In 1831 Hobbs patented a shingle and clapboard machine. Apparently three other men originally co-owned the rights to the invention, but only one month after the patent was issued, Hobbs bought the patent rights from them. This suggests that Hobbs was probably manufacturing the machine himself. In 1836 he received another patent for a shingle machine
Hobbs's 1831 patent was lost in the 1836 patent-office fire and was not restored. The 1836 patent design uses a circular saw and a sliding carriage to hold the log.
Information Sources
- According to a research paper from Old Sturbridge Village, the Maine Historical Society has in its collection the bill of sale of Cyrus Cummings of Cumberland, Joshua M. Rideout and George W. King of Portland to Jonathan Hobbs of Falmouth, their rights in Hobbs' invention of machine for sawing clapboards and shingles, September 18, 1832.
- A patent search revealed only the two patents already mentioned.