compiled by John Walter, published by The Tool Merchant, 64 pages
Pocket-sized soft-cover guide to antique tools is a handy guide but also contains nice old cuts of each tool, great for reference if you need to tell a shingling hatchet from a tobacco hatchet, for instance. Includes some blacksmithing tools. $2 plus post.
The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel
Edited by Harold E. McGannon, 9th edition, 1971
Published by the United States Steel Corporation, this 1,420 page tome is the be-all and end-all of steel history, technology and metallurgy. Yes, it is older but I've never found a newer one. I purchased this book as a reference for editing blacksmithing articles, but it hasn't been used in a while and it seems like it would be of use to someone who is interested in toolmaking. Includes the entire and exhaustive history of ironmaking and development of the steel industry, through 52 chapters. Nothing short of amazing. It weighs a ton. $10 plus post.
Early Tools and Equipment
by Elmer Smith, 7th printing, 1983, 32 pages plus soft cover
Inventory of Early American tools of all trades, with great photos assembled in big double-page spreads. The tools are not individually identified. 13 different top anvil tools are shown plus different designs of buttresses, firing irons, etc. from someone's very nice collection of farrier tools. Tools from all crafts and farm life. Interesting stuff. $3 plus post.
A Museum of Early American Tools
by Eric Sloane
Softcover, 1975 edition, used, 110 pages
If you don't know who the author is...you are in for a treat. And if you do know him, you know that this is an important book, an inventory of tools rendered in realistic pen-and-ink drawings. You'll refer to this book again and again. $5 plus post.
TO PLACE YOUR ORDER:
tel USA 978 281 3222 fax 978 283 8775 e: booksale@hoofcare.com
