Steam-Powered Tools

The first steam engines were used for pumping and transportation, but people quickly perceived that steam power could have additional applications. As early as 1732, steam pumps were used to raise water that could then flow over a waterwheel and power a mill. James Watt built the first steam engine that could efficiently produce rotary motion by itself in 1783, opening the way for steam to power mills directly. A cotton mill powered by steam opened in 1789 in Manchester, England, and most new factories used steam power until electronic motor replaced steam in the 20th century. Before steam, mills were powered by waterwheels or by animals.

Matthew Boulton [English: 1728-1809] became the first to patent a steam engine for a special purpose in 1786, a device for stamping out coins. In 1814, the steam-driven printing press was introduced in London. The first of several steam tools designed by James Nasmyth [English: 1808-1890] was the 1839 steam hammer, used also as a pile driver for bridge construction.

All early steam engines were large and heavy, and thus not easily moved into remote locations, such as mines or tunnels. In 1849, the steam engine began to be used to compress air, and thereafter smaller, more portable and lightweight compressed air tools became common in mining and construction work. Large tools that continued to use steam power directly well into the 20th century included the steam shovel and a heavy device used to smooth roadbeds, the steamroller.