Vanished Tool Makers: Wolf Electric Tools, London, England
Years ago, I was visiting my parents at their cottage in the Muskokas and they asked me to take some garbage to the local dump. I happened to see an old electric drill hanging from its cord on a fence, so I took it, thinking I could at least use the chuck. It turned out to be made by Wolf Electric Tools from London, England. I'd never encountered a British-made electric drill before. A little TLC and a new cord, and it ran perfectly.
The eponymous Wolf Tools was founded by S. Wolf in 1900, opening their Pioneer Works in Hangar Lane in 1935. They initially produced large cast woodworking power tools and at at one time had a Royal Seal for being suppliers to the British Court. They produced their first DIY electric drill, the "Cub," in 1949, before Black and Decker had even entered the British market. Below, a Wolf "Cub Master" that was being advertised on Kijiji:
By the 1970's, they made a variety of power tools, such as the Wolf PH3 Portable Planer.
In 1978, they employed 850 people. The company was purchased by Kango Tools Ltd. out of Peterborough, England in the 1980's. The Wolf name disappeared as the Kango line was "rationalized," as the euphemism goes. Kango was acquired in turn by Atlas-Copco. In the early 2000's, Kango was sold to a Hong Kong firm, TI. The Wolf factory in London is long since gone, although imitations of their products may have been made under license by a firm in India.
There's an interesting side-story concerning Wolf Electric Tools and Australia's youngest winner of the Victoria Cross: Frank Partridge, VC.
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54 comments:
My interest, or maybe fascination with Wolf, during primarily the Hangar Lane era, began when I acquired a second-hand Wolf Cub in the late 50s, and promptly burned it out!
I discovered that the radial commutator design was the weak point and tried, unsuccessfully at the time to fix it....
I found out much later from the designer of said commutator, himself moved to comment on a post, now disappeared, that his initial design was sound, but the 'Bean Counters' at Wolf had rejected it on grounds of cost.... and so I, a small boy, had been punished by this cruel cost cutting exercise!
By this time, Wolf Electric Tools, as they were known, had been producing a wide range of robust and reliable industrial grade power tools.
The decision, with the ‘Cub’ and its quirky, wonderful, but completely bonkers set of underpowered attachments, to move into the mass market of keenly priced DIY tools, where margins were low and volumes high, probably signalled the beginning of the end.
Wolf always had had a reputation for quality, and this ethos persisted through the sixties and early seventies. During this era, as well as Wolf’s pioneering quest for electrical safety, a series of innovative designs which brought plastics to the fore and initiated the use of epoxy resin insulation, made the product, in some ways, almost indestructible….certainly by the standards of their competitors!
However, these improvements were bought at a cost, reflected in the RRP of the finished product, and the average DIY bod just wanted an inexpensive drill to make a few holes in the wall, or possibly sand that polyester resin they had daubed on their rusting mini sills!!
How long the tool lasted wasn’t their first consideration.
Anyone who owned one of the Sapphire range of power tools of that era may well testify to their almost frightening power, (certainly caught me out a few times) and their general reliability.
That, sadly didn’t count for much when heavy marketing and cheapness ruled the roost,…. Sure, we could say that this is just another example of harsh, yet necessary, market forces in operation……or is it really that simple?
A Wolf RS10A portable electric saw recently came into my possession and i'm going to restore it. It looks like a very well built tool. http://www.woodworkforums.com/f13/restoration-wolf-rs10a-10-circular-203215
I became a trainee powertool fitter in 1983 and was sent on a repair and service course to the hanger lane factory, by this time kango had been incorporated. the factory was a very big old place but well run with a great canteen, sadly it has now been demolished and i think a branch of Wickes is on the site.
My Dad worked at Wolf Electric tools until he retired in 1985. He was registered blind but still managed successfully to operate a Cincinnati lathe, milling parts for drills. I used to collect him from work on my way home from school. The company looked after him very well and I think he was always grateful that they employed him given his disability.
Mr Wolf provided children of employees with an annual Christmas party or a trip to Richmond theatre to see a pantomime for older children.
I am most interested in reading about Wolf Tool as my family business Engineering Supplies (Ireland) Ltd in Belfast N.Ireland were the main distributers for these products,it had quite a range of tools including a Points Grinder for the old fashioned distributers of the then cars. We sold the complete range. The introduction of the Sapphire Range was a great leap forward and indeed I still own and use my 3/8" Sapphire 110volt drill which is very powerful and reliable. I use it often. We sold a lot of the Cub drills and a variety of accessories including drill stands,table saws,jig saws etc. They were indeed in the front of the DIY market. These Cub's were sometimes tried for production use and of course failed miserably. We refused to replace such mis-used machines under warranty!!
I loved the Company and their support was great,one of my favourites.
So sorry to hear of its expected surmise due to eventual mass production in Japan etc.
I think my Sapphire will outlast me as I am now 84.
Thanks Wolf
Peter McConnell Oakville Ontario
I have a half inch Wolf Ex Post Office drill that I bought when Mays had a used equipment shop in Abingdon about fifty years ago and its still going strong.
Am I right in believing that Wolf no longer exists as a production organisation?
BML
Yep, they're history now. Hang onto your drill--they don't make them like that anymore.
Heb gewerkt in buitendienst bij Wolf in Zoetermeer ,was klein in NLen moeilijk er waren te weinig financiele middelen Ben 2 weken cursus geweest op de oude fabriek inLonden heel oude troep met grote kantine met afdelingen voor verschillend functies ,alles gescheiden de direktie had bediening . Heb het een jaar volgehouden.Blij dat ik kon vertrekken.
Bedankt hiervoor.
Some Good posts on here. I worked at the Hanger Lane factory between 1973-78 serving an apprenticeship which covered work experience throughout all the departments of the factory. I worked in the coil winding, gear cutting, multi-spindle autos, maintenance, electrical testing and the Toolroom. When i worked there they produced the Sapphire range with durable plastic casings and double insulation, they were a great well made product. I beleive they also had other factories in Canada India Ausralia Africa. I vaguely remember the blind mill operator, along with other disabled workers who were also employed there. Soon after I left I think they started rebadging products from elswhere and it was not long after they were taken over by Kango and then soon ceased to exist. I got the feeling it was an asset stripping exercise. I found them to be a well organised professional company with a strong sense of commitment and fairness to their employees. And maybe this reflected in their products, sadly this ethic now seems lacking in engineering. Where I used to work is now a MacDonalds,- says it all really.
I've just discovered, amongst my machine-tool catalogues, a rather fine, very large (A2) fold-out advertising sheet for the Wolf valve grinder - a rather special one, the top-of-the-range SR54 introduced in 1954.
You can see it here: http://www.lathes.co.uk/wolf-valve-grinder
Thanks for this additional information. Your history of the firm is far more comprehensive than mine. That valve grinder is a beautiful tool (and you did a great job on scanning the pamphlet)!
OMG! that's high metallic form machine good quality. Presently we don't see this type of tools. We have now more technical and modern easy and comfortable home tools like this I given here click here: experthometools.com
I've been researching the history and products of Wolf and later Kango-Wolf for a while now and I'd like to point out a few minor inaccuracies in what you wrote. You state that Wolf introduced the Cub DIY drill in 1949, "before B&D had entered the UK market". In fact B&D opened their first factory in Harmondsworth, Middlesex in the 1930s to manufacture B&D and vanDorn industrial power tools and accessories and whiklst it is true that they didn't introduce a DIY line of power drills to the UK until about 1954/55 (with a copy of the American T-handle U.50 drill) B&D in the USA had introduced their own line of DIY drills in the USA at about the same time as the Wolf Cub appeared (from B&D official history)
Furthermore, Wolf never manufactured their own power planers - they were always boughy-in from Makita in Japan, as indeed were the belt sanders starting with the cccc (Makita 9400) in about 1967, which was replaced by the 5573 (Makita 9400) in 1972. I have examples of these tools which clearly state either "Foreign£ or "Made in Japan" as well as having the Makita "flying M" logo
Whilst Wolf were purchased by Dobson Park Industries (Kango's parent company) in 1982, and merged to form a new company Kango-Wolf Power Tools, Kango was at that time still based in London. The move to Peterborough Took place in 1988, at which time the firm was renamed Kango Ltd. Your contributor who stated that he thought the Kango take-over was an asset stripping exercise is probably spot-on in his assessment. So far as i have been able to ascertain the last all-new tool in the Wolf range was the mk.4 Sapphire pistol grip drill, introduced in 1981. After that whilst Wolf/Kango-Wolf fiddled around a bit with existing tools by upgrading motors, etc nothing new came out of the firm. By the time Atlas-Copco took over the designs and tooling in mid-1993 some tool designs such as the D-handle drills and circular saws had been in production, almost unchanged, for more than 20 years and production of those ceased in favour of more modern offerings from A-Cs other tool subsidiary, AEG. in fact production of the Kango heavy drills was transferred pretty quickly to AEG at Winnenden in Germany whilst the tooling for the big Wolf "gut buster" drills went to Ralli Wolf in India, who still manufacture these tools today (2019)
Thank you for the information. You've done a lot of research!
Hi
I have acquired via a house clearance dozens of wolf drills of different designs including at least 7no. Of the blue sapphire drills and a vintage kango breaker.
I can't BRI g myself to boot fair them or scrap them
Any ideas who did be interested in purchasing them
All refurbished and in full working order.
They often aren't worth all that much - after all the newest Wolf tool is at least 30 years old (in fact the newest teal one is actually pre-1982). I think therefore that your best approach is to put them on eBay, with a reasonably accurate description and some decent photographs. I look forward to bidding on them
I worked in Wolf Tools in the Early seventies. Wonderful company to work for and fabulous people to work with. Especially Jock' in the Stores, John Collier and John O'Brien in the Assembly, and many other wonderful people in those departments whose names escapes me.
Hi
Does anyone know which stand fits the wolf Sapphire a13 drill?
I bought a wolf drill yesterday from a shop in Ghana where they import second hand goods for sale, actually I love the design and durability of the tool, and on reading all these experiences of the wolf industry I feel very sad, and at the same lucky to own such an antique, it works perfectly though, the only thing I cant figure out is how to set it on reverse, but knowing how old my drill could be, I am trying to think that at that time they did not yet have the reverse technology, but however I love it and I am proud to own one
Just bought an immaculate Wolf belt sander for £10 at a car boot. Glad to find out here how old it is and why it is almost identical to my Makita belt sander.
My Grandfather, Harry Richards, worked at Wolf's from about 1910, there is certainly a patent in his name from around 1935 for a percussive drill. My grandmother blamed B and D for Wolf's decline as the drills they sold were cheaper, but not the same quality, but cheapness won.
My brother still has a working Wolf Cub from the 60's. I do remember going to a Christmas party at Hanger Lane, must have been around 1963 64.
Thanks for the information, always good to hear from the people that were there.
Hi Peter,
I worked for GKN International as the Wolf rep in Dublin & south-eastern Ireland in the 1970s.The Wolf rep. for all Ireland was a lovely man carried Jim Boyle, from Belfast. GKN International closed in 1980 & the Wolf agency in the Republic passed to P.E.O'Brien, who were also agents for Makita Tools.
Fionan Cronin.
I have a Wolf drill with hammer action, model No.2388, 400w. It is used for DIY work and it is still working. As I was using it today I thought I should have it serviced. I got on to the internet to see if I could find a Wolf service agent in Northern Ireland, only to find that Wolf no longer exists. Does anyone out there have any suggestions. It is not a job I could tackle myself.
I have a old wolf belt sander serial number 2752749 type bs3b and would like a bit more info on it works fine
Ian B, mostly the only thing these old tools need now and then is brushes. They're generally not hard to remove. Take one out and measure it, you can probably find something that will fit.
Deanors2k1, hopefully someone will scan and send a manual!
Today was the day my Wolf Safety Master drill(1357468) stopped working. Rescued from a garage fire at a neighbours years ago and replacing the cable the old girl has given faithfull service ever since. Having stripped her down and cleaned out years of sawdust and grog I hope that all that is needed is replacement brushes. Marked 386 on one side and 8.5 & 6.5 on the other I hope to find some soon. Then me and the Wolf can crack on for a few more years.
I have a wolf drill, is their any one that would be interested in purchasing it ?
In the late seventies I worked as an electrician at the Chiswick Bus Works which was near Hangar Lane. The company supplied a tool kit which included a Wolf Saphire drill, I was so impressed that mine survived a twenty foot drop onto a concrete floor that I bought one on my return to Australia several years later and happy to report that it is still working.
In the early 1970,s l worked for Wolf Electric Tools at their branch in Nottingham as an electrical fitter repairing, and servicing their portable tools Todal still have some of these tool s which l still use
I live in New Zealand and worked for a company called Kidd Garrett. They were the Wolf agents and at that time I purchased a Wolf drill, must of been 1974. I still have it and it is going strong, never had a power tool that has lasted so long.
Hi, I am Tom B and live in Australia, I had heard about WOLF Tools in years past, but I found that I had some how ,managed to become an owner of a Wolf 3/8 240 volt Drill, a beautiful Tool! It is A wolf HD 750wattNw3cE 781146 Model. I can not remember where or how I came by it. Always thinking it was a 32volt Unit.
It appears to be in great order, and when I see that it is 240 volt I was going to give it a run. Sadly found out that one Brush Assembly is missing, maybe I will find a replacement part some day.
Finding a brush by its dimensions shouldn't be too hard, the brush holder and other parts, only if you're lucky!
Thank you for sharing the valuable content
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I got a new Wolf electric drill and a lot of accessories about 1965. The Circular saw, the drill press and engineers vice, the orbital sander, the lathe. Just about all are in the original boxes. A bit of history here
Thank you Anonymous for mentioning that the Wolf Factory site is now occupied by a MacDonalds - up until now the only information I could find was that it was situated in Hanger Lane!
Having recently moved into the area I've been researching the industrial history of the area - many factories in the district were replaced with offices/warehouses/out of town superstores etc but just today I noticed that the huge Curry's opposite the MacDonalds has closed and looks like it, too, is going to be demolished to be replaced, I wouldn't be surprised, by more 'help-to-buy' blocks of flats.
I worked at wolf in hangerlane from 1994 for a long time. I reported daily sales figures to director Mr scotorn and Mr wolf who always wore a white summer jacket. We had a fantastic team a great export team and I was extreamly successful in selling to Govt accounts as we were an English manufacturer. We nutured and valued the Royal Warrant. Doug Gilbert was a fantastic sales office manager and we had a great field sales staff. We had great point of sales promotions and advertising on TV. We merged with Kango under Dobson park industries and I worked for a great gent Bob Riddell and we had a great product range from a quarter inch drill to a breaker.A hand grinder to VR5 valver grinder that the mod loved.We supplied every one from corner contractor to BR and MOD and Royal House hold and that has now all gone, like the British car industry. So much expertise lost, so much manufacturing lost, we could be a powerhouse rather than a staging post, long live Wolf,the memories live on
Thanks for your insights. I've made a lot of posts about vanished companies and their products, I keep hearing the same story,
"We had a great product, we worked hard and did a good job, the people were great- and it's all gone." Very sad.
I have got wolf blower in india made by rali wolf india Ltd. Blower is Aprox 60 year old and in good running condition. I also contact raliwolf india for confirmation of year made u have also name plate with no.i want to confirm in which year it was made.
Ramesh shah
Can you give your serial number? Maybe there is a list somewhere?
I have Cubmaster drill machine i want to know manufacturing year of the machine.
Dear all,
This may be a shot in the dark but I will give it a go anyway.
My grandfather was employed by Wolf, Electrical Tools Ltd in London at some stage between 1942 and 1944 approx. as part of the war effort. I would love to try to find any records that may be archived away somewhere attesting to his employment but I have no idea where to start my search since I understand that the company was sold a long while ago.
If anyone reading this post has any ideas or suggestions, please do share them. I would be most grateful.
Many thanks!
C Gee
Thanks for your cool guide. This is very helpful to me.
We have a Wolf power drill, big robust thing, been sitting in a dark shed for the past 20 years+, but just dug it out of the jumble, and it still runs perfectly well. The bit for drills is all rusted, but otherwise it is an astonishing shape for its age. It was bought at the Royal Highland Show by my late father-in-law in 1970.
My father Mr Andrew Franio worked there for years until his retirement in 1986. I remember the fabulous Christmas parties as a little girl. He was mentioned in the company magazine.
Hi, ik heb ook bij Wolf in Zoetermeer gewerkt. Ik zat in de verkoop binnendienst vanaf 1984 totdat de vestiging in Zoetermeer werd overgenomen door Rawlplug in Delft.
I worked at Hanger Lane , looking after armature winding machines operated by
woman workers, I was there a lot of years until they closed , A lot of History
with workmates now long gone
Hi Ron, you probably knew my dad, Gerard Bye, he worked at Hangar Lane all his life in the electrical development department, I have lots of memories of going into the factory with him at weekends to check on test machines, I have a lifelong love of tools and machinery as a result.
Hi Ron and Peter, my father and grand father worked at wolf lates 70's to late 80's, we had other family members work in the office areas, my dad name was Jayanti Patel, they used to call him John or something like that, he had to leave work due to a accident at work We used to get Xmas hamper every year, I remember as a kid. If you remember please reply.
Thanks
Mr Patel
My father was a toolmaker designer for wolf in the 1940 he went to Australia in 1949 believing they were opening a factory there I don’t know wether or not they did because we never heard from him again I was 7 years at the time
Hi all,
I have a beautiful Wolf General Duty Electric Drill, Type SD4cA. It is mounted in a Wolf M1011 stand.
I have just come across an 8 page instructions' booketin in very good condition, apart from some character marks on the cover. It appears to have been printed in February 1948 - printing shows "Printed in England 6000/2/48".
If anyone would like a PDF copy of the instructions, please contact me.
A question, if I may - Does anyone have any information on the stand M1011?
Indeed, any information on the SD4c would be appreciate.
Have a great day, and greetings from Canberra, Australia, Bill.
Hi, I'm in New Zealand. I have a Wolf TG6D 6" double ended bench grinder, Serial No. 1049793. It was given to me by my uncle many, many years ago and is still my daily grinder. Yes, the diecast toolrests broke - easily replaced with steel - and the switch broke out of the very thin aluminium serial plate it was mounted on and shorted out on the body - again an easy fix with a stiffer backing plate. Incidentally the 8MFD capacitor is labelled as "Suitable for tropical conditions". Great machine and runs very smoothly.
My late father visited the UK in the 80s from Saudi. He bought a drill from them. I have that drill today, it says Kango Wolf on it. Small world.
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