Peter Welsh was an historian of pre-industrial technology, a museum
curator and director. This is how he introduces this paper: This history
of woodworking hand tools from the 17th to the 20th century is one of a
very gradual evolution of tools through generations of craftsmen. As a
result, the sources of changes in design are almost impossible to
ascertain. Published sources, moreover, have been concerned primarily
with the object shaped by the tool rather than the tool itself. The
resulting scarcity of information is somewhat compensated for by
collections in museums and restorations. In this paper, the author spans
three centuries in discussing the specialization, configuration, and
change of woodworking tools in the United States.