Thursday, July 30, 2015

We used to make things in this country. #203: Ideal Commutator Resurfacer




Not much call for these anymore.  Shop time is generally too expensive to be bothered resurfacing most motor commutators.

In 1916, J. Walter Becker founded the Ideal Commutator Dresser Company in his mother's kitchen in Chicago.  By 1924, the firm was large enough to move to Sycamore, Illinois.  Notable claims to fame: in 1933, their fuse pullers accompanied Richard Byrd on his antarctic expedition; their wire strippers made the journey to the moon in 1969.  In 2010, they acquired SK Hand Tools.  The company remains family owned

Ideal came to Canada in 1962, is still here and still offers commutator resurfacers, but I doubt that their products are made here anymore.

No comments: