Palmer D. Weeks sold woodworking machinery out of the ground floor of one of the prominent buildings in the oldest part of Portland's downtown featuring a cast iron facade at 401 S.W. 1st Ave. starting in 1943.
6/13/1943, The Oregonian, p.2
Old Bank corner Leased by Agent
A long-term lease on the ground floor of the former Ladd
and Tilton Bank building on the southwest corner of S.W.
1st avenue and Stark street has been taken by Palmer D.
Weeks, manufacturers' agent. [...]
Weeks specializes in machine tool equipment and is
arranging a large display area in the building, as well as a
shop space for repairing and servicing machine tools.
From Fall of 1946 to Fall of 1948 Weeks sold machines labeled under the Barton name. The first of these was a 6" jointer (first ad appeared 8/11/1946) for $125. A 10" bench lathe (as of 1/16/1947) and a 13" surface planer (as of 8/5/1947) for $275 were added. In October of that year the ads began featuring three jointers: 4", 6", and 8" out of either cast iron or aluminum. On 11/19/1947 an 18" [19"] planer was added to the lineup. On 3/28/1948 a [24" or] 25" surface planer was added. The last ads for woodworking machinery run on 7/24/1948 in The Oregonian.
Other machinery dealers (briefly) sold Barton jointers as well:
The Portland Machinery Co. 208 SW 1st Ave. AT 6555 [09/22/46 - 06/20/48]
Star Machinery Company 801 SW Front Ave. Atwater 7395 [10/13/46 - 12/29/46]
Barbo* Machinery Co. 201 SW First Ave. AT 9801 [12/02/46 - 12/03/46]
A second phase of Palmer Weeks' woodworking machinery sales is associated with a Richmond, Virginia address:
According to (undated) sales literature for the Barton four-head planer, the company was now Palmer D. Weeks Inc. Manufacturers of Barton Woodworking Machineryand the address was 5402-1/2 Lakeside Ave. Richmond, VA.
The four-head version of Barton's 13" planer was apparently referred to as a 'Universal' planer. The incomplete quote below, discovered via Google Books appeared in three different publications (note the dates),
American Builder Vol. 71 (1950), p. 66, and
The Wood-Worker Vol. 69 (1950), p. 71
American Lumberman (1951), p. 62:
"Barton
Universal planer with four heads is now in production and ready for
immediate shipment. It can be used for finishing 2/4's and 2/6's on all
four sides in one operation. It is recommended for small mills and
lumber yards desiring to...."
A conversation with Palmer Barton Weeks, Sr. revealed a few details.
The Barton name was given both to Palmer Weeks' son and to the line of woodworking machinery. Palmer Weeks' widow did not keep records of the business after his death in (the mid-fifties?).
An investigation into the foundries that might have made the castings for these machines turned up more information. Bend Iron Works, a large foundry, pattern, machine and repair shop founded in 1916 manufactured jointers (and we suspect planers) for Palmer D. Weeks in the late forties.
The connection to Palmer D. Weeks is explained in the October 17, 1946 issue of the Bend Bulletin:
Iron Works due for Expansion
Construction of a 36 by 100 foot addition to the Bend Iron
Works on Scott street
to increase the capacity of the plant was announced today.
The firm plans to expand in the machinery manufacturing
business and one order already placed calls for 1,200 jointers made of
aluminum. Sawmill machinery is to make up a large part of the output of the
expanded plant.
The new addition will house a machine shop in which
finishing of the jointer and other machinery will be done. The new structure
being built of concrete blocks by R.P. Syverson, Bend contractor, adjoins the large brick
building of the iron works on the Scott
street side.
Son Joins Firm
The firm, which has been operating in Bend since April 1, 1916, is owned by Charles
J. Dugan and his son, Charles, both of whom are active in the management and
operation of the business. A large part of the company’s business since it was
started has been with sawmill machinery, although it has served much of the
midstate area with all types of foundry and metal work.
At the present time a payroll of 20 persons is maintained
and at least six more will be required in the new addition.
The contract for production of jointers is with Palmer
Weeks, of Portland, and sales and orders for the
machine have moved far ahead of production, which has been contracted with
other firms as well as in Bend.
There is also an unresolved link to Jaro Industries out of Memphis.
The Jaro jointer is nearly identical but for a narrowing of the underside of the rabbeting ledge at it extends past the cutterhead.
http://www.vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=2913
Information Sources
- digital archives of The Oregonian newspaper (Portland, OR).
- digital archives of the Bend Bulletin (Bend, OR).
- Correspondence with curators of the Des Chutes Historical Museum
- Google book searches.
- Telephone conversations with Palmer D. Weeks' son Palmer Barton Weeks Sr. (4/1/2011)
- A Palmer D. Weeks of New York, NY, also received a 1922 patent for a clothes hanger.
- Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 30, 1950, Pg. 40.