In 1841, Page patented a circular sawmill. He aggressively litigated his patent, and was successful in claiming a broad scope. In 1856 he sued no less than 100 New York State sawmill owners and manufacturers. He lost his suit in District Court, but planned to take it to the Supreme Court; we are still waiting to be notified of the results.

The patent covered the use of a circular sawblade mounted on a shaft with end play, combined with the use of friction rollers near the blade's periphery that are used to guide the blade. The patent also covered the idea of making the mill portable by making the bed in two sections, and joining them with a rack. The first claim is the one that was infringed in at least two cases.

This firm operated from the  1840s until at least 1879, making sawmills, steam engines (ca 1843), and other ironwork.

Information sources

• Articles in 1856 and 1858 Scientific American.
• Brief ad in 1868 Scientific American.
• 1875 machinery register in the Hagley Library.
• Listed in the 1874 work, Wiley's American iron trade manual of the leading iron industries of the United States: "Steam engines, machinery, and iron foundry."
• Undated 19th century catalog of "patent portable steam engines, stationary steam engines and boilers, patent portable circular sawmills."
• 1879 catalog of 64 pages.
• Steam Power on the American Farm by Reynold M. Wik, 1953 page 251