Leonard D. Howard received an 1867 patent for a sliding T-bevel that he manufactured himself for a time. That design was apparently sold to the Star Tool Co. of Connecticut. Howard also received an 1871 patent for a sliding T-bevel.
In 1876 he patented a tablesaw specialized for cutting miters. He manufactured his miter-cutting tablesaws but we have no information on when. He also received other patents over the years, for a shutter-fastener, a box-opening tool, and a clothes-drier.
We have seen Howard patent sliding table saws that were made by Hooker Manufacturing Co., Dupont Mfg. Co. and E. & T. Fairbanks & Co., all St. Johnsbury businesses. Presumably one of these companies acquired the rights to the saw and subsequently passed those rights to the other one.
We have seen a power hammer made by E. & T. Fairbanks & Co. bearing a couple of patent dates, one of which seems to correspond to a patent granted to L. D. Howard.
Information Sources
- An iron-frame 14" tablesaw from this maker is listed in the inventory of Ben Thresher's mill in Barnet Center, VT. The saw is believed to predate 1894, when it first appears in the records of the building.
- Correspondent Roland Kuenn reports that the Ben Thresher mill has a trip hammer that is not labeled but is believed to have been made by L. D. Howard.
- Correspondent Robert Bernstein pointed out the Howard-Hooker connection to us.