This company was founded by Nicodemus Bosch (late of Valley City Machine Works) and John Boda. Bosch bought out Boda in 1919. The company made machine tools (i.e., metal-working machinery) including shapers, lathes and drill presses.

We have seen a Garvin tapping machine manufactured by Western Machine Tool Works, which implies a connection to Garvin Machine Co. of New York.

Western Machine Tool Works survived until about 1980.

Information Sources

• The Western triple-geared plain radial drilling machine was featured in the March 1917 issue of Boston Blue Bulletin from machinery distributor Hill, Clarke & Co.
• A web page on past mayors of Holland, Mich., says the following:

        Nicodemus Bosch was born on September 3, 1863 in Vriesland, Michigan. Bosch moved to Grand Rapids at 16 years of age with four sibling sisters: Theunisjen, Anna, Hannah, and Lena.
        Bosch attended Hope College and a business college in Grand Rapids. He married Emma Cherest on December 8, 1889. The couple celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1939. In Grand Rapids, he worked for 8 years in the credit department of Herpolsheimer's, eventually becoming credit manager. He also owned a small machine repair firm. Then he organized the Valley City Machine Works with two associates in Grand Rapids.
        In 1905, he moved to Holland, Michigan and founded Western Machine Tool Works (WMTW) with his business partner John Boda. Bosch bought out Boda's interests in the company in 1919. Nicodemus remained President and General Manager of WMTW for 40 years. The company prospered, as it was on total war production during both world wars. Bosch received a citation from Industrial Press Publishers in New York City for his contribution to the development of the mechanical industry. His company also received the award of Army-Navy "E" Production Pennant for "high achievement in production of war materials."

• Seen on eBay: a "Steptoe Western horizontal metal shaper twin disc clutch, manufactured by Western Machine Tool Works Holland, Michigan USA". Is there a connection with Steptoe, McFarlan & Co. of Cincinnati? We don't know.
• According to a page on "Chard lathes" at lathes.co.uk, "The original Chard lathes were propably made in New Castle, Indiana, about thirty miles east of Indianapolis but the company was bought by the Western Machine Tools Works of Holland, Michigan, whose plant survived until 1992 but was not finally cleared until 1999. The machines illustrated on these pages were all available during the late 1930s and early 1940s." From patent records we know that Nicholas D. Chard worked for Lodge & Shipley Machine Tool Co. of Cincinnati from at least 1894 through 1915, where he received numerous lathe-related patents, many co-invented by William Lodge. Presumably Chard had a good relationship with his bosses: Chard's son was named Lodge Chard! But by 1917 Chard was living in Newcastle, IN, and he received a couple of patents for lathes that were not assigned to Lodge & Shipley. The patents suddenly stop in 1917 and it seems likely that Chard died. Lodge Yoxon Chard of Newcastle received a 1924 patent for a lathe tool-holder but that seems to be the end of the line for Chard lathe patents.
• The Garvin connection came from an owwm.org forum discussion.