The Friction Set Works Co. was established by husband and wife Edward L. Montgomery and Mercy P. Montgomery, in 1892 or '93. Their product line was centered around sawmill components that had been designed and patented by Michigan-Canadian lumberman Hector Gawley. The business never grew very large but it survived in a low-key way until about 1910.

• 1893 "Catalogue of the Friction Set Works Company". The catalog's 20 pages show their Gawley patent friction set works and their Columbian head blocks.
• 1897 R. L. Polk & Co.'s Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory lists "Friction Set Works Co. (Mercy P. Montgomery), machinery, 240 S Front."
• 1902 Young & Co.'s Business and Professional Directory of Central Michigan lists "Friction Set Works Co, sawmill machinery, 240 S Front."
• 1903 R. L. Polk & Co.'s Grand Rapids City Directory lists "Friction Set Works Co, E. L. Montgomery mngr, saw mill machinery, 240 S Front, Citizens Tel 1517."
• 1907-08 Proceedings of the Common Council of the City of Grand Rapids has a report dated August 26, 1907, on various payments from the city, including $2.47 to Friction Set Works Co. for "services". In a report dated June 29, 1908, Friction Set Works Co. was paid $21.08 for repairs related to Greenwood Cemetery.
• 1906 book, History of Grand Rapids and Its Industries, Vol. II, by Dwight Goss. Page 1092.

  The Friction Set Works Co.—This institution was organized in 1900 by Edward L. Montgomery and commenced business at 240 South Front street with three men. It now has fifteen employees and its output is nearly $2,000 a month. It manufacture saw mill machinery, which is sold in the United States, Scotland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The business is still managed by E. L. Montgomery

• 1909 Hendrick's Commercial Register of the United States lists, under the business of Grand Rapids, "Friction Set Works Co. (Sawmill Machinery), 240 S Front".
• 1910 First Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan lists 1909 factory inspections, including one on April 16 at Friction Set Works Co., Grand Rapids, makers of saw mill machinery, employing five—four men and a boy.
• 1907 Kelly's Directory of Merchants, Manufacturers and Shippers lists, under Grand Rapids, MI, "Friction Set Works Co. (saw mills) Hartman H. J."
• Various genealogy sites inform us that Mercy Power Montgomery, née Hepburn, 1846-1916, married Edward in 1869, and had one son, Charles H. Montgomery. They were living in Grand Rapids by 1900. Edward Lyon Montgomry lived 1846 to 1929, dying in Grand Rapids at age 82. Charles H. Montgomery (1879-1953) died in Kent City, MI.