(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

Bob Nelson writes:

> The book "The Hammer" appears to be one that the DATAMP crew hasn't
> gotten to yet in compiling their site. It does have all the hammer
> patents found in an intensive search for those, so should be very
> helpful.

The reason there are not many hammers in DATAMP is pretty simple-- none of
our data stewards are hammer afficianados!  The same goes for levels, rules,
wrenches, edge tools, and a bunch of other areas.  One of the reasons we are
going public is to try to find additional volunteers to help us "fill the
holes" in our database.  The more volunteers we get, the more useful DATAMP
becomes...

If you are into patented tools, and find that DATAMP does not have your area
well-covered, we'd love to have you join the patent cabal.  Check out the
(hastily assembled) DATAMP Data Steward FAQ at:

   http://www.brendlers.net/oldtools/DATAMP/steward_faq.html

(this will be available off the DATAMP home page soon).
-- 
Ralph Brendler, Chicago, IL - OTLM, ENB, FOYBIPO
"Science works even if you don't believe in it..." - Penn Jillette

Ralph & All,

WOW!!!! Many, many thanks to the crew that's putting this together. An
extremely ambitious project with, as Ralph said, a long ways to go. But
still of immediate use and benefit as shown by an initial check I ran of
it.

Last Sat. I passed on some info to Andrew and all about an odd hammer
he'd asked about. In that message, I both indicated having had a "Senior
Moment" coming up with the answer and gave the patent number for it as
119568. My check of that patent in the DATAMP revealed my Senior Moment
had extended into the Sat. message. That patent was not in the DATAMP,
but the data there revealed that the number must have been 199568
instead. A recheck of my source for the number (The Hammer) showed it as
that 199568 and confirmed that I'd glitched somehow.

The book "The Hammer" appears to be one that the DATAMP crew hasn't
gotten to yet in compiling their site. It does have all the hammer
patents found in an intensive search for those, so should be very
helpful.

Again - many thanx to all involved,
Bob