of the Fall Meeting of Tools and Trades in

Massachusetts, at which Mr. Carlson also spoke. It is now reprinted

for the Mid-West Tool Collectors' Association. Auger Points is largely composed of articles by Mr. Carlson published in the Chronicle

of the Early American Industries Association to whom grateful

acknowledgement is due.

March 1975

NOTE: The following were in the EAIA Chronicle:

“On the Origins of the Spiral Auger” Volume XX, December 1967, pages 49-51.

“Nomenclature and Variations of Parts of the Spiral Bit” Volume XXI, June 1968, front cover.

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE SPIRAL AUGER By Robert H. Carlson and Thomas A. Stevens

ACCORDING to Dr. Henry Mercer, in his book that is the bible It is accepted by Knight, Dr. Mercer, George Rhine, of tool collectors, Ancient Carpenters' Tools, F. M. Fieldhaus, Peter Welsh and others (including these writers) that Ezra "throws light on the obscure origin of the spiral auger." (1) L'Hommedieu's spiral auger was the prototype of its class. This phrase is perhaps one of the greatest under-statements Later patentees merely refined or improved, sometimes only ever made in the antique tool field. The origin of the spiral hopefully, its basic function. It may well be that L'Hommedieu auger is not only obscure --- it is also baffling, mysterious, and "formalized," to use our modern jargon, the spiral auger, frustrating. We suspect it will continue to be so in spite of the rather than invented it, in the common acceptance of the term. research efforts of tool historians. This paper, therefore, It seems almost impossible that the action of the screw as a should not be considered as a definitive work, but rather as an lifting and discharging device was not applied to wood-boring exploratory effort. It is an attempt to collect and collate the until the first decade of the Nineteenth Century. Archimedes, work of others in this area, and combine that work with recent perhaps the true "inventor" of the screw, utilized the principle research by the authors, in the hope that more facts will be in his water-raising device 250 B.C., and it was adapted for unearthed in the future that will begin to form a pattern. other purposes by Leonardo da Vinci and countless others Dr. Mercer's research is impressive and well down through the centuries. In fact, when we examine the documented. His citation of "Mr. Phineas Cook's New scanty documentation on old tools, we find evidence that the Constructed Spiral Auger," (an advancement that he properly screw principle was indeed applied to boring tools, perhaps points out is not authenticated in British patents and is "not better referred to as hole-making tools, but in a primitive and noticed by Holtzaffel") (2); and his illustration of "A Spiral abortive fashion. Auger from Madeira" (3); indicate his careful, world-wide and One of the earliest auger illustrations known is in the scholarly treatment of this difficult and poorly-authenticated invaluable Mercer, a "Pod Auger of the 15th Century." (5). area of tool history. However, it should be pointed out that his This is a copper engraving of the "Holy Family" and St. "Coal Miners Spiral Auger from Madeira" was dredged up in Joseph is boring a plank with a large T-auger, which, as the harbor of Funchal, circa 1900. Yet Mercer says "possibly Mercer notes, "the sides of which are twisted more than in the of the 18th century." He then states, "if this striking relic of the photo engravings of other examples shown here." Although sea had a definite date, it would be more significant." We the delineation is poor, close examination indicates that it could not agree more. But lacking a "definite date," we cannot looks very much like a crude spiral auger, Figure 1. If so the help but question this "remarkable specimen." By the late principle was lost or abandoned, for in Moxon's illustration of 1800's, it could well have been a rusty import from America the tools of the joiner, Mechanick Exercises, 1703, we see a that somehow found its way from a ship to the bottom of the brace and bit, Figure 2, H, this is a quill or spoon bit; a gimlet, harbor. For the earliest well-documented date of the spiral I, evidently a screw point developing into a side-cutting pod; auger (always excepting Cook's Auger of 1770) is July 31, and an auger, K, a T-handled tool, again with a screw 1809. In that year, Ezra L'Hommedieu of Saybrook, point that develops into a side cutting pod; Connecticut, was granted a patent for his double-podded center screw auger. (4). It is true that there are several other names associated with the invention, or, perhaps a better term, the development of the spiral auger, Knight, in his American Mechanical Dictionary, 1872, credits Lilly and Gurley, both of Connecticut, with the invention, circa 1800. However, there are no records of patents issued to either of them, although we do have records of a Nineteenth-Century auger factory in Gurleyville, a section of the town of Mansfield, Connecticut. Patent records indicate that C. Hoxie, Hudson, New York, obtained an auger patent on June 12, 1804, and later on June 26, 1824, for an "auger for boring post-holes." The latter could be an auger for boring holes in fence posts or one for boring holes in the ground to receive the posts, as would be found in present day post-hole augers. The titles in the Index of Patents do not help us here, listing, "Augers, Earth; Augers, Earth-Boring, Excavating; Augers, Post; Augers, Post-Hole; Augers, Well," etc. Since many of the early patents were destroyed in the Patent Office fires, it is not always possible to determine what the patent name means. Another early patent was granted to W. Hale, of Champlain, New York, on February 7, 1807. These are the only patent dates found earlier than Ezra L'Hommedieu's of 1809.

Fig. 2. From Moxon, Mechanick Exercises, 1703

Thus, we find that at this early period the center- One wonders why more efficient cutters were not associated screw action, starting and pulling the tool into the wood was with it. Martin also shows a gimlet, Figure 3. Number 3. The recognized and used, but an effective method of discharging engraving is poor, but certainly there is no indication of a the chips from the hole was lacking. A century later, Thomas screw point; again a retrogression. On the other hand, we Martin illustrated the tools of the carpenters and joiner, and have another illustration of the same period, circa 1810, that his first figure was a nose auger, Figure 3, Number 1 (6). It is presents a paradox; "Lewis Miller Working at his Bench in somewhat disconcerting to find that, 110 years after Moxon, York, Pa." (7). This crudely drawn, but basically clear picture, the principle of using the screw to aid the worker has been shows what is definitely a spiral auger, Figure 4. This seeming discarded, and seemingly we have retrogressed to the contradiction, however, may well be caused by the difference laborious procedure of starting the hole with a gouge, forcing in locale, for it is emphasized and perhaps partially explained the half-cylinder end-cutting tool into the wood by main force in the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1880, in an article on hand and weight for a few inches until it is clogged with shavings, tools. We quote, "America has long taken the leading then withdrawing to clear the tool. Martin also shows a brace originating thoughtful improvements of this kind and the result and bit, Figure 3, Number 2, but this is quite clearly a is apparent in the rapid manner in which the use of edge tools countersink, rather than a boring tool. However, it is and appliances of American patterns is now everywhere interesting to note that the brace, which is clearly pictured, is a extending." The same article continues -- referring to nose- very sophisticated tool. It is obviously one of the first of the augers, quill, and center-bits; "English wood-boring tools beautiful Sheffield type wood braces with brass quarter-plates indeed offer a considerable field for improvement. Imported that carried through as late as 1900 and are so much admired substitutes for the above are already [!] to be met with, by casual observers as well as collectors. amongst others the twisted centre-bits [we assume that this is an oblique reference to a spiral-auger], and the expanding centre-bits, [evidently what we would call an expanding bit], both of which appear to be an advance in the right direction, although they have not yet come largely into use". This in England in 1880! But as a matter of fact, this time lag evidently exists to some extent even now.

Figure 3. From Martin, The Circle of the Mechanical Arts, 1813.

William Marples & Sons, Ltd. of Sheffield illustrate a shell [nose] auger in their 1959 catalogue as well as standard types of spiral augers. Perhaps this is weight of tradition; perhaps as a special purpose tool; perhaps as a continuing reprint -- we cannot say, but it is startling to find it offered for sale some 150 years after it should have been obsolescent. And if England seems somewhat backward in the development of boring tools, evidently, Middle Europe was even more so. Mercer, in discussing the spiral auger, says "...it was not introduced among carpenters in Northern Hungary at Gross Figure 1. From the "Holy Family", 15th Century. Lomnitz until about 1887."

America, by 1880, had seen all of the major The "OLIVER CROMWELL" was framed in white oak and improvements in design and manufacture of spiral augers, planked with hard yellow pine. (9). No man was better and had been in full production for over twenty years. In fact, acquainted with the use of an auger than the shipwright who the technique of post and beam and tree-nail building that specialized in boring these holes at a contract price of a required the extensive use of the auger was already on the fraction of a cent each. And, to make the job more miserable, way out, being superceded by balloon framing, the factory most of the holes were bored at different angles in awkward nail, nuts and bolts, and steel work. The large T-handled positions, in cramped quarters or on high scaffolds. Surely, auger was out-moded by 1900; except for special uses, such the tremendous need for an efficient boring tool was greater in as the boring of shaft logs in boats, and in comparatively the shipyard than anywhere else, even in bridge and trestle backward rural areas, where modern power tools were building. impractical. The spiral auger has survived principally as sets in the smaller sizes, as used in the modern bit brace. The Knowing these facts, perhaps we have definite clue need of boring tools for use in trades such as electrical, as to why Ezra L'Hommedieu became the founder of the spiral plumbing and heating, prolonged the demand for the hand auger business. His father, Grover L'Hommedieu, was a boring tool, but with the development of modern electric tools, Patriot refugee to Norwich, Connecticut, from Tory, Long the fine bit sets of the earlier craftsmen have been stored in Island during the Revolution. In 1797, he established a rope- the old tool chest of their owners for only occasional or special use. Now in 1967, they are a seldom used rarity, as our E. L'Hommedieu, Wood Auger. Patented July 31, 1809 technology moves further toward plastics and metals, epoxies and resins, all tending to eliminate the hole as a fastening device. This was not the case in 1800. A standard house or barn required from 100 to 150 tree nails with the corresponding 1/2 to 1 inch holes; plus a like amount of back- breaking work with a nose auger, but it becomes child’s play when compared to ship-building. During the year 1800, eighty- two major vessels were launched from Connecticut shipyards, alone. Each of these vessels required the boring of thousands of holes from ¾ to 11/4 inch in diameter, some of them through as much as 20 inches of solid oak. Shipyard records pertaining to the famous "OLIVER CROMWELL," the first Connecticut Warship, built in the Uriah Hayden Shipyard at Essex, Connecticut, then known as Saybrook, in 1776, show that over ten thousand tree-nails, commonly called trunnels, and about the same number of iron bolts and drift pins were required. The depth and diameter of corresponding holes required is indicated by a shipyard order for "five trunnel [sic] augers with long shanks and three ¾ inch augers.”

Figure 5. E. L'Hommedieu. Wood Auger, 1809

walk in the booming shipbuilding Essex section, then part of the town of Saybrook, Connecticut. His son, Ezra, began "to carry on the business of ship-carving" in 1800 (10). Another son, Joshua, is believed to have been a shipsmith. Obviously, all were craftsmen very familiar with shipbuilding and it is fair to speculate that the tremendous necessity for holes in that trade was the mother of Ezra's invention. But beyond this realm of speculation, is the reality of his patent. Whether it was an invention in the sense of a brand-new idea, actually, few patents are such, or whether it was shrewd Yankee timing in getting formal patent rights on an existant tool, is not the point. The fact is that he did it! His contribution to boring technology can be best expressed in his own words, "The auger at the end of which enters the timber has a screw in the centre which supercedes the necessity of a gouge. The auger, as its name implies, is made of two pods directly opposite to each other and at the extremities of each pod next the screw are two sharp lips, for cutting the timber. Fig. 4. Spiral Auger. From "Lewis Miller The auger may be made in any dimension. Working at his Bench in York, Pa." Circa 1810 5

The shaft and handles like those in use, otherwise at the pleasure of the owner. The great superiority of this auger over any other in use consists in its being more strong and durable, in turning much easier, boring faster and drawing out of the hole with much more ease." (11). It is significant that he refers to the pods. This is surely a legacy of terms from the cylindrical pod augers of the past with which Ezra was only too familiar. It indicates that he indeed moved directly from the pod auger to the spiral auger, without any knowledge of transitional forms. Our modern patent attorneys would probably refer to them as "concave exit channels," or "spiral discharge grooves," or "helix removal devices," one of the most important functions of the spiral auger. Fig. 7. Auger bit types. Top row, left to right, A to G. A - solid Again, Ezra L'Hommedieu's great contribution can be core, Irwin pattern. B. - no extension lip, possibly Sanford best described by his own patent drawing, Figure 5- There is pattern. C. - single lip, Lewis pattern. F. - extension lip above no doubt that this is the definitive form for all later spiral and below cutting edges, Clark pattern. G. - curled cutting augers. edge, Cook pattern. Center top, H. - single twist ship auger, The L'Hommedieus were soon in production. In center screw. Bottom, J. - "Nut" auger, typical double twist 1812, their "Patent Factory" was in operation on the Pattoconk general purpose auger. River in Chester, Connecticut. In 1816, Ezra patented their famous single twist ship auger. In 1836, we get a glimpse of from 1790-1873. During that period, out of some 60 patents the factory, "Several streams run into the Cove, affording fine granted for augers and auger improvements, 25 were to sites for manufacturing purposes. L'Hommedieu's Auger and Connecticut men. And out of 29 patents for machinery and Hammer factory is finely located, and more than 20 hands are methods for making augers, an astonishing 21 were also to employed in this business." (12). Connecticut inventors. The production of the company was concentrated on The great period of the spiral auger lasted only a little the single twist ship auger,. Many fine examples are still over a century; but its contribution to the industrial and extant, Figure 6. Strangely, of the some 100 L'Hommedieu economic history of America, and indeed, the world cannot be augers known to these writers, none are of the double twist measured by time and space alone. type illustrated in Ezra's 1809 patent drawing, Figure 5. (Author's note: This paper has been purposely From this small town beginning, Connecticut was confined to the speculative and the historical beginnings of the established as the center of the auger industry. There were spiral auger. The authors believe that a future paper on the three major areas of production -- the Chester-Deep River- development and history of the auger bit industry in America Essex area, towns which have been separated from will depend, in great part, on the response of EAIA members Saybrook; the New Haven-Hamden-Meridian area; and the in sending in names of manufacturers, locations, dates, etc, Seymour-Derby area. gleaned from their collections, notes, and local histories. We Further evidence of the dominance of Connecticut in would like to warn you that deciphering the stamped this field can be seen in an examination of the patent records inscriptions on unusually rusty old augers require much sand paper, a magnifying glass, wire brushes, penetrating oil, elbow grease, and, above all, patience and perseverance. But, sometimes the reward seems as great as deciphering the Rosetta Stone. The following information would be greatly desired, if available: 1. Name of maker; 2. Patent date or number, if any; 3. Calibration - i.e., 4 (qtrs.), 8 (eights), 16 (sixteenths), and, one inch; 4. Single or double twist; and, 5. Any unusual features. This issue of the Chronicle contains a supplement of Auger and Auger Bit Makers. We hope we may be able to add to this with the help of members.

References: 1. Henry C. Mercer, Ancient Carpenters Tools, 3rd Ed. 1960 p. 201, Figure 176. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. p. 202, Figure 177 4. Restored Patent No. 1114X. U.S. Patent Office 5. Mercer, Ancient Carpenters Tools, p. 189, Figure 168 6. Thomas Martin, The Circle of the Mechanical Arts, (London, 1813) 7. Peter C. Welsh, Woodworking Tools, 1600-1900, p. 204, Figure 34. 8. Mercer, Ancient Carpenters Tools, p. 200, Figure 175. 9. Mss. Records of Thomas A. Stevens. 10. Mss. Records of Essex, Connecticut Historical Society. 11. U.S. Patent Office, Restored Patent No. 1114 X. 12. John Warner Barber, Connecticut Historical Collections, Fig. 6. An extant L'Hommedieu auger New Haven, 1838 6

Nomenclature and Variation of Parts of the Spiral Auger Bit

By Robert H. Carlson

The purpose of this article is to identify and describe the different types of Spiral Augers and their components. In effect, it sets up the "ground rules" for a future article on the development of the spiral auger, so that when the spur, the lip, the tang, etc., are mentioned, everyone will be talking about the same thing. We have used as primary sources for the nomenclature, patent specifications, catalogs, trade publications, and workman’s guides, believing that the men who invented, improved, made, sold, and used the tool are best qualified to name its parts. The drawing is mostly self-explanatory. The parts are somewhat exaggerated for clarity and, of course, few, if any, augers had such combinations of spurs as shown. There are two basic types of Spiral Augers and Bits: single-twist and double-twist, A single-twist has one channel up which the chips travel, and is formed from stock basically hemispherical or triangular in cross- section, Figure 1, a. A double-twist has two channels for chip removal, and is formed from stock basically rectangular in cross-section, Figure 1, b. The channel is called a pod by most patentees; a legacy from the early cylindrical pod augers. A single-twist almost invariably has a single thread lead screw, Figure 1, d; whereas a double-twist almost always has a double thread lead screw., Figure 1, c. When a double twist bit has a single thread lead screw, it is for the purpose of quick boring and use in end-grain, hard, green, or pitchy wood where the double-thread would clog and thus not draw the bit into the work. A single-twist is stronger and stiffer, although some dispute this -- usually manufacturers of double-twist augers. It is used for rapid boring, and in hard, wet, knotty, strong-grained woods, and, end-grain; but it does not make as clean a hole as a double-twist. The chips have least tendency to clog since they are forced to the center of the hole. These qualities made it popular with builders of ships, bridges, trestles, freight cars, etc., where deep and straight holes are required. Drawing Figure 1. One special kind of single-twist did not have either lead screw or spur. Called bare-foot, or bare-faced, it has less tendency to follow the grain and wander off line. A There is one important style of auger-bit which double-twist crowds the chips to the circumference of at first glance appears to be a third type, but actually is the hole, where they tend to jam between the wall and a variation of the single-twist. This is the solid-center or the bit, again some people, previously mentioned, straight-core bit, usually known today as the Irwin dispute this. However, it produces a clean and smooth Pattern, Figure 1,e, where the spiral web climbs a hole of very accurate diameter, and thus is popular with central shaft. This is the only type of single-twist bit that cabinet workers and furniture makers. can have either a double or a single cutter (Double The basic difference between a gimlet and an Cutter illustrated). (Note: single twist auger bits by Ford auger is size. A gimlet runs from 1/16 to 1/4 inch. An and Bailey/Ohio Tool have been found with both single auger gimlet runs from 1/4 to 1/2 inch. An auger runs and double cutters since this article was written. EB) from ½ to 4 inch. When an auger is made with a tang for use in a brace, it is called a bit or auger-bit. Naturally some overlapping occurs - brace bits run as small as 1/4 inch and as large as 1 1/2 inch

Figs. 816 and 817. - Single and double twist auger bits. In operation, the screw on the end of the bit draws the tool into the wood, making a heavy pressure unnecessary. The nibs make an incision on the wood below the cut made by the cutters which take the shavings out and into the twist, this in turn lifting them out of the hole. In the single twist auger the cuttings are thrown into the center of the hole and delivered more easily than with the double twist auger, which crowds the cuttings to the walls of the hole where they are likely to become jammed between the tool and the work. The single twist type is thus adapted to boring deep holes.

Figs. 812 to 815. - Bit and auger heads. Fig. 812, single cutter, extension lip, course screw. Recommended for general all around boring; rapid, clean cutting and very easy boring. Particularly adapted for difficult boring in wet, green, very hard or knotty wood and boring with the grain. Fig. 813, double cutter, extension lip, fine screw. Recommended for furniture and cabinet work, or wherever a particularly smooth hole is essential; bores easily and clears readily. Fig. 814, ship head with single cutter and coarse screw. Note absence of lip. Recommended for deep boring or in woods with strong grain. Especially adapted for boring plug holes in making riveted copper fastened joints in fine boat construction (see page 56). Will stand many sharpenings does not bore as smooth a hole as types with spur. Fig. 815, ship head single cutter without either screw or lip, sometimes called "barefoot." Especially recommended for deep boring in wet pitchy woods or when particularly straight boring is essential, as in boring shaft og of boat for propeller shaft. Having no screw it has little tendency to follow or drift with the grain of the wood.

Fig. 820. - Straight core bit. This style is suitable for boring hard woods.

Fig. 821. - Ring auger, for heavy work, principally on hard woods. Augers of this type are adapted for heavy timbers, and for large, deep boring. In using, a handle, preferably of hard wood, is inserted in the ring for turning the auger. In this way a tremendous leverage is obtained. These augers, so far as the worm and twist are concerned, are similar in design to the nut augers and to the boring machine augers.

Figs. 822 to 823. - Nut auger and handle for boring where greater dimensions or depths are required than can be secured with ordinary bits. They are used with wooden handles, giving the operator both hands for controlling the tool. In mill or bridge work in boring heavy timbers, they are especially valuable. They are constructed with side lips, but without spurs, which make them bore easily, and give them lasting qualities.

TYPICAL PROCESS OF MAKING A DOUBLE TWIST AUGER By Robert H. Carlson

By 1875, the methods of producing the typical Spiral Auger Connecticut Valley Manufacturing Company, Centerbrook, and Auger Bit were fairly well standardized. The auger had Connecticut, who spent fifty-two years in the business, and, evolved from a seemingly crude, but none the less, effective who also remembers the factory he knew as a boy in the late boring tool, almost completely handmade by local 1800's. blacksmiths operating under one roof (the factory), to a sophisticated machine made instrument. Nevertheless, many of the operations depended on, and still do, the personal skill and knowledge of the individual workman. Many complicated dies and processes had been patented by this time; most of them by Connecticut manufacturers who were the pioneers and leaders in the auger bit business throughout the world. The process, typified by the early Collins Axe Company, of the same workman carrying the tool from the cast steel billet through to the finished article, was now superseded by the forerunner of our modern production line, where each worker is a specialist.

Figure 2. Bradley Helve Hammer

The raw materials for a typical 14/16 inch bit was a piece of hot-rolled cast steel 1/4 by 7/8 by 5 1/2 inches, Figure 1, a. It was cut from mill lengths of 18 inches on a Bradley Helve Hammer, Figure 2. This blank was heated in a forge fire, which had been started with charcoal and then was fed chestnut coal, the size favored by the Hammerman. The forges were under forced draft, without a hood or stovepipe; consequently at the start of the work day, the forge room was dense with smoke and full of sparks, creating a tenfold version of Longfellow's Village Blacksmith, "And children coming home from school / Look in at the open door / They love to see the flaming forge / And hear the bellows roar / And catch the burning sparks that fly / Like chaff from the threshing floor." But by the time the Hammerman had oiled the bearings on his Bradley Hammer, set out his tongs, and adjusted his iron seat, from a discarded mowing machine, suspended by chain from the rafters, the atmosphere had cleared somewhat because of the open doors and the vented cupola on the roof, and the blanks in the forge were a good cherry-red. Figure 1. Steps in making a Double twist Auger, a - Blank, The first operation was the forging of the round b - Roughing, c - Plating, d - Rough Heading, e - Twisting, shank, leaving a long section for the twist, and a short f - Final Heading section for the tapered tang, which was formed in the same heat, and stamped with the size in sixteenths. This was done Obviously, there were many variations on the norm to eliminate any possible future errors as the various sized here described. Each manufacturer had secret or patented bits went through subsequent operations. Remember, these processes that he jealously and zealously guarded from his bits were calibrated in sixteenths; and in the rough form, it competitors; which he mentioned in glowing, but carefully would only be too easy to misjudge size. At this point, the bit vague, terms in his advertising. Thus, his bit was always "the had the form of Figure 1, b, and had been stretched to 9 1/2 best," as one catalog put it, "No chocking, no breaking," "No inches. Next, the Plating Dies were set, and the swearing, no tearing," A bit without bending," "A joy without Hammerman, on the next heat, trimmed and drew out the ending." (1) Nevertheless, there was a basic method. The Flat, which became the twist, to the shape shown in Figure 1, one we describe is based on information supplied by Martin c. The reason for this shape is to make the finished bit wider W. Wright, Jr., retired President 1956-1961) of the in the center, and thus stronger and stiffer. 10

If this description of the process seems long, the efficiency necessary to cut two threads, one "inside" the other, so that and speed of a good, experienced Hammerman seems short, the bit would balance and draw evenly into the wood. The he could and did produce some 600 bits a day. [Besides business end of the bit was "rough filed," and the whole bit using his 80 pound hammer to crack his lunch egg with a carefully heat-treated and tempered, another process that whisker blow at noon!] required long experience and care control. Finally the bit was The next operation was Heading, where the polished, four runs, using as many different grades of "business end" of the bit was cold drop forged to shape the abrasives, and "fine filed" by hand. In the shipping room, center screw and spurs, Figure 1, d. each bit was inspected and hand stamped by a member of The trickiest operation, where the personal skill of the Wright family, a point of pride, as well as very effective the worker was most important, was forming the spiral. This advertising, oiled, wrapped, and packaged. was a hand operation, and required great accuracy in relating So, will you believe that in 1900 a set of these bits, the heat of the steel, the size of the bit, the speed of the thirteen bits, from 1/4 to 1 inch, by sixteenths, packed in a rotation, and other factors less definable, in order to come up three section wooden box with a groove for each bit, retailed for $3.00! (4) with a true and clean spiral. At Convalco, they used a sort of lathe, with a fixed tail stock, that had a broached slot to References receive the rectangular end of the bit, while the head stock 1. Irwin Bit Company, Catalog 1904. was a hand crank, similar to one on a grindstone, with a 2. Connecticut Valley Manufacturing Company square hole to receive the tapered tang. The worker quickly Catalogs, and, personal information from Martin W. grasped a properly heated bit from the forge with special Wright, Jr. tongs, placed it between centers, and twisted it to a 45 3. Personal information from workers at the Russell Jennings Manufacturing Company. degree spiral. In some factories, the process was reversed, 4. Montgomery Ward Catalogue, 1895; et. al. i.e., in that the head stock of the lathe was powered, and received the head of the bit, while the workman held the tang stationary.(2) In either case, it took a lot of skill and experience, Figure 1 e. In spite of the skill of the Twister, the spiral was never quite perfect. The imperfections were corrected in a Forming Die, which can best be described by comparing it to the interlocking knuckles of your right and left hands, which crimped the irregular twist into a perfect spiral. Again, the bit was heated, then placed vertically in a Heading Press, to reform the rough shape of the Floor Lips, the Spurs, and the Center Screw, Figure 1, f. After all this torture to the original cast steel blank, it was once more heated, and then annealed slowly in a bed of lime and bone meal for two or three days, then pickled in sulphuric acid and descaled. Even now, the bit was not absolutely straight. Again, the sensitive touch of the human hand and the accuracy of the human eye came into play, it was straightened by eye and hand on a level anvil with a hammer. Up to this point, nearly all the work had been "blacksmithing" operations; forging, upset, shaping, etc., very little stock had been removed from the original blank. In fact, Mr. Wright pointed out that this was one of the "bonuses" of bit-making, that there was almost no waste by machining of the raw steel stock that came into the plant. But now a few shavings and some steel dust were removed. The bit went into the Fitting Room, where it was turned to a diameter 1/64 inch larger than the final size, this allowed for the final grinding and polishing that would bring it to exact size. The bit was not turned with parallel sides. The diameter at the cutting end was left about 1/32 inch larger than the diameter at the shank end. This slight taper served to eliminate binding and facilitate chip removal. The center point and spurs were trimmed, and the cutting edges of the floor lips were formed on a rasping machine. The next operation was another tricky one, cutting the threads on the center lead screw. This was especially difficult on a Double-Twist Bit, where it was 11

AUGER and AUGER BIT MAKERS

This list has been compiled from many sources, various collections, historical records, trade publication, etc.

For each maker, we have given the source or reference for the information, in many cases, the documentation is multiple – i.e., the auger may exist in one or several collections, and the maker may be mentioned in historical or patent records, advertisements, etc. Rather than listing such multiple references, we give the primary source, and indicate by the “et al.” that further records exist.

In regard to dates, all tool collectors know this is a very hazy and sticky problem. Whenever possible, we give reasonably accurate dates for the period that the maker was in operation. Sometimes, we only know that he was in operation in a certain year (from an advertisement or patent date, for instance), and give that one date. Of course, many of the dates are “circa” and subject to revision. One thing we have not done, and that is to guess at or attempt to estimate the date by the workmanship, (such as crude blacksmithing as compared to finer machinery, or even more chancy, by the crudity or elegance of the handle.) For example, Ezra L’Hommedieu’s patent drawing of 1809, shows a very nicely turned handle, but many augers made after 1875, have rough billets or even branches serving for handles. The reason, of course, is that the extreme torque applied kept breaking handles and even twisting the shank.

INFORMATION SOURCES:

Collection Advertisement Patent Records Historical Records Connecticut Directories of Manufacturers and Trades Catalog

Note: This section was comprised of an original list and two updated lists. The three lists were combined and moved into a separate PDF file so that members may contribute updated material.

FROM "THE DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, AND

MANUFACTURERS", James Smith - 1854

Boring Tools

The largest of the boring tools for wood, is the auger. The oldest construction of the auger, which is in common use, in various parts of the country, cannot be wrought till a small excavation has been made, which is mostly done with a gouge, at the place where the hole is to be; and till the auger arrives at a considerable depth, the motion of it is very unsteady. This old auger is shaped like a gimlet, except at the point, which is like that of a nose-bit. An improved construction of the auger, by Phineas Cooke, appeared to possess so much merit, that the Society for the Encouragment of Arts presented thirty guineas to the inventor. This is called the spiral auger, for it consisted of a rectangular bar of steel, twisted in the shape of a bottle-screw, terminating in a short taper screw, with a double worm like gimblet. The upper part, like that of the common auger, is formed into a large ring, in which a handle is inserted, at right angles to the length of the auger. That part of the screw adjoining the spiral, presents an edge which cuts the wood. This auger is not very commonly used, but it pierces the wood much truer than the common one; no picking is necessary before it can be wrought, nor does it require to be drawn out to discharge the chip. It is, however, better adapted to the boring of soft wood than hard. Its use being on this account more limited than workmen like, besides its being not cheap in its first purchase, and if not made of good metal and very carefully tempered, easily changing its form, it will probably not regain the character it once acquired. The latest construction of the auger has been found to answer so well, that it will probably ere long, nearly supersede the use of the spiral and common auger. Like the spiral one it terminates with a gimblet-screw, which draws it down into the wood, while the workman turns it round and presses upon it; and another peculiar advantage of which is, that its point can be set precisely upon the centre marked for the perforation, the proper direction of which there is then a good chance of preserving, while the broad-ended auger is apt to deviate considerably at its very commencement. Immediately above the spiral screw, it is, for a short length, rather of a prismoidal shape, tapering a little upwards, like the socket chisel below the conical part. The prismoidal part has one cutting edge which cuts the sides of the hole, and another which cuts the bottom. The core rises as the act of boring goes on in the form of a spiral shaving. Above the prismoidal part, the shaft may be of any shape at pleasure, that possesses sufficient strength, taking the obvious precaution of making its diameter less than that of the bore. The general disadvantage of augers with gimblet points, is, that when they encounter knots or hard places in the wood, they are apt to break.

Every one who makes use of an auger in the usual way by hand, knows by experience that he never can so completely exert his strength in this operation, as when he bores down perpendicularly, with his body leaning over his work; and it is very evident that by every degree of the augers elevation from this situation, his power is of less effect, consequently his labour is increased, and his work so much retarded, that in the former position he can bore four holes for one in the latter. In hand boring, also, the unsteady and irregular motion of the auger, (particularly when the common old-shaped one is used,) at its first entrance into the wood, occasions the hole to be bored very crooked, often larger without than within, and very wide of the direction aimed at, especially if the wood proves hard and knotty, and the holes are deep. Regarding the prevention of these disadvantages as a matter of considerable consequence to ship-builders, and a variety of other artists, the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. presented the sum of fifty pounds to William Bailey, for his invention of a machine for boring auger-holes, by the use of which the force of the workman, and consequently the dispatch of his operations, are equally exerted in all directions. It is unavoidable also, in the usual way of boring, for the action of the auger to be discontinued twice in every revolution; but with the machine the motion is continued with equal force and velocity, till the auger has bored to the depth required. A description of this machine, illustrated by a plate, may be seen in Bailey's Advancement of Arts; our limits will not allow us the further notice of it here, but the fact of such a contrivance having been executed, being mentioned, the ingenious mechanic will not perhaps find it very difficult to contrive one for himself.

The contrivance for boring next entitled to notice, is the stock, which is in effect a crank, not unlike the hand-drill, and frequently made of iron, though generally of wood, defended by brass, at the parts most subject to wear. Where the crank terminates two short limbs project from it, in a line with each other, and parallel with that part of it by which it revolved. In the end of one of these limbs, which is called a pad, the piece of steel by which the boring is performed, is inserted; the other limb is connected with a broad head, rather convex externally, which head is placed against the breast, and is stationary while all the other parts are revolved.

The piece of steel inserted in the stock is called the bit; as it can readily be taken out or put in, the same stock serves for bits of all sizes. They are differently shaped, according to their use.

The gouge-bit is best adapted for boring small holes in soft wood; it is shaped nearly like a spoon at the extremity; the basil is made in the inside, and the sides are brought to a cutting edge, like those of a gimblet. The centre-bit has a small conical point projecting from the lower end; this point entering the wood first, keeps the tooth of the bit from wandering out of its proper course, and the hole is bored straight with great ease. The taper shell-bit is used for widening holes; it differs from the gouge-bit chiefly in tapering gradually from the pad to the lower extremity.

The bit for widening the upper prt of a hole, to adapt the head of a screw, is called a countersink. The head of the countersink is conical, and the cutting edge is single when made for wood alone, and stands out a little from the side of the cone. Joiners and cabinet-makers, however, are generally provided with countersinks for brass, and these, which have ten or a dozen teeth on the surface running slantwise from the base up to the sides of the cone, they frequently make use of for wood, especially when it is hard, and they are anxious to avoid tearing it; for the teeth of the brass countersink act like those of a file.

The gimblet is a boring implement too well known to require any explanation of its construction; but with respect to its management, it may not be wholly useless to remind novices, that, like other boring tools of a similar conformation, it requires to be withdrawn to remove the core as often as the cup or groove is filled, and this will be sooner or later, not only in proportion to the depth penetrated, but to the density of the wood. Indeed, in boring such woods as lignum-vitae, which clogs the tool, it is advisable to withdraw the gimblet, to clear away the core, before the cup is full. The auger gives warning of the time to stop, by the difficulty of turning it, when surcharged with shavings, and is too strong a tool to be in danger of being twisted; but the smallness of the gimblet renders it liable to be twisted and broken before the workman is aware, if not often enough withdrawn and emptied.

Gimblets which are broken-pointed, or blunted on the arris of the screw, are generally thrown aside, it being tedious, and laborious also when they are large, to work with them in such a state; but we may observe, that through the grindstone cannot be employed to sharpen the worm, a file may, so that a few minutes' labour will render them fit for use again.

The smallest sort of boring tool is a kind of bodkin, called the brad-awl, or sprig- bit, as it is chiefly used in making the perforation to admit those small slender nails, which have no head except a trifling projection one side, and are called brads in some parts of the country, and sprigs in other parts. The sprig-bit is generally made with a shoulder where the tang terminates; below the shoulder it is cylindrical, to within a short distance of the extremity, which is flattened, and thereby made rather broader than

the diameter of the cylindrical part; but so thin at the same time towards the end, as to form an edge. Unlike other boring tools, the sprig-bit takes away no part of the substance of the wood, nor is it turned entirely round in making a hole, but merely wrought backwards and forwards about half round before the motion is reversed.

E. L'Hommedieu,

Wood Auger

Patented July 17, 1816

X2642

PRECIS OF

EZRA L"HOMMEDIEU'S PATENT OF THE SINGLE TWIST AUGER - 1816

..... a description in the words of the said Ezra L'Hommedieu himself of his improvement in the screw auger called the single twist auger.

This auger has but one lip that cuts the timber, plank, etc., and but one twist or spiral thread and but one spiral cavity and may be used with or without a screw or worm at the cutting end. The common twist auger has two lips, two spiral threads and cavities and a screw at he cutting end. The advantages of the single twist Auger are that the cavity for the chips is larger than in the common twist auger and the form of it is such that the chips pass more freely and are not crowded together as in the common twist and pod augers. As soon as the chip is cut it runs up through the spiral cavity of the twist with the natural turns of the auger, and the auger never needs taking out to clear out the chips until after the whole spiral cavity is below the surface of the timber., and the longer the twist of the auger or spiral cavity the deeper it may be bored without clearing. This auger will turn as easy at the depth of two feet (if the twist be so long) as when first entering the surface of the wood. The chips pass up single and freely without crowding or wedging one another as in the common twist or pod auger. In the common twist auger the chips crowd one against another and rise up with difficulty and therefore the auger needs taking out to clear often and turns hard when partially filled with chips. This auger may be used after the screw or worm is worn out or broke off; the twist may be made of any indefinite length and the shaft and handle may be made like common augers.