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By Nick Engler
Pages: 53-60
From the October 2004 issue #143
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Few tools have revolutionized a craft as much as table saws have changed woodworking. These saws saved tedious hand work and – beyond making single pieces – made it possible to precisely reproduce parts quickly and accurately. This affected how furniture and other woodenware was built and transformed woodworking design.
The table saw first appeared in about 1800, although historians disagree on who invented it. Some credit a German craftsman, Gervinus; others think it was developed simultaneously by several different people in Europe and the United States. The story I find most interesting was told to me by the late Brother Theodore (Ted) Johnson, a Shaker scholar and member of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community in Maine.
From the October 2004 issue #143
Buy this issue now
