This firm was established in 1926 by George Weinberger and William O. Folden. During the 1950s, and possibly earlier as well, they made grinding machines. We have several reports of long-arm pedestal grinders, with the earliest mentions of their grinder being in 1953. One example is clearly marked "WF Machine Works / Norfolk, Nebraska". We could not find any other uses of "WF Machine Works"; presumably this was a case of creative spelling by the patternmaker.

Information Sources

• Thanks to Daniel Nickel for bringing this maker to our attention. Thanks also to Judy Green of the Elkhorn Valley Museum for providing us information on this firm, including scans of several documents, some of which can be seen via the "Images" tab, above.
• The 1927 Bell Norfolk Phone Book lists "W & F Machine Works 702 Prospect 1848J".
• We have a scan of an undated and unnamed directory that lists "W & F Machine Works, Inc, Carl M Johnson Pres, Geo Weinberger V-Pres, Wayne B Cook Sec-Treas, Tom C McGarry Genl Mgr, General Machine Work, also Portable Electric and Acetylene Welding, 8th at Prospect av, (PO 463), Tel 208".
• The 1939 Pierce County Souvenir Publication, provided to us courtesy of Don Schreiner, has an ad for a hammer mill from "The W. & F. Machine Works / 702 Prospect Avenue, Norfolk, Nebraska".
• The 1945 Farm Implement News Buyer's Guide lists "W. & F. Machine Works. 702 Prospect. Norfolk" as a maker of hammer mills.
• A 1953 Nebraska Conservation Bulletin lists "W. & F. Machine Works: Hammer Mills, motor grinders"
• The 1954 Agricultural Engineers Yearbook lists "W. & F. Machine Works, Inc." as a maker of hammer mills plus PTOs and trailers for hammer mills.
• The 1954-55 Polk's Norfolk City Directory has an ad for this firm; the 1952-53 edition had the same ad, which features a picture of a machine lathe, with text saying, "Custom and Special Metal Works / W & F Electric Grinders and Buffers / Ornamental Railings". The directory lists George Weinberger, VP, as living at 6715 Norfolk Avenue.
• An ad dated July 9, 1966 (a scan of the ad was obtained from the Elkhorn Valley Museum) for W & F Machine Works, Inc., has the dates 1926 and 1966, and says, "40 years continuous service in the same location...Opened in 1926 by George Weinberger and W. O. Folden for manufacturing and machine work, W&F Machine Works is now one of the best equipped shops in the area. George Weinberger is still active in the shop. ... 720 Prospect Ave. Norfolk, Nebraska".
• A 1967 edition of School Shop has a text ad for their motorized grinder: "The wide spread between wheels allows accessibility in grinding irregular shaped pieces. Send for free literature, low prices, and name of nearest distributor W & F MACHINE WORKS. INC. 8th and Prospect Ave. Norfolk. Nebraska 68701."
• Charles H. Wendel's Encyclopedia of American Farm Implements & Antiques lists W & F Machine Works of Norfolk, Nebraska, as a maker of hammer mills with a 1945 data point.