Elisha King Root (May 5, 1808 - September 1, 1865) was a Connecticut machinist, inventor, and President of Colt's Manufacturing Company.
Until his invention, axes were made by "flattening wrought iron, folding it around a steel pin, and forging the two sides together under a trip hammer."
Root arranged "a series of dies and rollers that could 'die forge' -or apply pressure to a mold, forming a piece of hot wrought iron into the shape of an ax, with an eye already punched to receive the handle."
According to Muir, Root next automated the tempering of axes by inventing a machine that moved ax heads through a temperature-regulated oven on a rotating wheel.
He modernized firearms production at Colt by designing state of the art drop hammers, boring machines, gauges, jigs, etc.