In 1900, Arthur and Frank Drummond formed the partnership Drummond Brothers to manufacture lathes of their own design. In 1902 they reorganized as Drummond Brothers, Ltd. They operated the Ironside Works in Surrey. The business went public in 1948 and was acquired in 1953 by William Asquith.

The Drummond round-bed lathe, from June 1908 The Engineering Review

Drummond Bros. is best remembered for their metal lathes, some of which were inexpensive enough to be the entry-point machine for home-shop machinists. Various models of Drummond lathes sported innovative designs aimed at creating accurate but inexpensive machines: beds using a single pedestal, cylindrical beds, beds formed from a pair of steel bars, etc. They were one of the first to bring geared-head designs to low-end lathes. Besides lathes, Drummond also made a radial drill press, gear hobbing machines, and a gear shaper. They also made gas engines.

Information Sources

• More history and machine information can be found at Grace’s Guide.
• The lathes.co.uk pages on Drummond Bros. lathes provide descriptions and photos of the many models of metal-working lathes made by this firm. There is also a page on their radial drill press.
• American woodworking machinery maker J. D. Wallace & Co. made a near-copy of Drummond's round-bed lathe which used a cylindrical bed with a groove on the underside to to prevent the headstock, tailstock and cross-slide from rotating. It is not known whether Wallace's was a licensed copy. The lathes.co.uk page on the Drummond round-bed lathe notes the existence of an Australian clone as well, which was just labeled "Drummond".