Item B21 - Millers Falls No. 5 Rosewood Tool Handle.
Millers Falls produced the No. 5 tool handle fairly early on, but by the
early 1900s it had been dropped from the catalog. This was the largest of the
tool handles, being 7 ½ inches. According to the 1887 catalog, it was made with
a rosewood or cocobolo body and a lignum vitae cap. The example here is of that
construction. The knurled chuck shell on this tool handle was fairly elongate.
This one is marked with the Millers Falls name, and carries the patent date of
Jan. 14, 1868. This patent was for Charles Amidon’s improvement to the jaws of
the Barber chuck. The jaws and chuck design in this tool handle (and a few
others that I’ve seen) does not seem to fit Amidon’s described patent. The jaws
are short, there are studs in the sides of the jaws that fit into a V-shaped
cutout in the threaded portion of the chuck, and there is a hairspring that hold
the jaws open at the back of the jaws (which are not pinned together). This
same chuck was also used on the small sweep “Piano maker’s braces” Nos. 16 and
16, made by Millers Falls. Perhaps, because the brace design may never have
been patented, Amidon’s patent date was applied to protect the chuck from
copiers. This tool handle is in great condition, its only apology is that only
4 of the original 8 tools are found in the storage compartment. Good+
Price - $45.00
RETURN to forsale list.