Welcome! 

Register :: Login
Manufacturers Index - American Machine & Foundry Co. (AMF)

American Machine & Foundry Co. (AMF)
New York, NY, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class: Wood Working Machinery

History
Last Modified: Mar 11 2022 12:38AM by Jeff_Joslin
If you have information to add to this entry, please contact the Site Historian.


1916

Better known as AMF, the American Machine & Foundry Co. is best known for making bowling equipment, and for owning Harley-Davidson for awhile. They were a diversified manufacturer with an eclectic mix of products.

AMF acquired DeWalt in 1949. DeWalt's very successful line of radial arm saws continued under the AMF name. American Saw Mill Machinery Co. sold their Monarch woodworking machinery line to AMF in Oct. 1951. The Monarch 8" benchtop jointer was labeled, "Monarch 8" Bench Jointer, Model X13 90, Made by American Machine and Foundry for DeWalt, Inc. Lancaster, PA." Additionally, AMF bought the "Monarch Tilting Arbor Saw Bench" (table saw), similarly labeled.

In 1960, AMF sold the DeWalt operations to Black & Decker. The Wikipedia web site has more information on the history of this company.

If you are looking for information on a radial arm saw, also check under the entries for DeWalt and Black & Decker.

Under a subsidiary, Float-Lock Corp., AMF manufactured several similar versatile all-steel vises for the workbench, drill press, and band saw. These included the Float Lock in c. 1951 and Mity 7 in 1955. The original manufacturer, also Float-Lock Corp., was in Bloomfield, NJ. The vises were later manufactured by Wahlstrom Float-Lock Product Co.

Information Sources

  • The company name was registered with the State of New York in April 1902.
  • A correspondent reports a ½-inch keyless chuck made by American Machine & Foundry Co., and also labeled, "Wahlstrom Chuck". A 1926 keyless-chuck patent was assigned to Wahlstrom Tool Co.; presumably AMF bought Wahlstrom.
  • Another correspondent called our attention to a 2020 machinery auction listing for a Monarch tilting arbor saw bench, identified in a photo as "Made by... DeWalt Inc. Lancaster, Pa., Subsidiary of American Machine & Foundry Co." The size of the saw was not given and the model number was possibly "X 4B40" in the photo.
  • Lancaster New Era, Oct. 9, 1951, Pg. 22.
    Woodworking Machinery Line Bought by DeWalt. DeWalt, Inc., this city, has purchased the complete woodworking machinery line of the American Saw Mill Machinery Co., Hackettstown, N. J. The products taken over by DeWalt, which manufactures woodworking machinery, include a large radial saw, planer, bench saw, mortiser, jointer, and band saw. The purchase was announced today by Moorehead Patterson. board chairman of the American Machine and Foundry Co., New York, DeWalt's parent firm.