We believe that this motor manufacturer also made the "Top Shop" bench grinder that was sold in the late 1960s.

"Popular Mechanics" article on the Top Shop bench grinder

The company began as Titan Electric Co., and changed its name to Oak Electric Motors, Inc., in 1949. The bench grinder was a small sideline, their primary products being motors, grinders, pump jacks, and air conditioners.

Information Sources

• We learned of this maker from a message in an owwm.org forum.
• A 1949 issue of Electro-Technology, says, "COMPANY BRIEFS Titan Electric Co., Burr Oak, Mich., manufacturers of motors, grinders, pump jacks, and air conditioners, has changed the name to Oak Electric Motors, Inc.". Google's OCR renders the original name as "Titon Electric" but we think "Titan Electric" is correct because of our other information sources.
• An online obituary for Ruby B. Armstrong says, "She previously worked for Titan Electric Co. in Burr Oak, Michigan during the war wiring motors for the war effort from 1943 to 1946."
• The 1946 edition of The Directory of Michigan Manufacturers lists Titan Electric Co.
• The 1954 edition of The Directory of Michigan Manufacturers lists Oak Electric Motors, Inc.
• A brief writeup in the March 1969 issue of Popular Mechanics nails down the era when the bench grinder was made.
• Burr Oak, Michigan, is a village of less than 1,000 people, and we already knew that Oak Electric Motors Inc. was based there and was active at the right time to have made this bench grinder. Since it seems highly unlikely that such a small place would have more than one company capable of making bench grinders, we assume that Oak Electric Motors made the grinders under the "Top Shop" name.