Looking Back To Earlier Times: A Bucksaw Was Necessary In The Vineyard

Because the Wine History Project is working with the Dana Adobe Board and Volunteers to design a trellis in the new Heritage Mission Vineyard, this seems like an appropriate time to introduce a tool that was utilized in the vineyard to assist with building trellis structures.

In the early nineteenth century, agricultural periodicals containing information about horticultural advancements and practices originated in the Northeast, soon followed by publications in other regions of the country. Most had short publication runs, but a few of these publications had national influence and widespread circulation. They were influential in reaching a growing “middle class” leaving crowded industrialized cities for open landscapes.

These publications helped introduce Americans to landscape design and new structures which would assist the family farmer, rancher, and vineyardist to design more efficient methods for farming. In a way, these authors and editors were the first product marketers.

Agricultural Journalists

Luther Tucker (1802 – 1873) was one of these agricultural journalists who was ultimately responsible for 49 articles in 116 publications. He was devoted to horticulture, gardening, rural architecture, pomology (the science of growing fruit), landscape, and the rural economy. In the early 1830s Tucker published a weekly newspaper called Genesee Farmer containing articles including information about branches of farming and varieties of fruit trees. The culture of grapes and mulberries was emphasized and in 1832 he prophesied that Albany County in western New York would “become the grape-growing center of the nation”. He urged his supporters to “grow grapes and make wine”.

Andrew Jackson Downing (1815 – July 1852) was another of these prominent Americans who promoted horticulture. He joined the family nursery business while still a teenager in 1831. Not long after those early years he marketed himself as a landscape designer, advertising his professional landscape services. But it didn’t stop with that. He published extensively on landscape design, architecture, and horticulture. In 1846, after successfully releasing three books which became treatises for landscape design and horticulture, he became the founding editor of a new monthly journal started by Luther Tucker in Albany, New York, The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste. He served there for six years.

Reading an article entitled “Hints on Grape Culture”

This was an article written in The Horticulturist…which focused on discussing what to do to support the grapevine since it would not support itself. He suggested that the trellis could be constructed in the vineyard before the grapevines were planted or added in the fall of the second year, or the spring of the third year. The grapevines would grow on the trellis which makes it easier to farm and harvest the grapes. The author of the article referred to the building material as “of some durable material, but also that material should be economical”. The author of this article went on to say that in 1862 there are “two kinds of support in common use for the vineyard, the stake and the trellis.” The trellis was more costly than stakes yet more durable and much to be preferred. He advised that the best trellis design, on the whole, is upright posts made of cedar, yellow locust, or chestnut with horizontal wires fastened between the posts to support the vines.

So, this got me thinking. In the 1800s what would be the easiest way for the laborer to cut the posts which were referred to in the writing? Looking at the Wine History Project’s collection of objects I remembered cataloging a bucksaw and wondered at the time what importance that had in the early days of viticulture. Here was the answer to my question. This was a way to cut those posts to size.

What is a Bucksaw? 

The bucksaw relates to the class of saws in which the blade is secured to two arms. It is a hand-powered frame saw, at times used with a sawbuck, or sawhorse, to cut logs, posts, or firewood to length. This is referred to as bucking. The frames were either to be “H” shaped or “C” shaped and usually included a removable blade with coarse teeth held in tension by the frame.  Medal pins were used to hold the crosscut blade in place. Nineteenth and early twentieth-century bucksaws had hardwood frames.

Henry Disston and His Contributions 

This invention #63,025 was patented in 1865 and invented by Henry Disston. 

Henry Disston (1819-1878), born in Tewkesbury England, moved with his family to Derby in Nottinghamshire at the age of four. His father was in the manufacturing business and invented a machine to make a fine, rare lace. Henry grew up learning his father’s business and the general principles of mechanics. At the age of 14, Henry sailed for America with his sister, his father (and his lace machine). Three days after they landed at Philadelphia, his father died of apoplexy. His father had taught him that a skilled toolmaker could always earn a living. Henry apprenticed himself to William and Charles Johnson, a firm of sawmakers in Philadelphia, working for them for several years before opening his own shop. 

By 1844 he had opened the first steam saw factory in the United States. Between 1846 and 1850 due to the Mexican War and the discovery of gold in California, the demand for saws and other tools helped to make the Disston business prosper. In 1850 he started Disston and the Keystone Saw Works which would become the largest sawmaker in the world. He built a furnace, maybe the first melting plant for steel in America, and started producing the first crucible saw steel ever made in the United States. By 1855 he became the first saw manufacturer to produce his own steel which made Disston the most successful saw manufacturer in the U.S. and the business remained that for over half a century. 

Two events occurred in 1861 to further the success. First, a tariff was placed on foreign saws and tools. It was called the Morrill Tariff and it leveled the playing field. And secondly, 1861 was the year that the War Between the States (the Civil War) began. Because the Morrill Tariff Act of 1861 greatly increased the cost of imported steel, Disston accumulated huge profits by supplying steel products to the Union Army during the Civil War.

Henry’s son, Hamilton, joined the company in 1865 after the Civil War and the company also began making files. The company’s name was changed to Henry Disston & Son. By 1872, the company was also known as Disston Saw Works.

By 1844 he had opened the first steam saw factory in the United States. Between 1846 and 1850 due to the Mexican War and the discovery of gold in California, the demand for saws and other tools helped to make the Disston business prosper. In 1850 he started Disston and the Keystone Saw Works which would become the largest sawmaker in the world. He built a furnace, maybe the first melting plant for steel in America, and started producing the first crucible saw steel ever made in the United States. By 1855 he became the first saw manufacturer to produce his own steel which made Disston the most successful saw manufacturer in the U.S. and the business remained that for over half a century. 

Two events occurred in 1861 to further the success. First, a tariff was placed on foreign saws and tools. It was called the Morrill Tariff and it leveled the playing field. And secondly, 1861 was the year that the War Between the States (the Civil War) began. Because the Morrill Tariff Act of 1861 greatly increased the cost of imported steel, Disston accumulated huge profits by supplying steel products to the Union Army during the Civil War.

Henry’s son, Hamilton, joined the company in 1865 after the Civil War and the company also began making files. The company’s name was changed to Henry Disston & Son. By 1872, the company was also known as Disston Saw Works.

Henry died in 1878, but prior to that, he received honors for his achievements of creating the largest saw works company, along with creating the highest standard in the world for Disston saws, at the Centennial International Exposition of 1876. This was the first official World’s Fair held in United States, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the celebration of America’s one-hundredth anniversary of independence.

In 1886 the business was incorporated. The factory was moved to a part of Philadelphia that was not congested; a place which the Disston family named Tacony and it became the “company” town. In addition to the new factory, 122 homes were erected. At its peak of operations, Disston Saw Works employed 8,000 people and the factory covered 300 acres.

Turnbuckle Method

A turnbuckle is a basic piece of rigging equipment that can be used in a diverse set of tension-related applications. It is a common rigging device that is used to adjust tension and reduce slack in a rope, cable, or similar tensioning assembly. The thin, flexible blade of a bucksaw was said to be strained along the margin of its frame. Historically, that strain was created using a central brace which greatly limited the use and scope of the tool; the central brace got in the way. So by utilizing a turnbuckle to create the tension, the bucksaw could have a more sturdy blade.  This turnbuckle method of straining a bucksaw appeared in bucksaw patents as early as that awarded in 1869 to Daniel and Edwin Moore, of Brooklyn, New York.

Christopher Eisenhardt, assignor to Henry Disston & Sons in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, created patent 394,477 which was filed with the U.S. Patent office on August 25, 1888.

And, William Smith and Edwin F. Shaw invented patent # 607,712 a strainer rod for wood saws in July of 1898 as assignor for Henry Disston & Sons, Inc.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalog Sales

By the end of the nineteenth century, Henry Disston & Sons, Inc. seemed to have negotiated a deal with Sears, Roebuck & Co. The following information was in their 1902 catalog on page 82.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. Saws …

At that time, Sears advertised themselves on the top of each page in their catalog as the “Cheapest Supply House on Earth, Chicago”.

“Our guarantee is fair and complete, and without conditions that would make it practically worthless. Each and every Sears, Roebuck & Co. Saw is etched with our trademark and this guarantee: If this Saw does not prove as good or better than any Saw you ever had, return it and money will be refunded. We have these Saws made for our trade by a manufacturer whose reputation for making first-class Saws is not excelled by any one anywhere. We have contracted for an immense quantity and are able to sell them to consumers for less than the average dealer can buy at wholesale. Why pay more?”

Wine History Project’s Collection Object

Look at the catalog advertisement above and compare it to the photo of the bucksaw from our Collection. It is the same. It was priced between 40 cents and 60 cents depending on the model. I believe the one we have was the “40 cent” version. And if you notice, you could purchase the replacement loop bucksaw rods for either 5 cents or 8 cents, the buck saw blades for 38 cents, and the buck saw frame for 25 cents. 

Here is the one in the Collection.

Date: late 1890s – 1930
Origin: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
Materials: Maple wood, steel
Size: 30” width
Object ID:  WHP-V&F 29

Conclusion

The Wine History Project has a large collection of artifacts used during the 19th and 20th centuries in the vineyards and winemaking. If you wish to make a donation to our collection, please contact Cynthia Lambert at cindy@winehistoryproject.org.