In 1910, Harold G. Crane left his teaching positions in electrical engineering at MIT and Harvard. What happened next is a bit murky: either he started making machines under his own name, or he went to work for another machinery maker for a time. At any rate, we have seen at least one machine from this era—a drill press—labeled as made by Harold G. Crane of Brookline, Mass.

Ad from March 1915 "Popular Mechanics"

In 1920 he moved back to his home town of Adrian, Michigan, and began making electrical devices and a motor-driven tablesaw. He apparently added more tablesaws and a disc sander to his product line. In mid-1924, he entered into a partnership with W. B. & J. E. Boice, who were making a similar line of machinery. One tablesaw we have seen is from this transitional period: the saw is labeled both with the "W. B. & J. E. Boice" name, and it says, "Boice Built / Mfg. by H. G. Crane".

Ad from July 1921 "Manual Training"

Once the dust settled, the merged business operated under the "W. B. & J. E. Boice" name; their products were advertised and labeled as "Boice-Crane". In about August 1936, the company name was changed to Boice-Crane Co. Crane remained with the company but died the following year.

Information Sources

• A document on the history of the Eugene W. Crane house (PDF) (Eugene being Harold's father). This paragraph provides some important clues to Harold Crane's work history:

  After Eugene Crane's death in 1912, the Crane house continued to be occupied by his widow, Agnes O. Gilliland Crane, until her death in 1921. Ownership of the house then passed to the only child, Harold G. Crane, and his wife Emily Boice Crane. Harold G. Crane was born in Hudson, Michigan in 1878 and moved to Adrian with his parents in 1881. He graduated from high school in 1898 and then went East to attend college. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston in 1906, subsequently accepting a position as a professor of Electrical Engineering at M.I.T. and Harvard for several years. He entered into a machinery manufacturing company in Boston, and after a few years decided to establish such a factory in his home city of Adrian, which he did in 1920. Following his mother's death in 1921 he occupied the family house as 322 Front Street in Adrian. Mr. Crane operated a small factory which manufactured machinery and tools, at 251 W. Church Streets in Adrian, until shortly before his death in 1937. His widow Emily Boice Crane, remained in the house until 1950, at which time she sold the property. Mrs. Crane died in 1961, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Adrian, with the rest of the Cranes and Gilliland’s.

  The key element is that Crane "entered into a machinery manufacturing company in Boston", which was from 1910 to 1920, when he established his own business in Adrian.
• The 1921 issue of EMF Electrical Year Book carries this entry:

  Crane, Harold, G.—322 Frost St., Adrian, Mich. Manufacturer of oscillographs, motor-driven saws and carbon rheostats.

• The July 1921 issue of Manual Training had a small display ad: "CRANE's 'JUNIOR' BENCH SAW... Table top is 10x13 and can be tilted on either side up to 5 degrees for drafting patterns, etc... Harold G. Crane, Adrian, Michigan".
• See the entry for Boice-Crane Co. for information relating to the partnership that created Boice-Crane.
• Thanks to correspondent Tyler Clark for providing pictures of his Harold G. Crane drill press.