From very roughly 1912 through 1920 J. Leukart Manufacturing Co. made a patented door mortiser. This type of mortiser clamps to a door and cuts a deep lock mortise. Such a device would not normally qualify for listing on the Old Woodworking Machines site, but the sheer complexity of Leukart's mortiser moves it out of the realm of tools and into machine territory.
The company was founded by Jacob Leukart. The company lasted until at least 1958; in later years it was known as J. Leukart Machine Co., Inc. The mortiser seems to have been relatively short-lived. In those later years the company made a vibratory compacter.
Information Sources
- The Leukart mortising machine has been seen in several for-sale listings.
- A patent search turned up a couple of patents, from 1958 and 1959, assigned to J. Leukart Machine Co., Inc., of Columbus, Ohio. The patents are for vibratory compacters.
- A genealogy page on Greenlawn Cemetery in Delaware, OH, lists a Jacob Leukart, born 1862-12-07 and died 1919-03-09. His father was Jacob F. Leukart.
- The Early American Industries Association's Directory of American Toolmakers lists "Champion-Eukart Manufacturing Co., of Columbus, OH", as the maker of a mortising machine. There is little doubt that that is a mangling of J. Leukart Manufacturing Co.