Hi All
Back at the end of February....
Randy Roeder had asked:
 Who "invented" the eggbeater drill? or when?

and Paul Pedersen wrote:
"Ken Roberts' "Some 19th Century English Woodworking Tools" states on page
332 that a James Chesterman was granted Letters Patent No. 12,843
on November 13, 1849 for an eggbeater (photo'd on page 337)."

Spurred on by both the question and response (and my own
curiosity about geared drills) I recently contacted the British
Patent Office. They determined availability of this patent and
sold me a copy.(Less than 5 bucks) Well, it arrived today and I must say
that is near stunning with the patent drawings reproduced in what
I believe to be their original size 24" by 34". Sheryl, my wife, said I
should probably frame the two sheets.

The patent specs are effusive going on for 7 pages. The introduction is:
"TO ALL WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, James Chesterman, of the firm of
Messrs.
Cutts, Chesterman and Bedington, of Sheffield, in the county of Yorks,
Machinists,
send greeting."
Chesterman continues on to describe the geared drills and 12 applications of
bevel and
"spurred wheel gears" for which he makes claim of inventing. I will lay this
all
out in an article on my website in about a month. But for now I am trying to
locate some
more information about Chesterman and his company. Is he the predecessor to
James Chesterman
and Company Limited who I believe eventually merged with Rabone to become
Rabone and Chesterman? Is Rabone and  Chesterman still in business? I can
not find a
website for them. Does anyone have a copy of the Roberts book available for
sale?
Cheap?
Regards
Chuck Zitur
who knows that the answer to Randy's original question is: "Not Chesterman"

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