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Manufacturers Index - Sears | Craftsman

Sears | Craftsman
Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Company Website: http://www.sears.com
Manufacturer Class: Wood Working Machinery & Metal Working Machinery

Patents
This page contains information on patents issued to this manufacturer.

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If you find a patent number or patent date by this manufacturer that is not on this list, please contact the Site Historian.


Key to Links for Patent Information

USPTO = U.S. Patent Office . Images of the actual patent can be viewed on the U.S. Patent Office web site but a special TIFF viewer must be installed with your browser in order properly work. More information on how to configure your computer to view these patents can be found at TIFF image Viewers for Patent Images.
DATAMP = Directory of American Tool And Machinery Patents . A sister site to VintageMachinery.org with information on patents related to machinery and tools. A much easier user interface than the USPTO's for finding information on machinery patents.

Patent Number Date Title Name City Description
1,210,145 Dec. 26, 1916 Folding grindstone-frame Lawrence V. Calhoun Glenellyn, IL
2,073,704 Mar. 16, 1937 Drill press Walter G. Mitchell Oak Park, IL This patent covers an intermediate pulley mounting ("slow-speed attachment") for providing lower speeds on a variable-speed drill press; the mounting used an expansion plug that fit into the top of the drill press column. This device was available as an accessory for all 101.03xxx model Craftsman drill presses, which were built by Atlas Press. Given the inventor's location, he was most likely a Sears employee, but the patent is not assigned to Sears or to Atlas Press. We do not know for certain who actually manufactured it; we assume here that it was made by Atlas Press.
A 1946 patent, #2,395,896, was granted to our inventor, Walter G. Mitchell, and assigned to Sears. Another 1946 patent, #2,402,972, was granted to Mitchell and assigned to Independent Pneumatic Tool Co. Based on patent application dates, Mitchell likely changed employment in 1943 or '44. This drill press patent is, as far as we can tell, Mitchell's first patent of more than two dozen he would be granted.
D108,245 Feb. 01, 1938 Design for a band saw John R. Morgan Oak Park, IL This is the design for Sears' Craftsman 10" bandsaw. It was manufactured by Central Specialty Co., and then by King-Seeley Corp. after that firm bought Central Specialty in 1944.
D115,575 Jul. 04, 1939 Design for a motor casing John R. Morgan Oak Park, IL Seen on a 1/2 HP induction motor from Sears, model number 315.1952. The maker's prefix of 315 corresponds to Diehl Mfg. Co., "Ryan", and Ryobi. By far the most likely match is Diehl, which was a motor manufacturer active at the time. They were best known for supplying motors for Singer sewing machines.
2,349,162 May. 16, 1944 Wood-planing machine Otto P. Haisch Ann Arbor, MI This unusual open-sided planer was sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co. as the Craftsman 6-inch Thickness Planer, model number 103.23700. The planer was manufactured by King-Seeley Corp., which had acquired the assignee, Central Specialty Co., and was operating it as the Central Specialty Division of King-Seeley Corp. This planer was featured in the 1941 Sears catalog under the Craftsman brand.
    Wood-planing machine Walter L. Gaskell Ypsilanti, MI  
2,716,350 Aug. 30, 1955 Slow speed converter motor drive Robert D. Phares Phoenix, AZ This is the patent for the Craftsman "Slo-Speed Converter" that was sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co. to convert a wood-cutting bandsaw to a metal-cutting saw. Every example we have seen is marked "PAT. PENDING". We have seen a couple of examples marked with the assignee's name, Savage Mfg. Co. That firm got into financial difficulty within a few years of this patent being issued, and this product's manufacture was taken over Savage Mfg.'s landlord, the Gilbert Engineering Co.
"This invention pertains to improvements in a slow speed converter motor drive applicable to electric drive motors for machine tools and other devices. ...easy to install...may be installed without any special machining or special brackets or fixtures or modification of the motor or machine...mounted on the drive shaft of the motor and supported by torque arms connectable to the mounting supports for the motor...readily shifted manually from a low speed drive to a high speed drive or vice versa with any special apparatus or skill..."
2,908,300 Oct. 13, 1959 Combined Miter Box and Corner Clamp Roy C. Hahn Franklin Park, IL The specifications note multiple details of provision for bench mounting, work holding clamps to produce 90 degree corners and 45 degree bevels, adjustable saw guides with depth and resilient padding to protect saw teeth and "gap" to adjust to saw blade width. Known example marked "CRAFTSMAN" and "No. 9-6661." Coordinating corner clamps are marked "CRAFTSMAN" and "No. 9-6666."