Edmond Michel was a Frenchman who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century. He lived in
. His claim to fame was the invention of the handheld
circular saw. Watching sugar farmers cut through thick cane stalks with
machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
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s, he believed that there was a better way.
Michel mounted a mixer motor onto a standard machete, as well as a
worm wheel gearbox and a 2-inch circular blade. This invention, while actually working fairly effectively (if slowly), required an external generator, making it quite impractical.
In creating this device, Michel effectively invented the worm-drive motor.
Michel then tried again, using a piece of wood with a notch carved into it. In the notch, he mounted the same mechanism as the mechanical reaper, but with a 6-inch blade. This was the first electric circular saw.
After a New Orleans newspaper ran an article about Michel's invention, he was approached by Joseph W. Sullivan. The two became business partners and moved to Chicago. In 1924, they were granted a patent for the Michel Electric
Hand Saw
In woodworking and carpentry, hand saws, also known as "panel saws", are used to cut pieces of wood into different shapes. This is usually done in order to join the pieces together and carve a wooden object. They usually operate by having a ser ...
. Attracting immediate interest from contractors despite numerous mechanical problems, the two began production of the saw. The name was changed to
Skil in 1926, after Sullivan's wife commented on the skill necessary to use one.
Just before
the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Michel withdrew from the company to work on new inventions. After leaving the Skil company, Michel invested his share of the money inventing and developing Larmloc, the first keypad-based lock. Sadly, this invention failed to pan out, and only one working prototype was ever made.
This inventor remains largely forgotten in American history, but is still remembered by his family. His youngest daughter Lorretta Brown still lives in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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References
Interview with Marguerite Brown (daughter of Edmond Michel) by her grandson, Nicholas Tausek
* Canlen, Brae (October 25, 1999.
Retooling America FindArticles. Archived from th
originalon September 22, 2007.
* Frechette, Leon A. (December 1993.
The great divide asktooltalk.com / ''Remodeling News''
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
20th-century American inventors
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20th-century French inventors
People from New Orleans