Smithsonian photo
56628.)]

Augers, essential to "the heavier branches of the building trade ...
[and] in the workshops of joiners, carpenters, cabinetmakers, turners,
carvers, and by amateurs and others," were considered a "most important
exhibit" at the Centennial. The auger had attained a perfection in "the
accuracy of the twist, the various forms of the cutters, the quality of
the steel, and fine finish of the twist and polish." The ancient pod or
shell auger had nearly disappeared from use, to be replaced by "the
screwed form of the tool" considerably refined by comparison to
L'Hommedieu's prototype, patented in 1809 (fig. 54). Russell Jennings'
patented auger bits (figs. 55-56) were cited for their "workmanship and
quality," and, collectively, the Exhibition "fully established the
reputation of American augers."[14] Likewise, makers of braces and bits
were commended for the number of excellent examples shown. Some were a
departure from the familiar design with "an expansive chuck for the
bit," but others were simply elegant examples of the traditional brace,
in wood, japanned and heavily reinforced with highly polished brass
sidings. An example exhibited by E. Mills and Company, of Philadelphia,
received a certification from the judges as being "of the best quality
and finish" (fig. 57). The Mills brace, together with other
award-winning tools of the company--drawknives, screwdrivers, and
spokeshaves--is preserved in the collections of the Smithsonian
Institution (accession 319326). Today as a group they confirm "the
remarkably fine quality of ... both iron and steel" that characterized
the manufacture of American edge tools in the second half of the 19th
century.[15]

[Illustration: Figure 57.--1876: JAPANNED AND SPLINTED WITH HEAVY BRASS,
this brace was among the award-winning tools exhibited at the Centennial
by E. Mills and Company of Philadelphia. (Smithsonian photo 49792-D.)]

[Illustration: Figure 58.--1827: THE BENCH PLANES exhibited at
Philadelphia in 1876 were a radical departure from the traditional. In
1827 H. Knowles patented an iron-bodied bench plane that portended a
change in form that would witness a substitution of steel for wood in
all critical areas of the tool's construction, and easy adjustment of
the cutting edge by a setscrew, and an increased flexibility that
allowed one plane to be used for several purposes. (Wash drawing from
the restored patent drawings, August 24, 1827, U.S. Patent