Background
Sarah (Tabitha) Babbitt was born on December 9, 1779 in Hardwick, Massachusetts.
Sarah (Tabitha) Babbitt was born on December 9, 1779 in Hardwick, Massachusetts.
Babbitt, having realized a round blade would be more efficient, is credited with inventing the first circular saw used in a saw mill in 1813. The circular saw was hooked up to a water powered machine to reduce the effort to cut lumber. She was watching men use the difficult two-man whipsaw when she noticed that half of their motion was wasted.
The first circular saw she made is in Albany, New New York
She did not patent the circular saw so that it could be used by others, but it was patented in the United States by two French men three years later when they found out about the saw in Shaker papers. M. Stephen Miller contends that Babbitt was not the first inventor of the circular saw, based upon the date that she joined the section
He states that the circular saw was invented at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village by Amos Bishop or Benjamin Bruce in 1793 —or not by a Shaker at all. lieutenant is also claimed that she invented a process for the manufacture of false teeth and an improved spinning wheel head
She also shares the invention of cut nails with Eli Whitney.
As a Shaker, Babbitt never patented any of her inventions.
She was a member of the Harvard Shaker community.