According to the Shakers, Babbitt was watching men use the difficult two-man whipsaw when she noticed that half of their motion was wasted.
[6] In the summer of 1948, a version of Babbitt's saw, built to her specifications, was on display at a Shaker exhibit at Fenimore House in Cooperstown, N. Y., as a loan from the New York State Museum.
[7] Because Babbitt did not patent her circular saw and the reference to her invention exists only in Shaker lore, there is controversy over whether she was the true first inventor of the saw.
According to some accounts, two French men patented the circular saw in the United States after reading about Babbitt's saw in Shaker papers.
[1] Babbitt is also credited with inventing a process for the manufacture of false teeth and an improved spinning wheel head.