Hardware City museum

Tools of the Trade, July-August, 2002 by Rick Schwolsky

New Britain, Conn., has earned the right to be called The Hardware City, in the same way Nashville got to call itself Music City. New Britain was the center of the machine shop universe and probably spawned more inventions per acre than anywhere else in the country.

It was also home to The Stanley Works company, which started out as a hardware manufacturer and grew its tool businesses through invention and acquisition. Stanley is still there and you can see many of the company's historic tools and hardware at the New Britain Industrial Museum. It's a terrific little exhibit of tool heritage, with lots of early products from other area companies, including American Hardware, Fafnir Bearing Co., New Britain Machine, and others.

During my recent visit, Stanley veteran and historian Carl Stoutenberg showed me some tools I'd never seen before. The coolest one was the 1967 4 1/4-inch Eager Beaver Saw with 3/4-hp motor. The Eager Beaver had two tables and two triggers so you could cut either right or left. Unfortunately, I had to leave it behind. But you can see this and other unique tools for yourself. Contact the friendly staff at 860-832-8654 for directions and museum operating hours.