TECOmaster (or TECO Master or TecoMaster—even Eaton's was not consistent) was a brand name for tools sold by the T. Eaton Co., a Canadian department and catalog store that dates back to the 1800s, and went under in 2000.

Known makers of TECOmaster machinery include McGraw-Edison Co. and Rockwell Manufacturing Co., but we have also seen several TECOmaster machines whose maker remains unknown.

Besides TECOmaster, another Eaton's brand name was Edgerite. In one 1970 broadsheet advertisement (PDF), the name Edgerite is for the "good" quality tools, TecoMaster Homecraft was the "better" line, and TecoMaster Professional was the "best" line. We have little information on the makers of Edgerite branded machinery. One tablesaw was made by Sutton Tool & Die. A 4" jointer and a 16" scrollsaw were made by Duro Metal Products Co.

The Duromark name was used on products sold by Eaton's that were made by ToolKraft Corp.

This website's focus is on woodworking and metalworking machinery plus engines, electric motors, handheld power tools and vises. We do not have any information on the many other products sold by Eaton's and cannot answer correspondence about them. We do, however, welcome information on Eaton's products that are within our website's focus.

Evolution of Eaton's Product Lineup

A study of early Eaton's catalogs reveals that until about 1913, the catalogs were aimed at their Toronto clientele of upscale urbanites. As noted below (see "Information Sources") the Winnipeg branch of Eaton's had a product lineup aimed at more rural customers. The first appearance of woodworking machines is in the Spring and Summer 1913 edition, and was part of a broadening of the catalog to also appeal to their rural customers. The early machines and engines were aimed at agricultural users. The 1916-17 catalogs feature post drills that appear to be models from A. B. Jardine & Co. of Hespeler, Ontario. It is possible that Jardine was also supplying some other products such as forges, blowers and grinder arbors.

From the 1913 Spring and Summer catalog

After World War I, Eaton's continued to expand their catalog business. New product lines were introduced, and within each line they added more choices, covering a wider range of prices and features. We have not seen many catalogs from the 1923 to 1960 era so we do not know exactly when Eaton's started to sell home shop woodworking and metalworking machines.

Information Sources

• More information on Eaton's can be found in their Wikipedia entry.
• Thanks to Brian Kachadurian for providing his research on a Powr-Kraft sander that is identical to a TECOmaster sander. Brian's sander's manufacturer's prefix indicates that it was provided by Rockwell Manufacturing Co. But we have never seen a Rockwell-branded sander that is remotely similar, and therefore Brian suspects (as do we) that the sander was actually made by someone else.
• Thanks to Alain Lafleur for providing pictures of his radial arm saw that allowed us to identify McGraw-Edison as a maker for Eaton's.
• We have seen several TECOmaster radial arm saws that are clearly Rockwell Super 900 radial arm saws with some updated cosmetics. A correspondent also reports a TECOmater 4-inch jointer that "looks most like the Rockwell Beaver 2801 with different casting patterns on the base".
• All the Edgerite information we have has been gleaned from pictures of Edgerite machines submitted to us.
• Small "Edgerite" combination tablesaw and jointer, also bearing the name of the T. Eaton Co. The actual maker is not yet known.
• An Edgerite scrollsaw has a decal with "Edgerite" and "T. Eaton Co." plus a model number plate with the Montgomery Ward name. There is no known connection between Eaton's and Montgomery Ward; possibly the maker made machines for both stores, and this Franken-machine accidentally got a mix of labels.
• A page at the Canadian Museum of Civilization website suggests that the Edgerite brand name was first used in Eaton's Winnipeg store, but was not seen in Toronto before 1918. The Winnipeg store carried a larger selection of tools than the Toronto store, and the Winnipeg store's tools were more aimed for farm use than home use, whereas the Toronto store emphasized gardening rather than farming.
• Thanks to correspondent Stephen Dukoff for pointing us to an online scan of a ca. 1970 Eaton broadsheet advertisement (PDF) that shows Edgerite, TecoMaster Homecraft, and TecoMaster Professional lines of handheld power tools. This ad clarified the relationship between the Edgerite and TecoMaster brands.