Welcome! 

Register :: Login
Manufacturers Index - Thomas Blanchard

Thomas Blanchard
Sutton, MA, Boston, MA, and New York, NY, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class: Wood Working Machinery

Patents
This page contains information on patents issued to this manufacturer.

Submitting Patent Information

If you find a patent number or patent date by this manufacturer that is not on this list, please contact the Site Historian.


Key to Links for Patent Information

USPTO = U.S. Patent Office . Images of the actual patent can be viewed on the U.S. Patent Office web site but a special TIFF viewer must be installed with your browser in order properly work. More information on how to configure your computer to view these patents can be found at TIFF image Viewers for Patent Images.
DATAMP = Directory of American Tool And Machinery Patents . A sister site to VintageMachinery.org with information on patents related to machinery and tools. A much easier user interface than the USPTO's for finding information on machinery patents.

Patent Number Date Title Name City Description
X3,131 Sep. 06, 1819 Machine for turning gun stocks Thomas Blanchard Millbury, MA This patent was withdrawn and reissued 1820-01-20, "by act of Congress." It is one of the most important woodworking-relating patents, and was a key innovation in the industrial revolution. It was extended by act of Congress on 1834-01-20 and again on 1848-01-20.
James L. Haven & Co. is listed as a manufacturer: "Blanchard's Patent Lathes for turning irregular forms" was listed as a product they made in an 1854 directory ad. Undoubtedly there were numerous other licensees of Blanchard's patent but as yet we have not identified any others. A search of old court records would likely turn up several names.
From the 1886 book, "Federal Decisions, Vol. XXV. Patents, Copyright and Trade-marks", this patent was involved in the following litigation. "Construed not to include the power for working the combination; the claims sustained, Blanchard Gun-stock Turning Co. v. Warner, 1 Blatch., 278. Reviewed, Blanchard v. Beers, 2 Blatch., 413. Construed, and renewal by congress void for error as to description and date in act of congress. Blanchard v. Sprague, 3 Sumn., 279. Construed; held not unconstitutional; infringed, Blanchard v. Sprague, 3 Sumn., 535. See, also, Blanchard v. Whitney, 3 Blatch., 307; v. Sprague, 2 Story, 164; v. Eldridge, 1 Wall. Jr., 337; Blanchard Gun-stock Turning Co. v. Jacobs, 2 Blatch., 69."
The above book also has the following information under the date of the patent issued 1820-01-20, which is the date of the act-of-Congress reissue. "Construed and held infringed, Blanchard v. Reeves, 1 Fish., 103. See, also, Blanchard v. Sprague, 3 Sumn., 535; 3 Sumn., 279; 2 Story, 164; v. Eldridge, 1 Wall. Jr., 337; v. Sprague, 1 Cliff., 288; v. Haynes, 6 West. L. J., 82; v. Beers, 2 Blatch., 413; Blanchard Gun-stock Turning Co. v. Jacobs, 2 Blatch., 69; Blanchard Gun-stock Turning Co. v. Warner, 1 Blatch., 278."
X4,300 Dec. 28, 1825 Regulating the speed of carriages Thomas Blanchard Springfield, MA
X8,347 Aug. 08, 1834 Circular sawmill Thomas Blanchard New York, NY "...a description in the words of the said Thomas Blanchard himself of his improvement in the saw mill, which he calls Blanchard's shifting circular saw mill." The log carriage moves longitudinally back and forth and does not move transversely, i.e., side to side. The blade and arbor are mounted in a frame that can be moved transversely so as to adjust the thickness of the board to be sawn. Although this idea turned out to be an evolutionary dead end, it was a clever way to simplify the design of the saw by decoupling the longitudinal and transverse adjustment movement mechanisms.
3 Aug. 01, 1836 Machine for turning, &c., wooden sheaves and pins for ships' tackle blocks and pulleys Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
4 Aug. 10, 1836 Stock shaving or rounding machine for edges, ends, &c., of ships' tackleblocks Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
5 Aug. 10, 1836 Machine for mortising solid wooden shells of ships' tackle-blocks Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
6 Aug. 10, 1836 Machine for forming end pieces of plane blocks for ships, &c. Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
7 Aug. 10, 1836 Machine for boring holes and cutting lanyard-scores in deadeyes Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
8 Aug. 10, 1836 Machine for cutting scores around ships' tackle-blocks and dead-eyes Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
9 Aug. 10, 1836 Method of riveting plank or made blocks Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
17 Aug. 31, 1836 Machine for cutting out sheaves and pins and boring sheaves of ships' tackle-blocks Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
18 Aug. 31, 1836 Machine for countersinking to receive bushes in the sheaves of ships' tackle-blocks Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
19 Aug. 31, 1836 Machine for forming the cheeks of plank or made ships' tackle-blocks Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
230 Jun. 14, 1837 Making a batting or web for hat-bodies Thomas Blanchard New York, NY
3,008 Mar. 21, 1843 Machine for turning or cutting irregular forms Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA
6,951 Dec. 18, 1849 Bending wood Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA According to the 1873 "Subject-matter index of patents for inventions issued by the United States Patent Office", this patent was granted an extension. According to the 2004 book, "The Carriage Trade", by T. A. Kinney, "Though best remembered for his irregular turning lathe, Blanchard made far more money on this invention."
15,944 Oct. 21, 1856 Method of bending wood Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA
19,480 Mar. 02, 1858 Method of bending shovel-handles Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA
19,541 Mar. 09, 1858 Mill for reducing substances Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA
20,137 May. 04, 1858 Machine for bending wood Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA
RE853 Nov. 15, 1859 Improvement in bending wood Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA In "Alonzo V. Blanchard, John D. Blanchard, and Franklin Blanchard v. Antoine Puttman, Conrad Weaver, and John Bittinger", the assignees of this Blanchard patent sued the users of a machine patented by John C. Morris, 1,312 and licensed to these defendants. The judge and jury ruled that Blanchard's patent covered a combination of parts composing a wood-bending machine, that Morris' patent design does not infringe on Blanchard's design, and therefore the verdict was for the defendants.
34,193 Jan. 21, 1862 Improved scoop-shovel Thomas Blanchard Boston, MA