The Nesquehoning Historical Society recently welcomed Tony Seo, a local antique tool expert, to its meeting for a presentation on the past.

Seo has been selling and buying antique tools for the past 21 years.Tim Sverduk, president of the historical society, said he gave an interesting presentation explaining the use of several hand tools and the techniques that were used in manufacturing during the 1700s and 1800s.For example, the term "dead as a doornail" originated from the custom of flattening the pointed tips of nails after they were driven through doors. So, after being flattened, the pointed tips were similar to the flattened heads on the other side of the door. Unfortunately, since they were flattened, they could no longer be easily "recycled" as nails without first remanufacturing them, so they were "dead."Seo also explained the different names that were used for woodworkers who worked on specific items.A sashmaker specialized in making windows, a joiner made cabinets and furniture, a chairmaker made chairs, a wheelwright made wooden wheels for carts and a sawyer was a man who cut wood by hand. They wore broad-brimmed hats to keep the sawdust out of their hair.A journeyman was someone who would "rough out" tool shapes from a small forge in his home. In a single day he might produce hundreds of "blanks." Then he sent them off to a manufacturer to be finished.A filemaker was someone who worked on the blanks that came from a journeyman. Each of the tiny ridges in a file were laboriously carved out, one by one, by striking the blank with a special hammer and chisel.Seo explained that a mechanic in the 1820s meant anyone who was skilled in a number of different hand trades and not necessarily someone who worked on what we now think of as machines.A cooper was the name for a person who made barrels. In the old days, barrels were used for shipping of both wet and dry goods, so they had to be built to very exacting specifications to prevent leaks. Staves are the slats of wood that run from the top to the bottom of the barrel.Seo demonstrated the use of a special tool that was used for driving "testing hoops" and final hoops around the staves. Sometimes shippers that wanted to send things to Europe did not always have cargo that would work in the barrel-delivery format, so they would disassemble the barrels and ship them in pieces. Then the barrels were reassembled and reused to ship new goods.Seo's presentation ended with a round of questions and answers.Seo owns and operates the Olde River Hard Goods shop in Nesquehoning. He also sells a wide range of antique tools online.