With the August 1985 issue, Cutting Tool Engineering launched a decade-long series of articles titled, "History of Tools." The first installment, which you can download and read by clicking here, began as the ultimate Throwback Thursday endeavor: urging readers with their eyes on the future to recall the machine tool industry's humble beginnings. So, yeah, The Stone Age.
Though written by the CTE editorial staff at the time, the series relied on the research of Leighton Wilkie, an inventor, author and founder of the DoAll Sawing Products company. Wilkie, who invented and manufactured the first metal cutting band saw in 1933, established a non-profit organization—the Wilkie Brothers Foundation—in 1953. Through that foundation, he supported anthropological expeditions and sponsored various educational exhibits, including one for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago titled, "Civilization Through Tools."
In 1985, CTE sought and received permission from the Wilkie Brothers Foundation to adapt much of Leighton Wilkie's research for the "Civilization Through Tools" exhibit into articles for the History of Tools series.
The one-page article set the context for the series: "As we prepare for the 21st Century, space shuttles to the moon and beyond are no longer something out of Buck Rogers comics, but are everyday realities. Sophisticated machines are producing a comfortable existence that was only dreamed of just a few decades ago, but today they are taken for granted. However, to have achieved this millenium, we had to start from a very basic existence."
Click on the following covers or links to read the first four installments of the History of Tools series, which covers the evolution of tools from The Stone Age to the Industrial Revolution.
Related Glossary Terms
- bandsaw blade ( band)
bandsaw blade ( band)
Endless band, normally with serrated teeth, that serves as the cutting tool for cutoff or contour band machines.
- sawing
sawing
Machining operation in which a powered machine, usually equipped with a blade having milled or ground teeth, is used to part material (cutoff) or give it a new shape (contour bandsawing, band machining). Four basic types of sawing operations are: hacksawing (power or manual operation in which the blade moves back and forth through the work, cutting on one of the strokes); cold or circular sawing (a rotating, circular, toothed blade parts the material much as a workshop table saw or radial-arm saw cuts wood); bandsawing (a flexible, toothed blade rides on wheels under tension and is guided through the work); and abrasive sawing (abrasive points attached to a fiber or metal backing part stock, could be considered a grinding operation).
- sawing machine ( saw)
sawing machine ( saw)
Machine designed to use a serrated-tooth blade to cut metal or other material. Comes in a wide variety of styles but takes one of four basic forms: hacksaw (a simple, rugged machine that uses a reciprocating motion to part metal or other material); cold or circular saw (powers a circular blade that cuts structural materials); bandsaw (runs an endless band; the two basic types are cutoff and contour band machines, which cut intricate contours and shapes); and abrasive cutoff saw (similar in appearance to the cold saw, but uses an abrasive disc that rotates at high speeds rather than a blade with serrated teeth).
Author
Dennis, who served as electronic media editor at Cutting Tool Engineering from January 2007 through May 2018, is now the owner and publisher of the magazine and CTE Publications Inc. Dennis holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northern Illinois University, and has more than 40 years of media experience.
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