Tabitha Babbitt

Who was Tabitha Babbitt?

Tabitha Babbitt was an early American tool maker who is credited with inventing the first circular saw used in a saw mill in 1813. It is also claimed that she invented a process for the manufacture of false teeth and an improved spinning wheel head. She was a member of the Shaker community in Harvard, Massachusetts.

She was watching men use the difficult two-man pit saw when she noticed that half of their motion was wasted. The first circular saw she made is in Albany, New York. She also shares the invention of cut nails with Eli Whitney. As a Shaker, Babbitt never patented any of her inventions.