No Factory Will Run On Memorial Day - NARA - 533867

The Bullard Machine Tool Company was a large American

machine tool builder A machine tool builder is a corporation or person that builds machine tools, usually for sale to manufacturers, who use them to manufacture products. A machine tool builder runs a machine factory, which is part of the machine industry. The machin ...

. It specialized in vertical boring mills and was largely responsible for the development of the modern form of that class of

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. Al ...

s.
pp. 183-185
/ref> The firm was founded in 1894 by Edward Payson Bullard Sr. (born April 18, 1841 in

Uxbridge, Massachusetts Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts first colonized in 1662 and incorporated in 1727. It was originally part of the town of Mendon, MA, Mendon, and named for the Marquess of Anglesey, Earl of Uxbridge. The town is located south ...

, USA; died December 22, 1906 in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequo ...

, USA
pp. 113-114
/ref>). He received formative experience at the Colt armory and

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military av ...

, which were influential development centers for generations of toolmakers.
p. 174
/ref> Bullard Sr is believed to have developed the first small boring machine designed to do the accurate work previously performed on the

faceplate Faceplate (face plate, face-plate) is a plate, cover, or bezel on the front of a device, such as: Computers and electronics * Electrical outlet, also referred to as a wall plate, outlet cover, or socket cover * Front panel, of computers * Head ...

of a

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece ...

.
p. 184
/ref> Roe (1916) says that "Up to that time boring machines were relied on only for large and rough work." Bullard Sr.'s son, Edward Payson Bullard Jr. (1872–1953), continued the family machine tool business and brought the turret principle to the vertical boring mill, making it a vertical turret lathe. For a while in America during the 20th century, the name "Bullard" on the shop floor was something of a

genericized trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products ...

for vertical turret-head boring mills.. E.P. Bullard Jr led the development of the company's multiple- spindle brand machine that became an important

automatic lathe In metalworking and woodworking, an automatic lathe is a lathe with an automatically controlled cutting process. Automatic lathes were first developed in the 1870s and were mechanically controlled. From the advent of NC and CNC in the 1950s, ...

in the mass production of parts for the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % ...

. Bullard Jr was president of the company for 40 years, through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

, and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a period during which the Bullard company was the largest machine tool builder in the U.S., and vast volumes of military

matériel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...

were produced by countless companies running Bullard machines. Bullard is now owned by Bourn & Koch, based in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. Bourn & Koch continues to provide OEM parts, service and support for their machines.

References

Bibliography

* . * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullard Machine Tool Company Machine tool builders People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts 1841 births 1906 deaths