H. Bickford and The Bickford Drill & Tool Co.

Bickford drill catalogs posted by the Cincinnati Public Library.

An early H. Bickford upright drill catalog. I think this might be his first catalog and would date from 1874 to 1878.

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A 1903 catalog from The Bickford Drill & Tool Co.

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Rob

Thanks for sharing, Rob. Jake

Rob ,
Thanks for sharing .
Library and Archive sites often turn up many surprises that might not turn up in ordinary searches .
Here are a few places I took a look at.

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Search Milling Machine
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Amos Hale Brainard
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Student Examines a Cincinnati Milling Machine
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Sebastian Lathe Co.
http://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll6/id/6545/rec/5
Threading in a Lathe Hughes High School 1942
http://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll3/id/107513/rec/18
Search for Lathe
http://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/search/searchterm/Lathe/page/1

All I have time for right now.
Maybe someone else will find some more.
Regards,
Jim

Wow, I had no idea they started that early. By 1900 they had a lot of experience and knowledge of what it took to build a good drilling machine. No wonder there are so many remaining from the war. Never heard anybody bash a Bickford.

Jim Christie said:

Rob ,
Thanks for sharing .
Library and Archive sites often turn up many surprises that might not turn up in ordinary searches .

Click to expand...

I actually found this in my normal search. I had not searched for Bickford for awhile.
I have used the Cincinnati Library site for quite some time. They are always adding new items.
In one of the city directories for Cincinnati, it shows the names of the workers for Steptoe, McFarlan & Co. and what they did there.

Interesting that you show the Brainard genealogy. I have had this for some time.
I am a distant relative of Amos's first wife, Christiana Delano and Amos's son Amos Daggett Brainard.

I would like to find one or more of Bickfords early screw feed drills.
The 28" would be nice and the 24" is really cute.

Rob

Robert Lang said:

An early H. Bickford upright drill catalog. I think this might be his first catalog and would date from 1874 to 1878.

Click to expand...

I now date this catalog to 1876.

Rob

I finally found a picture of H. Bickford.
It is in a Machinery magazine article about fifty years development in drilling machines by Cincinnati Bickford from 1924.

Machinery - Google Books

Also an article in Machinery magazine, from 1911, showing Cincinnati Bickford's new factory at Oakley.

Machinery. v.17 1910-1911. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library | HathiTrust Digital Library

Rob

A little info on H. Bickford.

Hezekiah (his birth name and went by Henry)) Bickford is buried at Bayside Cemetery, Laconia.

The Bickford family came from Scotland.

H. Bickford(1843-1918) had two brothers, Charles H., 1846-1929(who went by Harry, probably because their father was also Charles), and Frank P, 1851-1876.
Henry's two brothers, at some time, went to Cincinnati also.
In the 1874 Cincinnati directory Henry, Harry and Frank are living together(64 E. 5th). Henry and Frank as machinist and Harry working in a turning shop.
In the 1875 directory Frank is not shown(not uncommon), but Harry is shown as working at 179 East Front Street(H. Bickford's factory).
There is a double listing for Henry in the 1875 directory for where he lived. Probably because he moved.
I think Harry and Frank worked with Henry when he started making his drills at 179 East Front Street.
Frank died in 1876 at around 25 years old. I don't know why yet. Harry then left Cincinnati and went back to New Hampshire.
Henry must have been very close with his brothers.
Henry had two sons. He named them after his two brothers. Harry, 1869-1932 and Frank, 1881-1901. Frank died young of tuberculosis.
Henry's son Harry, who never married, became a machinist and worked with his father when they moved back to New Hampshire.
Henry retired and sold his VBM business, H. Bickford & Co., in 1911 and died in 1918.

View of the factory on Union Ave. and an article from 1900 showing part of the factory being moved there by water.

I am a distant cousin of H. Bickford.

Rob

Something I found from 1887.
It claims George A. Gray Jr. was involved in the purchase of H. Bickford.
Also two ads by Bickford in 1877 and one from 1876 showing other machines he was making.

Rob

By 1897 Bickford was making the radial drill with a cylindrical column years earlier than other builders.

John

jhruska said:

By 1897 Bickford was making the radial drill with a cylindrical column years earlier than other builders.
John

Click to expand...

Niles Tool Works was making the cylindrical column in 1869. It was George Gray's patent.

Rob

Here is the Niles radial as it was offered in 1903.

Bement the same year, same catalog.

From MMM in 1901.

Hamilton Machine Tool Works 1904.

John

A better picture of Henry Bickford from post #9 and a new one I just found.

Rob