The Iconic Woodworking Tool You Might Not Know DeWalt Invented

If you've spent any amount of time working with tools, you've probably come across the DeWalt brand, which has been around for ages, releasing everything from heavy-duty power tools to small and simple yet helpful hand tools. The brand even has your seasonal needs in mind, with some DeWalt tools capable of making spring cleaning a breeze, for example. Of course, the DeWalt business model doesn't consist of simply reproducing existing tools for supporters of the line to buy. DeWalt has a history of innovation, even creating a quite iconic woodworking tool that remains widely used.

Going back all the way to 1921, when DeWalt wasn't even an established company yet, soon-to-be founder Raymond DeWalt filed his first patent for a tool armature and was laying the groundwork for a revolutionary new tool: the radial arm saw. A mere two years later, in 1923, he filed his second patent, which was for the adjustable radial arm saw, and the rest is history. In the modern era, the radial arm saw has a place in woodshops everywhere, making it easy for woodworkers to execute a host of different cuts at whatever depth is required for the job.

As it happens, DeWalt's introduction of the radial arm saw didn't just change the game for woodworkers. It played a major role in the company's growth throughout the remainder of the 20th century.

In the century since Raymond DeWalt unveiled his radial arm saw, the DeWalt company has very much expanded its offerings. In fact, it's no stretch to say that when most think of the black and yellow brand, such a tool isn't likely the first to spring to mind. Be that as it may, there's no denying the radial arm saw's overall place in DeWalt history. Its success led to the formal creation of DeWalt Products Company in 1924. The tool was rebranded as the "Wonder-Worker" and quickly gained favor among those who gave it a shot.

At this point, DeWalt himself had sold off his patents and the company to Paul Gardner and Isaac Rutt. These two oversaw a period of rapid expansion for the company, with it becoming deeply ingrained in the global tool market in short order. In 1930, DeWalt was chosen to join the United States Department of Labor's Safety Code for Woodworking Machinery committee, and in the 1940s, the company increased its output to meet wartime demands during World War II. On May 10, 1960, the company was purchased by Black & Decker, one of the handful of real owners behind most modern tool brands, continuing to broaden its catalog under its new parent company in the coming decades.

Ultimately, this all led DeWalt to become the globally known power and hand tool giant it is today. To think, it all started with the creation of the radial arm saw — an appliance that remains one of DeWalt's offerings to this day.

Even as DeWalt has become an all-encompassing tool company, it hasn't abandoned its roots as a carpentry-focused brand. Taking one look at the DeWalt website shows how committed it is to such endeavors, from its tools like sanders and nailers to its suggestions of which kinds of woodworking jobs its tools can aid in. Alongside all of that, DeWalt still advertises itself as the place to be for a quality radial arm saw. They may not be at the forefront of its catalog, but there are still a couple of different radial arm saws one can purchase from DeWalt.

Though many consider it the kind of tool that never gets used and is best off gotten rid of, the radial arm saw is undeniably historic. It has more than left its mark on woodworking and set the stage for the DeWalt brand to become a household name.