Machine dealers store front photos

Dennis Turk · Oct 15, 2008

Hi All

I have scanned in the two photos I have showing the store front of Ogden R. Adams metal and wood working machinery and also the A.C Colby Machinery Co.. I have two SB lathes with the A C Colby tag on them though they say in Chicago the picture I have is the NY distributer. They must have had stores in other towns. The Ogden R Adams company I am not sure where they were. Both pictures show a lot of SB products in the widows. In the Colby picture you can see car reflections in the store windows and I would say this picture was taken about mid 30's. Or when the lathe I have that came from this store was purchased. I would like to think the one in the window is the one I have."-)))

The wide bed 9 inch shown in the left window is an R series quick change tool room model so the picture had to be taken in 1934 or later. I cant tell if the workshop 9 inch in the right window is a 405 or a 415. My old eyes even with a magnifying glass cant see if there is a shifter for the leads screw or not. If you young guys can tell which model this is we could more accurately date the photo.

If anyone has one of these company tags on there lathe let me know your email address and I will send you a copy of the photo you wish. Would look really neat hanging on the wall behind your lathe.

If I send these in an email I can send high resolution photos just cant here as these are 500 KB files so I have reduced them down so I can attach as a thumbnail.

Turk

old_dave · Oct 15, 2008

Thank you very much for posting these two wonderful photographs. I looked in my Lindsay Publications reprint of the 1934 South Bend catalogue. In the list of "agents' display rooms" I found A.C. Colby Machinery Co., 183 Centre St., New York City and Ogden R. Adams, 266 State St., Rochester N.Y. These addresses agree with the addresses that can be seen in these photographs. For Chicago, only C.B. Burns Machinery Co., 28 N. Clinton St. is listed. Maybe A.C. Colby opened in Chicago later (or had closed their Chicago location by 1934, perhaps due to the Great Depression, to use a term we've seen a lot lately).
David

Bob-O · Oct 15, 2008

A.C. Colby had another location, too

A.C. Colby also had a store out on Long Island. It was located on Jericho Turnpike, in Mineola. I bought parts for my 1st South Bend from them back in the late 1970's. In fact, my current Heavy 10 was bought thru them in 1969, and still has the Colby nameplate on it. The Colby store is long gone now. I think it's a kitchen cabinet place now.

vraptor · Oct 15, 2008

It fascinates me that there could be a stand-alone store dedicated to selling this kind of machinery to the general public. To use a lathe effectively, you have to know some math, including trigonometry, you have to understand metalurgy to a certain point, you have to have a nodding acquaintance with mechanical engineering, and you have to have the urge to go off and make something. This tells me that the Greatest Generation had more going for it than WWII. And it wasn't limited to the Northeast. You could buy machinery from the Sears Catalog if there wasn't such a store in town.

It fascinates me because there are kids graduating from high school today who don't know who Winston Churchill was. Just what the hell happened?

Claven2 · Oct 15, 2008

vraptor said:
It fascinates me because there are kids graduating from high school today who don't know who Winston Churchill was. Just what the hell happened?

Liberalism and MTV :willy_nilly:

Andy R · Oct 15, 2008

That was so cool to see the A. C. Colby store.
My 1941 lathe sports an A. C. Colby label.

wawoodman · Oct 15, 2008

Ogden R Adams Co.

I googled the name, and found a link to a NY Times article from Dec 5, 1920, that lists Ogden R. Adams Company, Rochester, electrical and mechanical machinery, was incorporated with capitalization of $125,000.

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archiv...F1F30E433A25756C0A9649D946195D6CF&oref=slogin

dougb442 · Oct 15, 2008

For those who are interested...

the NY city photo shows the 'glass bottle' sidewalks in the photo. these were actually cylindrical glass tubes set within the sidewalk to allow light thru to the subway platforms below ground.....99% of these are long gone....

aametalmaster · Oct 15, 2008

Those are cool pics Dennis. Thanks for sharing. I often wondered how a lathe store would be in a mall but now there aren't any good lathe names left...Bob

Dennis Turk · Oct 15, 2008

She be a C model

Hi All

I figured out how to blow the Colby picture up and by golly that 9 inch workshop lathe in the window is a front oilier C model so this picture had to be taken in 1939 or later. So that means the R model 9 inch shown in the left window is left over stock if this picture was taken after 1939.

Turk

Dennis Turk · Oct 15, 2008

Dennis Turk said:
Hi All

I figured out how to blow the Colby picture up and by golly that 9 inch workshop lathe in the window is a front oilier C model so this picture had to be taken in 1939 or later. So that means the R model 9 inch shown in the left window is left over stock if this picture was taken after 1939.

Turk

I just blew up the photo of the Adams store front and all the SB workshop lathes shown are top oiler 415 models. Also notice the Atlas shaper and drill presses mixed in. I would bet the arbor presses are also Atlas products. So this photo was taken some time between 1936 and 1938.

Turk

lepton · Oct 15, 2008

And Today...

Did a quick search to see what's there now... figures!

SteveH8861 · Oct 15, 2008

Those are a really nice photos! Shown below is the tag on my 60's SB9A. I am in Downers Grove IL, not to far from Chicago. Interesting..

I would love a hi-res copy of the photo if possible!
Steve

Dennis Turk · Oct 15, 2008

Send me an email at [email protected] and I will send it right over.

Turk

Don_Hartman · Oct 16, 2008

Any info on W.T. Wills Machinery Co

I would love to learn more about the company that had sold the lathe I own.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll59/d-hartman/Southbend-Lathe/DSC04624.jpg

Can anyone help?

Don

aametalmaster · Oct 16, 2008

I bought this little book off ebay after the last SBL sale and it has all the heavy tens and attachments that were avail in 1940. I was going to cut the book up and make copies and now i am just thinking about it. It has 8 dealers of that era imprinted on the pages. Maybe i can take pics without destroying the book if anyone wants some. All the pages are the same except for the first page with the dealer printing...Bob

ThomD · Oct 21, 2008

One of my 9" lathes came from A C Colby, a 405-Y. Cool to see the photos. Thanks Dennis

thedieter · Oct 22, 2008

Those are nice photos...the kind of store front that would inspire kids to get interested in the machining trade. I can just imagine them stopping by for a look and dreaming of owning one.

Don, I bought a cross feed screw and dial for my 9A at W. T. Wills in LA in 1966 but am sure that it no longer exists. It was a great store in its day which unfortunatly is long past.

That sedan in the first photo looks like my first car, a '36 Studebaker.

Best regards

mendoje1 · Oct 25, 2008

Don_Hartman said:
I would love to learn more about the company that had sold the lathe I own.
Don

I too would like to find out more about WT Wills Machinery Co, Los Angeles.

A pic of my 1964 9A, SN 51790 NAR10, Cat # CL 6477:

...and according to South Bend, my Heavy 10 toolroom lathe, Cat# CL8187A, #6969RKL13 also shipped to Wills Machinery on 9-3-1954 .

I Googled "wt wills machinery", got these two hits:
http://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac2...erm=W.T.+Wills+Machinery+Company&index=#focus

http://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!495402!0#focus

Jeff

jlelandthomas · Jan 13, 2013

I am still enjoying this Picture and the follow rest has helped me play with my little machine over and over .The info that you all shared will last the rest of my life in my machine work .I will take some pics and post them soon and thanks to Dennis for selling me the follow rest it must have been a older set in that Model the machine is black and Follow rest is white a great back street home a lone machine shop addition .
Johnny Thomas
753775000
Central Florida .Wauchula

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