Founded in 1917 as the C. A. Vandervell & Co Ltd., it became C. A. V. Small Tools, Ltd. only a year or so later. In 1934 the firm changed its name to C. A. V. Jigs Moulds & Tools, Ltd.
Upon the ending of World War I in 1918, C. A. V. Small Tools worked with machine designer Francis Richard Wade to develop and patent a tubular-bed model-maker's lathe that was sold as the Wade C.A.V. It was popular and was imported into the USA by New York based distributor The Gerold Co., who marketed and branded the lathe as "The Wade Lathe / The Gerold Co.", no mention of C. A. V. to be found.
Information Sources
- More history and machine information can be found at Tony Griffith's Lathe web site.