Black Rust Friday while picking in an old woodworkers building I came across several pieces of old tools that I will share along the way here.

First up is a Millers Falls No.8100 Chalk Line.

Not as old as some of the pieces but it sold for 3.99 in 1979. This one appears to be in very good condition.

Seymour Chalk Line.

Chalk line made by the Seymour Products Company of Seymour,Connecticut.  The company may date back to 1878 when, as the Seymour Manufacturing Company, it made brass, copper wire for telephones and telegraphs, and German silver for table silverware.  The company is best remembered for its production of 30-round magazines for Thompson submachine guns during World War II:  over the course of the war it produced 12,375,608 of them, more than any other single manufacturer. After the war, they seem to have mostly made chalk lines.  Quite a comedown.

Evans No.Z50W Tape.

The Evans Rule Company was once the world's largest tape measure manufacturer, with facilities in North Charleston, South Carolina; Elizabeth, New Jersey and Montreal, Quebec.  Evans supplied most of the tape measures sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Their main facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey purchased in 1951, was the former home of the American Swiss File & Tool Company, which had been established in 1900 by Edward P. Reichhelm who had emigrated from Prussia, fought in the American civil war, and ultimate become a mechanical engineer.  He introduced the use of gas furnaces for annealing and hardening file steel.

In 1986 the L.S. Starrett Company bought Evans for between $20 and $30 million.   It became a division of Starrett, which cut costs by consolidating all of the Evans tape measure manufacturing in the Dominican Republic.  Evans is no longer offered as a brand by the parent company.

So just a bit of Hand Tool Throw Back today.

Go look in your tool box or drawer and see what you have that might be an older jewel. Doesn't have to be from the 1800's all the time.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying

No pictures but I can remember the Evans tape in my Dad's tools. I may have it but too cold to go out to the shop to look.

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Harry Brink
Bulldog Woodworking
Montana

John,

The Millers Falls chalk line is the same one branded with many different names.

I've got one somewhere that is identical with the Craftsman label. It was my dads, and is probably older than me. (1950's)

I've also got one that is identical, but the case is made of yellow plastic. It has a Stanley label on it.( circa year 2000 )

Makes me wonder who actually made them.

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

 

Cool stuff John.  I really like the Seymour.  Here are a picture of a vintage Stanley Miter Vise I bought for $20 about a year ago.  This thing swivels and tilts and is a really handy device when you need it. .

 

 

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks