Two-Foot Lumber Stick

Dateca.1823-1840

Maker James J. Stiles 1800 - 1894

MediumHickory, pewter, copper, and iron

DimensionsLength: 24"; thickness: 15/16" across the flats

Credit LineGift of Thomas Elliott

Object number2024-325

DescriptionOctagonal hickory lumber stick, punched with numbered gradations, with a long pewter ferrule at one end and a copper end cap on the other.Label TextThe grandson of carpenter, toolmaker, and planemaker James Stiles, Sr., James J. Stiles inherited his grandfather's tools, stock of planes, and use of the shop in 1823. It is possible Stiles the younger made this "log rule" or lumber stick" for his own use in calculating board footage of lumber.Mark(s)The copper end cap is marked with J.J.STILES in relief within a rectangle (Elliott, AWP, p.365, imprint A).ProvenanceSeptember 2001, purchased by Thomas Elliott (Westbrook, CT); 2024, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)