(OK, it's not *technically* for sale-- we're giving this away, but in the
spirit of FMM I couldn't resist)

Those who pay close attention may have noticed references to "the patent
cabal" at various times over the past 6 months or so.  Today the cabal comes
out of the back room...

It is with great pleasure (and relief!) that I announce the official
introduction of the Directory of American Tool and Machinery Patents, or
DATAMP for short.  Check us out at www.datamp.org...

For the past 11 months, a small group of folks from the OldTools and
OldWWMachines list (led by fellow galoots Jeff Joslin and Brian Pennington)
have been developing an on-line database of tool and woodworking machine
patents.  The database currently contains a wealth of information on over
9000 tools, and is searchable by date, person, tool type, and a number of
other fields.

While we are making this public, it is by no means complete-- by our
estimates there are still about 20,000 more patents out there that would be
interesting to old tools collectors, and there are still more search and
cross reference features that we want to add.  We are continuing to enhance
the site, and our "data stewards" continue to unearth and document more
patents.

So, please have a look, or even better volunteer to help
(www.brendlers.net/oldtools/DATAMP/steward_faq.html)-- the DATAMP team hopes
you find this as useful as we have...

Before I close, I'd like to tip my hat to the members of the DATAMP team who
have dedicated so much time and effort over the past year: Jeff Joslin,
Brian Pennington, Chris Swingley, Keith Rucker, Steve Reynolds, and Ed
Fisher, as well as our stewards Chuck Zitur, Kirk Hays, Gary Roberts, and
Jeff McVey.  Without these guys' expertise and hard work, there would be no
DATAMP.
-- 
Ralph Brendler, Chicago, IL - OTLM, ENB, FOYBIPO
"Science works even if you don't believe in it..." - Penn Jillette