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

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

Bob Roemer 10/26/2025 Jennifer at the forge before a rapt audience EAIA held the 2025 regional meeting at the reconstructed Moses Wilder Blacksmith shop in Bolton, Massachusetts on October 11 th . The Shop, the original of which was moved to Old Sturbridge Village in 1957, was rebuilt in the early 2000’s as an exact reconstruction on the original foundation. The purpose of the EAIA regional meeting was to develop interest in early American crafts and tools through witnes

John H. Verrill October 4, 2025 A cane made of gutta percha material was used in the attack on the anti-slavery Senator Charles Sumner of...

by John H. Verrill 8/24/2025 Recently Alan Sadler, an EAIA member, shared a book with me that he thought would be of interest to me...