Sher Powermate

Black and Decker Special Drill

Black and Decker Special Drill

Sher Snaplock Drill

Black and Decker Special Drill

Black and Decker U-500 Drill

This is the Black and Decker U-500 drill. This was the first drill to be completely manufactured in Australia at the Crodyon factory in Victoria.

Lightburn 1/2" Heavy Duty

Sher 1/2" Shermatic Drill

Black and Decker 552

 

This Black and Decker 10mm hammer drill is what I suspect as one of the last drills made in Australia, although i have no proof of this.

KBC

 

KBC was a manufacturing company that operated out of Woodlands, Adelaide, South Australia. KBC which stood for KEVIN BOWES and COMPANY, manufactured a variety of consumer goods including kitchen mixers. I suspect KBC was in operation as early as the 1950's.

Wolf

Wolf is a brand of power tools orginating in England. Wolf power tools are recorded as being available in Australia from least the mid 1950's. Anecdotal evidence suggested that for a short period Wolf set up a manufacturing plant in Sydney NSW. I managed to purchase this Wolf Safetymaster drill of Ebay because it clearly states on the label that it is Made in Australia.

This is an example of the first SHER drill to combine die cast aluminium with injection moulded plastic.

 

This is a 1963 advertisement for a SHER Powermatic12 volt drill. Not your standard portable power drill, this was specially designed for use in remote locations where mains power was not easily accessible. This drill operates on 12 volts not 230 volts, and you would use the battery from your car or tractor as the power source.

Sher Snaplock Drill

Sher 1/2" Shermatic Drill

This is a Black and Decker Dual Action Sander, model 7436.  It is an all plastic construction, manufactured in Australia and available from 1983. This example was purchased off ebay.

This is a Black and Decker GD15 2 speed drill. Most of the brown paint finish has worn away. This model was on the market from 1963. This particular example was donated by Richard Musgrove.

If the Black and Decker CP2 of my grandfather's was the drill that got me started, it was discovering the SHER Drill Master that confirmed to me the importance of this study. A small all-resin drill (I suspect it is Bakelite), the drill has no 'trigger' switch, instead, an ON/OFF switch is located on the side of the body, curious as the resemblance to a pistol is uncanny. The Drill Master was first introduced to the Australian public in 1952, I am unsure as to when it was taken off the market. This particular example was purchased on Ebay from someone in Western Australia.

This is the CP2 manufactured by Black and Decker in Croydon, Victoria. I have evidence of this model being on the market from 1963 to 1966, however I suspect it was available earlier and for much longer. This particular example belonged to my grandfather, who was a cabinet maker in Cooma, NSW. It was after inspecting this drill and discovering it was made in Australia  that inspired me to look into products manufactured in Australia and hence this study on power tools.

Sher

Black and Decker

Black and Decker

Black and Decker

Black and Decker

Jigsaw

This is my collection of  Black and Decker jigsaws. There are many interesting facts about these jigsaws that appeal to me, one of which is that they were all manufactured in Australia. The other is the development of the handle design from the early die-cast version which was closed to the first plastic versions that were open to the latest black version which is closed.

I am in the process of trying to identify when these items were made, so if you're able to help, please let me know.

Lightburn

Lightburn

The Lightburn K14 drill

Black and Decker

This the a Black and Decker from the 1960's.