What is it? Set 279

I just sent an email to a museum that has a Stearns catalog, hopefully they'll be able to identify it for us.

Rob

Their 1924 catalog was reprinted in 1977. It's supposed to have lawn mowers, among other things. About 1900, they patented several typewriter and saw-sharpener items, a vise, faucets, and a lawn sprinkler.

Back when they patented their sprinkler, I wonder if garden hoses had threaded ends. I wonder if this could be a clamping hanger for the barnyard or garden. You have a water hose with no metal end and 10 PSI. You nail the hanger to a post or tree. When you aren't using the hose, you clamp the end in the hanger.

Could be, I'm still hoping to hear back from that museum with the catalog, I'll think we'll get the answer for it eventually.

Rob

It certainly looks like an antique version of this:

--riverman

It does look very similar, I agree with those who say the Stearns' tool is for leather, canvas, or a tarp.

Rob

There were lots of inventions to secure tarps, especially over hatchways on ships, but this device would require constant tension. It doesn't seem to be for the edge of a tarp as it's made for a strap or something to pass through.

I've found a 1900 patent for a sort of wire frame used to shut off a garden hose by kinking it. The hose pictured is flat like a strap or a fire hose.

Suppose in 1900 a farmer has a water tank on a 30-foot tower. He rolls out a hundred yards of hose to supply a trough where cattle will be penned for a month. To shut it off he could walk back to a valve, but that would be inefficient. The simple, cheap way to shut off the flow would be to leave the end of the hose in the trough and pinch the hose outside the pen. Nailed to a fence post, 1585 could serve.

It 'could', but that seems like a particularly specific use, and Ocham's Razor should apply here. I think this item could be for hanging a tarp: it is either nailed or tied up to an overhead beam, and the tarp is jammed up inside the cleat.

I'm looking forward to finding out its real use. Isn't there an archivist at Stanley Tools who knows the history of old Stearns tools? Stanley Rule and Level bought out Stearns in 1863, before they went on to merge with Stanley Works to form Stanley Tools.

--riverman

I've always stored my tarps folded. How many customers would order a clamp to hang one from a beam? I'd hang a tarp from the top edge, but this clamp is designed with the capability of grabbing something from the side.

E C Stearns seems to have manufactured only certain lines of items. In

1924, their 88-page catalog included spoke shaves, hollow augurs, bench stops, plumb bobs, mason's tools, and a lawn mower.

Their line seems to have changed over the years. The patents I found were from about 1900. The biggest category was typewriter parts, followed by saw-sharpening tools. Third was water valves and a sprinkler. They also patented parts for a bicycle they manufactured in those days.

According to Occam's Razor, shouldn't one think in terms of the lines Stearns was known to manufacture? The item doesn't seem to be a spoke shave, augur, bench stop, plumb bob, mason's tool, lawn mower, typewriter, saw sharpener, or bicycle.

That leaves water valves. In 1920, Berlin Bender invented a nozzle with a shutoff, pointing out that otherwise it was necessary to station an assistant at the faucet in case a pedestrian came along while you were washing your car. Apparently shutoff nozzles were not widely available before then.

Patent 662955 shows how in 1900 a canvas garden hose could be shut off by a bending device. If Stearns made valves and at least one sprinkler, wouldn't it make sense for them to make a hanger to shut off a hose?

[ ... ]

Well ... this *could* be a form of bench stop. Bolt it (or perhaps a pair of them in line) to a bench top, put a board edge down in there. Start planing the top edge, and the clamps will tighten onto the wood. When it comes time to do the other edge, pull it back to open the grip, flip it over, and reinstall to start planing again.

I would really expect a hose with pressure in it to be difficult to shut off with such a clamp.

Enjoy, DoN.

I guess you would need two to keep a board from rocking. It looks as if they would have to be screwed down to keep from flipping sideways. In that case they would obstruct your bench until unscrewed.

Until 1989 it was common in the UK to supply a house from a cistern in the attic. That could mean only 3 psi in the bathroom. I imagine in

1900 a lot of homes in America were supplied by tanks that weren't very high; water would probably not have been piped from a mountain reservoir 100 miles away. (I remember the soothingly low water pressure at two farms owned by relatives in the 1950s.)

The need to resist water pressure offers an explanation for why only one jaw moves. For most uses, that would be undesirable because the shear would cause wear. The friction of that shear could hold the clamp closed against some water pressure.

Possibly so, but remember that "Stearns" ceased to exist in 1863, although the Stanley catalogue continued to sell their items under the Stearns name. I think its entirely possible that this item is from pre-1900, unless there is something else in the writing on it to indicate otherwise. They seemed to specialize in lots of clamps and ironworking tools as well as woodworking stuff before Stanley acquired them.

I don't see that. These guys were very meticulous in their toolmongery...the direction of pull between the 'hole' in the arm and the locking cam tells me that this tool was designed so that it was free to move around the hole. If it were bolted down firmly to a bench or table, the lines of force would not be along the shaft from the hole. If it were free to move (tied by a rope, or even carried with a T-handle through the hole), then the clamp would hang in such a way that the cam took all the force, locking it down tighter.

Also, if used in the manner you describe, I think the cam would prevent you from getting the plank OUT, not hold it in tighter. Am I reading you wrong?

I think this will turn out to be something that either is used to hold on to tarps or some other cloth while they are under tension (either from being pulled, or from hanging while being hoisted), or else had a handle or strap and was some sort of carrying device.

--riverman

Whoops, I take that back (and wish that usenet had a usable 'retract' command). I'm confusing "EA Stearns" of Brattleboro VT and Springfield MA with "EC Stearns" of Syracuse. Stanley acquired EA Stearns, not EC Stearns.

--riverman

I wonder if, around the turn of the century, the name 'Stearns' was used much like how "Acme" is used in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons...

--riverman

I'd like to read up on that. I've read that Edward C Stearns took over the company from George N Stearns in 1877. He filed for a patent on a saw set as late as 1925. It was granted in 1930. In 1926, Albert Acheson filed for a patent on an incinerator, to be assigned to the E C Stearns company. It was granted in 1931.

Now I wish I could retract MY post!

Hmm, that's interesting, and between all the Stearnses and Stanleyses, a timeline would be helpful.

Here's my effort, gleaned from several sources; these are the biggest.

(here are several overlapping events that do not correlate!)

1831: The Stanley brothers, August and Timothy, start making hardware in New Britain, CT. under the mark "A. Stanley, New Britain" 1833: S. Morton Clark starts manufacturing rules in Brattleboro, VT under the name "Clark and Co." 1837: Economic hard times forces Clark to close up shop. 1838: Edward Stearns buys out Clark and starts "EA Stearns and Co, Brattleboro, VT and Springfield, MA" 1843: "The Stanley Works, New Britain, CT" is formed as a bolt and door hardware manufacturing company by Frederick Trent Stanley and his younger brother, William. 1852: "A. Stanley, New Britain" changes its name to "Stanley Works, New Britain" and acquire Seth Savage's Rule Co (Middletown, CT) 1854: August and Timothy Stanley join ranks with Thomas Conklin, and form "A. Stanley and Co.", specializing in rules and levels. (Note; some sites say August and Timothy formed "Stanley and Co" while Henry formed "A. Stanley and Co") 1857: "Stanley Rule and Level Co, New Britain" (SR&L) is formed by Henry Stanley, cousin of Frederick 1857: Charles Mead acquires controlling interest in "EA Stearns and Co" 1860: "EC Stearns and Co, Syracuse NY" (year of incorporation unknown) opens a plant in Syracuse, manufacturing bicycles and hollow iron tools. Later, they get into Lawn Mowers and automobiles. They also have a plant in Toronto, Ontario, although I do not know when it opened. 1863: SR&L acquires "EA Stearns and Co", but continues to list their products in the Stanley catalogue under the Stearns name until 1898, or later. 1900: "Evans and Dodge Bicycle Co" acquire "EC Stearns Co" of Toronto. "Evans and Dodge" eventually get into the automobile business. From this merger come the founders of many of today's autos. 1920: SR&L merged with "The Stanley Works" to form the "Stanley Hand Tools" division of "Stanley Works", the company we know today.

So in a nutshell, all the Stanleys are related, and after forming a host of companies, in 1920 SR&L bought out everyone (who had previously bought out their competitions) and formed the modern "Stanley Works" that make modern tools.

Meanwhile, there is no apparent connection between "EA Stearns" of Brattleboro and Springfield, who made woodworking and iron tools until SR&L bought them out in 1863, and "EC Stearns" of Syracuse and Ontario, who made iron tools, lawnmowers, bicycles and cars until Evans and Dodge bought them out in 1900.

Curious. This would make a fascinating movie...

--riverman

I can imagine a connection. In the 19th Century, a lot of settlers came from VT, which had limited living space. In 1856, George N. Stearns of Syracuse filed for a patent on a woodworking tool. Syracuse had been growing lately. I think Edward A Stearns sold out after 25 years because his son had gone to Syracuse.

Stearns had a bicycle shop in Toronto, run by Frederick J. Haynes. Evans and Dodge was in Hamilton.

November 19, 1899, the NY Times announced a "bicycle trust."

***** There was set afloat in Toronto to-day the National Cycle and Automobile Company, with a capital stock of $2,500,000. The new company is a branch of the American Bicycle Trust, but the Toronto business is largely financed in Canada and will be run chiefly by Canadians. The National Company, which will unite the Stearns Company, "E. and D.", the Christy Saddle Company, and the Wheeler Saddle Company, will in the Spring erect a factory in this city to employ 1200 men.

F. S. Evans of the "E. and D." Bicycle Company is President, the Board of Directors being A. G. Spaulding, New York; Col. A. A. Pope, Boston; A. L. Garford, New York, E. C. Stearns, Syracuse; T. P. Coffee, Toronto; and A. R. Creelman, Toronto.

*****

So Stearns sat on the Board of a new company that included his Toronto operation. Haynes and the Dodge Brothers worked there. In 1901, the Dodges went to Detroit. In 1902, Haynes went to Syracuse.

In connection with hangers, Elias Pratt invented hangers for railroad car doors in the 1870s and assigned them to E C Stearns, who in the

1890s sued another company for patent infringement and lost.

Hmm ... it looks like a drop-forged tool, perhaps zinc coated, and a *thin* zinc coating, not hot dip galvanized which would have been done earlier.

Mount them in shallow recesses in the bench top so only the jaws stick above the top. Secure them with a screw which allows them to pivot as needed, but holds them firmly in place to the benchtop.

Mount them with the screw eye towards the operator and the jaws pointing away.

Spread the jaws enough and drop in the board.

Then pinch the jaws tighter and apply force from the operator end (as would be applied by running a plane along the top edge of the board.) The cam tightens when force is in that direction.

Pull the board back towards the operator and the clamps release.

While I still like my original suggestion that it was for clamping webbing straps (canvas or other woven material), I do consider the bench stop function to be a possibility for rough work. For fine work, you would use polished brass, or wood to avoid marring the workpiece surface.

Enjoy, DoN.

A recess would also take part of the jaws below the surface. It seems a recess deep enough to get the head of the screw out of the way wouldn't leave much of the jaws usable.

I think the owner said they wouldn't spread more than half an inch or so. That sounds more like webbing than boards.

Depending on how hard you shoved the board in planing, for example, there would be friction resisting your removal effort.

According to a 1900 patent for a wire frame that shut off water by folding a hose, garden hoses used to resemble webbing.

About 1850, NYC needed a special water tower to have pressure for water in the upper floors of buildings; that indicates that water pressure was typically low. A 1920 patent speaks of a need to station somebody at the faucet to shut off water in a hose. If this was a hose shutoff, the friction of the single-cam action would be just the thing to keep water pressure from opening the jaws.

One loose end is whether the jaws were wide enough for the typical size of canvas garden hoses. Some hoses have a 5/8" diameter these days. Flattened, that would require 1" jaws.

Howdy,

(Just as an aside) that was true then, and is true now:

Many tall buildings in NYC have large wooden water tanks on their roofs for just that purpose.

All the best,