Photo Index - B. B. Noyes & Co. - Little Giant #6 Post Drill

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
B. B. Noyes & Co.
Greenfield, MA

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Drill Press
Machine Size:	#6
Submitted By:	Adam Hall

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Little Giant #6 Post Drill
Date of Manufacturer:	~1916
Serial Number:	none
Last Updated	2/5/2007 12:00:00 AM

Comments:

My great great uncle had this press in his bicycle shop in Newark NJ. He was born in the 1890s and I assume he bought it new around WW1. It passed from him to his brother, and then my grandfather and now to me. The press was been mounted and ready for service when I acquired it. At this point it is undergoing restoration and will be hung prominently on the wall of my wood shop.

This press is unusual in several ways. It has a full cast iron frame, rather than the more common round steel column to support the table. Also, it has a double acting vise, rather than a table. It is unknown if the vise is original to the press, but the fit is good and the workmanship is consistent with the rest of the press. It is also equipped with a keyless chuck that is of the same era as the press.

Several of us have had a little fun tracking down the origins of this press, and its history is still a little fuzzy. The press appears to be a classic Wells post drill and even bares the Little Giant trademark found of Wells drill presses. What is unusual is that the same casting is marked B B Noyes Greenfield Mass.

The Wells Brothers Co. had a line of blacksmithing tools including this drill presses that was acquired by Greenfield Tap & Die Corp. (GTD) in 1912. In 1916 GTD stopped using the acquired Co's names. LITTLE GIANT was the Wells Brothers tradename and was used by GTD through the 1970's.

B. B. Noyes Co. was a major foundry in Greenfield Mass up to the 1940's and probably supplied castings to Greenfield and Wells.

After 1916 GTD began to dispose of acquired co's peripheral product lines. The Noyes co. acquired most of the blacksmithing lines. But from the 1916 GTD catalog shows Drilling Machines..............Discontinued"!

We assume this press was probably made by Noyes, either to use up spare parts left from Greenfield or wells production. It is likely that Noyes had all the patterns and some raw castings when Greenfield sold off the blacksmithing line and could have made a few frames to use these components up. The press may have also been produced by Noyes as a production item. The use of the little giant trademark suggests that the press was produced around the time Greenfield sold off its press line. It is unlikely Greenfield would have allowed a trademark to continue to be used by another company for very long. This puts the production around 1916, which is consistent with the family history. Any way you cut it, the history of this press is a bit illusive.

Photo 1:

Comments: Press under restoration
Source: Me

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Photo 2:

Comments: Double acting vise
Source: Me

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Photo 3:

Comments: Close up of name
Source: Me

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