This maker of multi-spindle drills was in business by 1945. The original founders were Jay B. Chamberlain and Louise R. Chamberlain. In later years, located on Kinzie St. in Chicago, their president was Frank O'Laughlin, who was apparently not much involved in the day-to-day running of the company. The chief engineer was Warren Hartman. Joseph F. Mele was Vice-President (he died in 2004 at age 86). At some point they were acquired by Reynolds Machine & Tool Corp. (RMT), who continue to make their products.

The Commander Multi Drill was a cage-shaped device that was mounted on a convention drill press to drill multiple holes in a single pass. The drill spacing was adjustable.

Information Sources

• A 1945 issue of Wood Products has the following snippet.

  New Multi-Drill Attachment Has Universal Features The Commander Manufacturing Co. announces...

• A 1946 issue of Wood Working Digest has the following snippet.

  DRILLING ATTACHMENT
  A new easily adjustable multi-spindle drilling attachment for drill presses, which permits the drilling of as many as six holes at one time, has been developed by the Commander Manufacturing Company, Chicago...adjustable arm. The design permits the position of drills up to 17.64" diameter and any hole pattern, including a straight line, within a 5" diameter circular with minimum distance between centers of 11/16". From one to six holes can thus be drilled simultaneously in one stroke of the drill press. The housing for drive...

• A 1948 issue of Modern Machine Shop has the following snippet.

  Commander Tapper—A unique tapping head which Is designed to fit practically any drill press and is said to handle taps from No. O to ¾ inch has been announced by the Commander Manufacturing Co., 4224 W. Kinzie St., Chicago 24, Ill. The tapper employs a spring clutch drive and adjustable torque control which are claimed to provide for extreme sensitivity, together with a wide range of adaptability. According to the manufacturer, the...

• Ad in 1955-56 edition of Hitchcock's Wood Workers Digest Directory.
• A former employee provided the much of the information given here.
• A patent search only turned up one patent (indirectly) assigned to this company.