This company was in business by 1906. They specialized in grinding machines, including bench or pedestal grinders and buffers. They were one of the earliest manufacturers of portable electric tools, and were making drills in six sizes in 1906, ¼" to 1¼".
By 1935 they had acquired, or licensed, a key patent granted to Patrick Billingsley of the P. L. Billingsley Co., makers of a handheld circular saw that was powered from a cart-mounted motor via flexible shaft. United States Electrical Tool applied Billingsley's innovations—blade guard and hinged foot-plate to adjust cut depth—to a conventional gear-drive circular saw.
At some point between 1968 and 2007, United States Electrical Tool Co. merged or co-located with Cincinnati Electrical Tool Co. at 5928 Hamilton Cleves Pike Rd. (State Rt. 128), Miamitown, OH.
Their web site has been down since June, 2017.
Information Sources
- Thanks to Bob Vaughan for reporting this maker to us.
- Fort Lewis College's Porter Fuel Co. correspondence collection includes material dated April 1913 related to United States Electrical Tool Co.
- Since 1920 this company was assigned a dozen patents, all related to metal grinding machines. Most of the patents were for larger grinders but a couple of them are related to bench or pedestal grinders.
- Seen on eBay: catalog 59a from this company, perhaps from 1959.
- A 2020 correspondent provided us with this information:
It seems the United States Electrical Tool Co. sold its name and most of its operations to an outside group. They then incorporated in 1968 and used the trademark. The original company changed its name to the Fort Mitchell Tool Co. and may have still been in business in 1977 according to the case. The purchaser continued to use the old company name but was a separate entity legally. I found another court case from 1988 that mentions Fort Mitchell and U.S. Electrical but it added nothing to the details found above. It seems the Cincinnati Electrical Tool Co. may have become involved later.
- Another 2020 correspondent reported that his vintage United States Electrical Tool Co. drill has an induction motor.