By 1942 Edward Blake Co. was manufacturing grinding machinery, especially cutter grinders. In that year they announced the new "Lord & Davis" sensitive drill press which ran at 23,000 RPM and could drill holes 1/16-inch diameter down to 0.004 inch diameter. The name "Lord & Davis" is a minor mystery. The firm of Massasoit Machine Co. was making the Lord & Davis sensitive drill by 1947; the owner of that firm was Francis B. Lord, who had been running that business since 1941. The connections between Edward Blake, Francis Lord, the drill press, and the mysterious "Davis", remain a mystery.

Information Sources

• 1929 Waltham, Massachusetts city directory lists "Massasoit Machine Co (Harrv P Trainor) 436 Main".
• 1941 House Documents, 77th Congress 1st Session contains a table of "Authorizations to Business Enterprises" including Francis B. Lord, d.b.a. Massasoit Machine Co., Waltham, Mass., who borrowed $3200 from Waltham National Bank.
• 1942 American Machinist (volume 86, issues 18-22, page 174).

  HIGH SPEED DRILL PRESS—speeds up to 23,000 R.P.M. The NEW Lord & Davis Super Sensitive Drill Press offers convenient finger-tip control, precision, balanced construction, and speeds up to 23,000 R.P.M.—all vitally important for drilling holes from 1/16" down to 0.004" (or smaller) in diameter. EDWARD BLAKE COMPANY LTD 634 COMMONWEALTH AVE., NEWTON CENTRE, MASS.

• Various 1942 issues of The Tool Engineer had ads and brief articles on machines from this maker, including a sensitive drill, a dust collector, and various cutter grinders.
• 1943 Cite>Aero Digest (volume 42, page 393). "Edward Blake Co. — Super-Sensitive Drill Press (AeroED 1064) Nov. 1942, pg 301."
• 1943 Product Engineering (volume 14, issues 1-6, page 47). "Sensitivity in the new super sensitive drill press of Edward Blake Company is achieved by accurately balancing the weight of the spindle against the vertical component of belt tension. This balance, plus convenient sensitive fingertip control, special design features to eliminate vibration, and eight speeds from 3,000 to 23,000 r.p.m., permatic accurate work with drill from 0.004 in. ..."
• 1943 Waltham, Massachusetts city directory lists "Lord Francis B (Massasoit Machine Co) r 12 Harding av", and "Massasoit Machine Co (Francis B Lord) 220 Grove".
• Article in December 1945 Machinery on this firm's grinder for sharpening staybolt taps or long tapered reamers.
• Article in April 1946 Machinery on this firm's tap grinder with a new type of "thin-body chuck". The company address was 634 Commonwealth Ave., Newton Centre 59, Mass.
• August 1946 Modern Machine Shop has a small ad from "Massasoit Machine Company / 222 Grove Street Waltham 54, Mass., / Sole Distributor for U.S.A. and Export / Z. W. Brouillard & Co., Springfield 9, Mass."
• 1947 American Machinist (Volume 91, page 129).

  Drilling — MACHINE TOOLS
  SENSITIVE DRILL—Massasoit Machine Co., 232 Grove St., Waltham, Mass. Improved design of Lord & Davis supersensitive high speed drill press for drilling small holes. Speed has been increased from23,000 to 25,000 rpm. A lighter chuck is used to make operation of the machine more sensitive. Holes can be drilled from 0.004 to 1/16 in.

• 1956 Steel (Volume 138, page 137). "ing the piece, perhaps you can coin it. That's what the Lord Machine Co., Waltham, Mass., did; it expects to save nearly $74,000 this year. This company makes a wave guide flange for radar tubes. The flange piece was machined from a ... Wins Award—The coining idea won the 1956 John Woodman Higgins award for Francis B. Lord, owner of the Lord Machinery Co."