In 1914, C. C. Hobart left Hobart Manufacturing Co. and founded Hobart Brothers Co. His three sons were active in the company. They built electrical apparatus, including motors, electrical welders, and battery chargers. Also included in their lineup for a relatively brief period in the early 1920s was the "Shop Aid", a pedestal grinder-buffer, with the wheel on one side replaced with a pulley to drive an air compressor, small line shaft, or drill press. They also made a buffer-only version of this product. These grinder-buffers did not have wheel guards, and were sometimes advertised as intended for grinding and polishing tires and rims. Information about their commutator lathes is at Lathes.co.uk

Motor Generator Corporation was a Hobart Brothers affiliate that primarily made gensets for aeronautic use. We have seen a couple of grinder-buffers with a logo of "Hobart" over "MGC" and a badge reading "Motor Generator Corporation / Troy, Ohio".

Ad from May 1922 "Popular Mechanics"

Both Hobart Manufacturing Company and Hobart Brothers Company are now part of ITW; the former in the Food Equipment Group and the latter in the Welding Group.

Information Sources

• Thanks to correspondent Andy FitzGibbon for providing much of the history provided here.
• The 1921-08-10 issue of Motor World carried a small writeup of the "HB Motor Buffer".
• The 1922-02-01 issue of The Commercial Vehicle had a small writeup of the "Shop-Aid" grinder-buffer with pulley for operating another machine or line shaft.