From an article in June 1902 The Age of Steel

Prominent New York City machinery dealer E. P. Bullard had, in 1880, established a manufacturing business, the Bridgeport Machine Tool Co. In about 1884 he sold his New York City machinery dealership, the E. P. Bullard Co., to a longtime employee who operated the business under his own name, J. J. McCabe. The business was located at 149 Broadway.

Prior to the 1880s, the machine tool technology was evolving so rapidly that used machines had little value. McCabe recognized that this was changing and pioneered the sale of used machinery as a major part of his business.

This Vintage Machinery website does not normally list dealers: our interest is in manufacturers. J. J. McCabe qualifies for this listing because in the late 1880s he developed, and had manufactured under his name, an innovative double-spindle lathe that had one spindle for typical work and a second spindle—located higher and farther back—for very large work. A lathe capable of very large work was inconvenient for smaller work, and McCabe's double-spindle lathe could handle both classes of work in the footprint of a single large lathe. The lathe was patented in 1888 (the inventor listed on the patent is not McCabe but rather employee Charles Smith), and was manufactured by Dietz, Schumacher & Boye, starting in about 1895; other manufacturers would also manufacture this lathe for J. J. McCabe.

In about 1914 the J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co., with plant located in Chattanooga, TN, was established to manufacture machine tools, including the McCabe double-spindle lathe. This new business was operated by sons J. J. McCabe, Jr., and Raymond J. McCabe. In 1918 the New York business was reorganized as the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp.; this reorganization was triggered by McCabe developing dementia and making some questionable business decisions.

1919 was an eventful year for the McCabe family. J. J. McCabe Sr. died in January. During that year a new type of variable-swing lathe, based on a patent by Alvin W. Needham, was being manufactured by the American & British Manufacturing Co., of Providence, R.I., for J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp. And the J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co. of Chattanooga had failed before the end of the year. The New York parent company would disappear before the end of 1923.

A 1929 tax lawsuit would shed light on events from 1918 and into the early 1920s. As of 1918, McCabe employee P. F. Sheeran had been running the J. J. McCabe day-to-day business for some years. Sheeran was unhappy with his compensation, and, in his deteriorating mental condition, McCabe made generous promises to Sheeran regarding his salary and bonuses and even how Sheeran would be rewarded on the event of McCabe's death. Meanwhile, the McCabe Punch & Shear Co., which had been consuming money for some years in developing a large punching and shearing machine for shipyard use, was gearing up for production, signing a lease for a Chattanooga factory and buying equipment. Construction commenced on the first two machines. Meanwhile, the senior McCabe's increasingly bizarre behavior and failing health led to a reorganization of the New York business, with Sheeran as general manager. After McCabe's death in early 1919, and just after the company had announced their new Needham-designed 2-in-1 lathe, the McCabe sons refused to honor the promises their father had made to Sheeran. Sheeran left the business and open a new business in direct competition to the McCabes. Meanwhile, one of the newly built punching and shearing machines had been installed in a shipyard, and the machine promptly broke, revealing a serious design flaw. The buyer then refused the machine and told McCabe Punch & Shear to take it back. Already in financial distress, and with two very large and expensive machines found to be useless—they could not even get scrap value for the machines because they were so large and difficult to move—the Chattanooga-based McCabe company folded. The used machinery business was keeping the New York McCabe company afloat but it does seem that the company suffered in the absence of Sheeran's leadership. The McCabe family negotiated a settlement with Sheeran that resulted in Sheeran shutting down his competing business and rejoining McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp. as general manager and treasurer.

In early 1922 things took a strange turn. Announcements appeared that the McCabe & Sheeran Machinery Corp. had been organized to take over the business of the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp. The organizers were H. P. McCabe and P. F. Sheeran. H. P. McCabe was the late J. J. McCabe's brother, and he had been working for the J. J. McCabe company for 26 years. Immediately after this announcement there came retractions to state that there was no association between the new McCabe & Sheeran Machinery Corp. and the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp., which would "continue to operate under the same name and management as before." We have not been able to determine exactly what was going on behind the scenes of this embarrassing announcement and reversal, but it appears that neither company survived the debacle.

Information Sources

• American Lathe Builders: 1810-1910 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2001 page 101
• March 1919 Machinery.

  J. J. McCABE—J. J. McCabe, of the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corporation and one of the well-known men in the machine tool industry, died on January 17. As a dealer, Mr. McCabe, from time to time, handled the New York agencies of many well-known manufacturers of machine tools, including Schumacher & Boye; Smith & Mills Co.; Carlton Machine Tool Co.; and G. A. Gray Co. In the used machinery business, Mr. McCabe was one of the pioneers for nearly thirty-five years. When E. P. Bullard founded the Bullard Machine Tool Co., of Bridgeport, Conn., devoted entirely to manufacturing, Mr. McCabe succeeded the old New York firm of the E. P. Bullard Co., who were machine tool dealers, and with whom he had been associated since boyhood. As a manufacturer, Mr. McCabe was identified with the well-known "Two-in-One" double-spindle lathe, which he personally designed and which was manufactured under his patents for years. A few years ago, he also founded the present J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co., the plant of which is located at Chattanooga, Tenn. Mr. McCabe made many warm personal friends during his long connection with the machine tool industry, to whom his death will be a heavy loss. He leaves a widow and four children. Two of his sons, J. J. McCabe, Jr, and Raymond J. McCabe, have been associated with him in business for a number of years, and under their able management the organizations of the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corporation and the J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co. will be continued.

• 1919-01-23 The Iron Trade Review, page 284, "Obituaries" column.

  J. J. McCabe, a widely known machine tool dealer and manufacturer, of New York City, died at his home in that city Jan. 17. Mr. McCabe was a dealer in machinery for more than 30 years, and was a pioneer of the used machinery trade. He operated his business under his own name until a year ago, when the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp. was formed, with offices in the Singer building. Mr. McCabe was also head of the J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co., Chattanooga, Tenn., which was a builder of a double spindle lathe, designed primarily for shellmaking purposes.

• 1919-02-06 The Iron Trade Review, "Obituaries" column.

  J. J. McCabe, whose death on Jan. 17 was noted in The Iron Trade Review of Jan. 23, was one of the oldest and most notable figures in the machine tool industry. He was recognized as one of the largest dealers and manufacturers in the country, being president of the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp., New York City. As a dealer, Mr. McCabe has handled the agency in New York from time to time of such Cincinnati builders as, Schumacher & Boye; Smith & Mills Co.; Carlton Machine Tool Co.; G. A. Gray Co., and other prominent manufactures of machine tools. In the used machinery business, Mr. McCabe was one of the pioneers since 35 years ago he succeeded the old New York firm of E. P. Bullard Co., with home he had been associated since he was a boy. It will be remembered that Mr. Bullard at that time founded the Bullard Machine Tool Co., Bridgeport, Conn.

  As a manufacturer, his name has been identified both here and abroad with the well known "2-in-1" double spindle lathe, which he designed, and had manufactured under his patents for years. A few years ago he founded the J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co., Chattanooga, Tenn. Two of his sons, J. J. McCabe Jr., and Raymond J. McCabe, have been with him in business for a number of years, and they will continue the organization of the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp. and J. J. McCabe Punch and Shear Co.

• September 1919 Machinery.

  In the April, 1918 number of Machinery, there was published a description of a lathe [Needham Double-Purpose Lathe, A. W. Needham, Long Island City, NY], the feature of which is that variable swings from 14 to 40 inches may be obtained. Briefly, this is accomplished by mounting the headstock and tailstock on cross-slides and by locating the rear V-ways of the bed considerably lower than those in front, so that by moving the line of centers transversely to the rear, the additional swing is obtained. Substantially the same type of lathe is now being built at the shops of the American & British Mfg. Co., Providence, R. I., for the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corporation, of 149 Broadway, New York City, except that the four-step cone-pulley construction has been replaced by a geared head, by means of which twelve spindle speeds are obtained...

• 1921 trademark registrations for 2-in-1 and All-in-1 marks for lathes.
• 1922-01-19 The Iron Trade Review, page 222.

  The McCabe & Sheeran Machinery Corp. recently has been organized with offices at 1801 Singer building by H. P. McCabe and P. F. Sheeran. Mr. McCabe had been affiliated with the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp. for 26 years, and following the death of his brother, J. J. McCabe, three years ago, served as vice president and manager of machine tool purchases. Mr. Sheeran associated for 23 years with the same company, was treasurer and manager in charge of sales and advertising. The new company will deal in new and used machines and is direct manufacturers' representative.

  Same issue, page 228:

  CorrectionThat the J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp., 1805 Singer building, New York, had changed its name to the McCabe & Sheeran Machinery Corp., as stated in a recent issue of The Iron Trade Review, is erroneous. The latter name is the title of a newly organized company and there is no association between these two companies. The J. J. McCabe Lathe & Machinery Corp., which is one of the oldest machinery houses in the East, will continue to operate under the same name and management as before.

• 1929 Reports of the United States Board of Tax Appeals, Volume 9, pages 1137 to 1143.

  McCabe Lathe & Machinery Co., Petitioner, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent.

  ...The petitioner is a New York corporation with its principal office at 149 Broadway, New York City.

  On January 1, 1919, petitioner owned and occupied a building located at Tenth and Brunswick Streets, Jersey City, J. J., which it had acquired January 1, 1918, at a cost of $2,969,30...

  Prior to 1918 the business now conducted by petitioner had been owned by J. J. McCabe individually. When the petitioner took over the business of J. J. McCabe in 1918, P. F. Sheeran, who had been employed for several years as general manager, continued to hold that position...

  Early in 1919 a dispute arose between petitioner and Sheeran over the extra compensation to be paid Sheeran for the year 1918. At that time J. J. McCabe was dead or insane. As a result of this dispute and the failure of the petitioner to make satisfactory settlement, Sheeran resigned from his position in April, 1919, and went into business in competition with petitioner under the name of the Sheeran Machinery Co., which his office next door to the office of the petitioner...

  The J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co., an affiliated concern, leased a plot of ground in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1918, for a term of five years at a rental of $600 a year, and constructed a building thereon... The building was used for the manufacture of large punch and shear machines particularly adapted to the requirements of ship-building yards for punching and shearing plates. The demand for this company's product ceased with the termination of the war. The business was discontinued and the plant shut down early in 1919....

  The J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co. had on hand on December 31, 1919, two large punch and shear machines weighing approximately 30,000 pounds each, which it had manufactured for sale. One of these machines had been shipped to a customer in West Virginia, but on use it proved to be defective in design and broke. It was rejected by the customer and never paid for. It was left in West Virginia, the Punch & Shear Co. having determined that it was not worth the freight return charges. Efforts were made to sell the other machine, without success... The inventory of the J. J. McCabe Punch & Shear Co. as of December 31, 1919, was $42,839.04. Prior to this date the Punch & Shear Co. had ceased manufacturing and closed down the plant. These machines were defective and had only a scrap value of $420 in 1919...