The two pieces at the far left in the photograph are interpolations from a later Charles Miller set, a Tee adapter and socket made of malleable steel. Rench" cast into the other side. One of the distinctive features of this tool is that the cover plates and drive gear are made of cast "German Silver", a copper-nickel alloy similar to brass and not commonly used for tool making.
At some point we hope to do an X-ray fluorescence analysis of the tools to accurately determine the composition. The square handle is made of tubular steel.
Although not marked with a patent notice, this ratchet is covered by patent , , filed by C. The ratchet closely resembles the patent illustration. The inset shows an end view of the female drive end, illustrating the spring clip riveted to the side at the top. The inset shows an end view of the female drive end. Note the spring clip on the right side, used for securing an inserted socket or other tool. This tool appears to be made of brass or some other non-ferrous metal, as the parts are non-magnetic, except for the spider, the spring clip, and the two rivets in the male drive end.
This socket appears to be made of brass or some other non-ferrous metal. Note that the drive stud has been fitted with a spring clip riveted to the end, possibly to help secure the socket in the drive tool. The socket appears to be made of brass or some other non-ferrous metal, and the surface has been polished to a high lustre. What's New Last Updated Nov. Added info from royalty lawsuit against Syracuse Wrench. Introduction Although virtually unknown today, Miller Combination Tool was significant as the first American company to develop interchangeable socket tools for automotive use.
A Royalty Lawsuit Solves the Puzzle Years after our first exploration of Miller Combination Tool, in we finally found information regarding the fate of the company, and at the same time clarified the connection with the Syracuse Wrench Company.
The Socket Revolution Begins Here Although Miller Combination Tool was an obscure company and operated for only a brief period, it holds a significant place in the history of American tool makers, as Miller Combination Tool was the first American company to develop interchangeable socket sets for automotive applications.
Trademarks Miller Combination Tool is not known to have registered any trademarks. References and Resources Photographs and observations of particular tools are based on items in the Alloy Artifacts collection. The Companion was a lathe with optional scrollsaw attachment, and was marketed to youths. The Kingston-Conley bench grinders have been discussed numerous times in the owwm.
An owwm. Millers Falls began calling their power tools Dyno-Mite in early A higher-resolution version of the catalog is on Archive. Our purpose is to provide information about vintage machinery that is generally difficult to locate.
Catalogs, manuals and any other literature that is available on this site is made available for a historical record only. Please remember that safety standards have changed over the years and information in old manuals as well as the old machines themselves may not meet modern standards. It is up to the individual user to use good judgment and to safely operate old machinery.
The VintageMachinery. About Us. Discussion Forum. Machine Info. Photo Index. A valued worker rumored to be considering a position at another firm might find himself being approached by a company official bearing the news of a job for his wife, so that the family might enjoy a larger income while he remained at the plant. If accepted, the worker and his family would see a rise in income; the worker would understand his efforts were appreciated; and the Millers Falls Company would benefit by having earned loyalty of two employees.
The factories were places where a young man might work alongside his father, uncles and grandfather, and company management viewed such networks as evidence of sound labor practices. At Christmas, Rogers was known to walk through the factory, his pocket filled with cigars, offering one to any worker whose name he did not know.
There is no report of his ever having to relinquish one of his smokes. Again, James Wooster:. In the mids, the Millers Falls Company broke with the time-honored practice of using an established, nationwide network of consumer hardware wholesalers to distribute its tools and began selling directly to consumer hardware outlets.
Although the direct-to-retailer strategy had worked well for the smaller Syracuse company, it was an unmitigated disaster for the larger Millers Falls operation. At a time when much of the wholesale hardware business was based on face-to-face, interpersonal relationships, the Millers Falls Company informed its wholesalers—via wire service, on a Friday night, that it would no longer be doing business with them.
A number of the wholesalers found themselves saddled with substantial investments in what had quickly become orphan merchandise. The incident was not forgotten, and consumer hardware wholesalers, with "memories like elephants," would remain reluctant to handle tools branded Millers Falls up into the s.
Then too, the decision put the company into the position of acting as its own wholesaler, making it necessary to establish a nationwide system of warehouses to service the retail outlets and to field a small army of additional salesmen.
Because the new distribution setup lacked the efficiencies inherent in the traditional wholesaler system, distribution costs skyrocketed. After the purchase, Millers Falls allowed Union Tool to operate with a great deal of independence, a situation that continued until the late s when company management insisted on a greater integration with the larger operation. Ellis had previously been affiliated with the Sawyer Tool Manufacturing Company, a Fitchburg manufacturer of precision tools, where he served as plant superintendent and later became part owner.
When Sawyer Tool was sold to Carl H. Hubbel in , Ellis used the proceeds from his share to form the Union Caliper Company. Millers Falls solved the problem, as did so many other American manufacturers, by hiring large numbers of woman workers.
Although women had been involved in production as early as , the numbers had been relatively small. The new workers came in droves, and many remained on the job when the war ended.
By the mids, women would do most of the fine assembly of electrical components for power tools. Many of the wartime issues feature patriotic themes or humor, and news and letters from former employees stationed overseas were staple features. A glimpse through the issues published during the WWII era reveals a work force intensely patriotic, filled with pride in its war efforts, and in the quality of its products. If the contents of the magazine are a reliable guide, relations between the sexes were characterized by an easy-going banter and much good cheer.
Although sales were good and the future looked rosy, the company passed on a golden opportunity to retool—an omission that would haunt the operation for the next twenty years.
The huge industrial build-up that had taken place during the Second World War resulted in large peacetime surpluses of machine tools and metal fabrication equipment.
A significant part of that inventory was under the control of United States government, and it was being liquidated for pennies on the dollar. Philip Rogers, the senior management, and the directors of the Millers Falls Company were old-school Republicans vehemently opposed to government interference in business and suspicious of this sort of largesse, which smacked to them of socialism.
They passed on the opportunity as they had on a number of government incentives during the war. As a result, they were able to lower their costs due to increased productivity. This site is not affiliated with any hardware company. All logos, names and trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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