EARLY AMERICAN INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION

By Lara B. Miller In an upcoming interview for The Chronicle, which will be published in the coming weeks, famed woodworker, author, educator, and EAIA member Roy Underhill (from PBS’ long-running show, The Woodwright) tells us about one of his favorite tools: the passer drill. He says, “…the one with the best story (and EAIA connections) is a passer drill, complete with bow, breast plate and templates from the old Marples tool factory in Sheffield. I only knew pa

The East India Marine Hall By Lara Miller I recently visited Salem, Massachusetts, and the newly-renovated East India Marine Hall at the Peabody Essex Museum. The East India Marine Hall is celebrating its 200th year, having been established by the East India Marine Society. This society was founded in Salem in 1799 by a group of seafarers, all of whom had “navigate

The 2026 Annual Conference will take place May 27-30, in Burlington, Vermont. We will have museum visits, demonstrations, tool sales, displays of members work and lots of fun.

by Lara Miller 11/10/1952 When we think of what might be found in sunken pirate ships, most of us likely think of gold, jewels, rum, and other riches. We wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but in the case of the Whydah Gally , tools of the historic trades are among the treasures. I recently visited the Real Pirates Museum in Salem, Massachusetts—the sister museum to the Whydah Pirate Museum in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts. These museums are dedicated to the found shipwreck of the

Bob Roemer 11/7/2025 Great or “walking” wheels are one of the earliest forms of spinning wheel, dating back to the 14 th Century in Britain and used extensively in the US during colonial times. They were generally augmented by the treadle wheel by the mid eighteenth century. Most great wheels today are antique unless built by commission. Consequently, it is important to preserve and restore them, particularly if they are to be used for spinning. The Challenge While settin

Jerry Davis 10/30/2025 October 29, 2025 In the early and mid-1800s stone furnaces built for smelting iron dotted the Kentucky landscape. The plentiful timber for charcoal, limestone for flux and low-grade iron deposits enabled entrepreneurs to produce much needed iron for settlers. Later, an iron industry developed making Kentucky the third largest iron producer in the United States. The Fitchburg Iron Furnace, built in 1868, was the largest stone furnace built in Kentucky a