In 1840 James Bradford founded a business to make flour mill machinery. It became the Bradford Mill Co. in 1875 and the flour mill business was sold off when the company reorganized in 1900 as the Bradford Machine Tool Co. The business continued until after 1976. More history can be found at Tony Griffith's Lathe web site.
The Bradford Machine Tool Co. manufactured engine lathes and pedestal grinders. In the late 1940s they also manufactured a line of handheld electric drills.
Information Sources
- American Lathe Builders: 1810-1910 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2001 page 24.
- October 1948 Motor Age has a full-page ad from Bradford Machine Tool Co. featuring their Metalmaster 1/4-inch hand drill, Admiral 1/2-inch hand drill, and Metalmaster 3-in-1 handheld tool that combined 1/4-inch drill, 5" disc sander and 5" polisher functions. The ad lists "portable electric drills . saws . sanders . bench and pedestal grinders . polishers . buffers". Company address was 663 Evans St., Cincinnati 4, Ohio.