W. F. & John Barnes Co. Factory, ca 1922

W. F. & John Barnes Co. was established 1869, made a formal partnership between William F. Barnes and John Barnes in 1872, and incorporated in 1884. This company was an early manufacturer of pedal-powered equipment, especially scrollsaws; by 1881 they were also making powered machinery. There were many companies making lightweight foot-powered equipment, but Barnes and the Seneca Falls Co. were the only ones to also make professional-grade machines.

Ad from May 1889 issue of The Wood-Worker

By 1937 their focus had completely shifted to automotive assembly machinery, and their production of foot-powered machinery had ceased. In the intervening years they have got out of manufacturing completely. After a series of ownership changes, their parts and paper were purchased in 1998 by LeBlond Ltd. of Amelia, OH.

Barnes Resources

• History of the W.F. and John Barnes Company—reprint of a newspaper article dated 1955.
• W. F. & John Barnes Company Woodworking Machinery—a very detailed history and type study of woodworking machinery made by Barnes. Reprinted from the summer, 1996 edition of the Early American Industries Association (EAIA) Chronicle.
• W.F. & John Barnes Hand-Crank Ripsaw—Nice article on a machine owned by Ralph Brendler. The original article is no longer on the web, but we have linked to a copy of the article from archive.org/.
• More information related to this maker is available in the Wiki, which as of this writing only includes the above-linked 1955 history article.

Information Sources

• From the December 1881 issue of Manufacturer & Builder: "W. F. & John Barnes, of Rockford, Ill., have commenced the manufacture of power lathes, in addition to that of foot lathes."
• From The Railroad, Telegraph, and Steamship Builders' Directory, 1888: a listing under wood-working machinery for "Barnes Co. W. F. & Jon, Rockford, Ill. (*49)"
• An ad in a 1915 issue of "Carpenter and Builder" features their No. 7 treadle-powered scrollsaw.
• A listing of pamphlets from woodworking machinery makers in the June 1926 issue of Building Age and National Builder includes an entry for W. F. & John Barnes Co.: Barnes Catalog. 38 pp. Illus. Covers line of saws, etc. / Barnes Motor Driven and Foot Power Woodworking Machines. Booklet. 14 pp. Illus. Takes up various types."
• American Foot Power and Hand Power Machineryby Kenneth L. Cope, 2001 page 15.
• 2003 book, Rockford-1900-World War I, by Eric A. Johnson, page 47, photo caption.

  W. F. and John Barnes Co., 301-11 South Water Street, 1913.. Expatriate New York brotherw William Fletcher, B. Frank and John Barnes joined foces in 1872 to create Rockford's W. F. & John Barnes Co., a manufacturer of drills and lathes for iron- and wood-working. This sprawling riverfront factory (1889-1967) was designed by prominent Rockford architect William R. Keyt. Barnes would spawn three offshoots (B. Frank) Barnes Drill Co. in 1907, John S. Barnes Co. in 1929, and Metal Cutting Tools Inc. in 1941. Later specializing in the manufacture of cutting and machine tools, Barnes was sold to New York-based Babcock & Wilcox Co. in 1963 and Michigan's Acme Precision Products, Inc. in 1982. Barnes' 500-employee Rockford operations were closed in a 1983 consolidation with Acme's Rochester, Michigan operations.