[i can't say for certain who produced the first birds mouth masts. BUT......I watched Barry Noble making one in his dockside workshop in Bristol UK. That would have been approximately 30 years ago. Each of the eight lengths of timber were tapered first then birds mouthed on one edge, the other being left square. The pieces were then glued and clamping was simple by means of tourniquets. The resultant octagonal cylinder was then "rounded using an electric hand plane.
Barry Noble sold his small company and the buyer patented the above method of mast construction.
The masts are still being made within yards of the original site on two barges.
I have used the same method of construction for the American Black Walnut legs of a bespoke dining table. Having been turned on a lathe, the legs remain perfectly cylindrical after many yearsQUOTE=quixote;418458]Does anyone know how old birdsmouth masts are (or anything using
birdsmouth jointery, really)?

I did some looking around, and didn't find anything that listed
anything similar to historical relavance, and I am always curious about
these things and how they developed.[/quote]