This maker of marine engines and drill presses was established in 1932, in Chicago, by Stanley H. Arnolt II, and soon introduced a marine engine, the Sea Mite, which was reportedly based on a locally sourced industrial engine. The company moved to Warsaw, Indiana, in 1939. During the war years the company made precision parts for bombers. In 1944 the company advertised in Popular Mechanics for product ideas. Perhaps as a result of that solicitation, a home-shop drill press was introduced in 1946. Although we have seen an advertisement for this drill press, no examples have surfaced and it may not have been manufactured.
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Arnolt only ever made the one model of marine engine, and once that design lagged behind the state of the art, Arnolt focused its efforts in other markets. A. H. Arnolt started several other businesses, including an automobile importer and an auto dealership. Meanwhile, the Arnolt Motor Co. continued as a job shop, making everything from furniture frames to aircraft landing gear components.
S. H. Arnolt died in 1963 and the business continued under the leadership of his wife, Ghean M. Arnolt, until 1976. Son Michael Arnolt then took control of the business until it was sold in 1983.
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| 1946 ad for the Arnolt "Hercules" drill press |
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