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  1. #16
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Age
    71
    Posts
    651

    Default

    I remember when Black & Decker used to make really good drills as well. I think I was 15 or thereabouts. Bought one that had a metal case. Thought it was the ducks nuts..

    I've still got a B & D plastic-bodied jigsaw that's 25 years old and still going strong.

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  3. #17
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Toowoomba Qld.
    Age
    64
    Posts
    2,792

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    We had a Wolf Sapphire drill and a big angle grinder too I think, on the family farm in the mid-70's. Heavy & solid with strong torquey motors I seem to remember. The grinder got mounted to a frame for a cut off saw.
    It wouldn't surprise me to hear they still go

    Cheers,
    Andy Mac
    Change is inevitable, growth is optional.

  4. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Kent, England
    Posts
    1

    Default 50 year old Safetymaster, and still going

    I have a Wolf Safetymaster double insulated drill, serial number 4419850- ivory metal body with red plastic back to handle. I don't remember exactly when I bought it, probably mid to late 1950s.
    I still use it regularly, although the brushes must be very worn, as occasionally it won't start, and I have to revolve the chuck a fraction by hand before it will make contact.
    If I knew where to get replacement brushes I would fit them, as I'm sure it would have another 50 years in it. I used to live near the Wolf factory at Alperton, West London, but it has long since gone, so if anyone knows of a source of spares, do let me know.

  5. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Poynton, England
    Posts
    1

    Default What Happened to Wolf

    Hi All, I have a Wolf Sapphire Model 3969 Serial 308A. I have had it from new for over 25 years and it has never let me down. It does have a 3/8 chuck which i would love to upgrade to a 1/2 inch. does anyone know if this is possible and if so where i can get the parts.

    Cheers

  6. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    5,773

    Default

    I had a wolf 9 1/4" grinder on my tool issue at one firm I was at.... what a beast.
    I used to cut slots in concrete with it.
    It was rated at 10 amps 240 volt.
    Two hands for that fella.
    cheers
    Any thing with sharp teeth eats meat.
    Most powertools have sharp teeth.
    People are made of meat.
    Abrasives can be just as dangerous as a blade.....and 10 times more painfull.

  7. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Wilga WA
    Posts
    27

    Default

    Those old drills just keep going. I have a Sher drill that must be at least 40 years old mounted on a stand that I still use sometimes. the only thing wrong with it is the switch has packed up, I replaced it with a toggle switch mounted on the side of the handle, a lot more conviniant as it is only used on the stand. I also have an all metal Makita, no paint just a grey metal finish. it goes back to the mid 1960's. Still gets regular use.

    Bino

  8. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Saltburn by the sea
    Posts
    1

    Thumbs up Red Ridding Hoods friend reappears

    Hi
    Try this site http://www.gardencut.co.uk/product_details.asp?pid=1487 they do a saw as well but where they come from who knows, like the wolf in the night !

  9. #23
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Hawthorn
    Posts
    2

    Smile Warren

    Would anyone know where I can buy a Wolf Cubmaster Drill?

  10. #24
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

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    Hi Warren,

    your best chance would be Ebay.co.uk (the British Ebay). A few months ago, i saw a Cubmaster on auction there, new in original box. It went for about 60 GB-Pounds. In such a shape it was a rarity and it was immediately snapped up by a collector like me. I already own a brand new one, as well as a Safetymaster (sorry, i won't part with them) and was short on cash a that time since i bought far too much already ( a particular illness of mine), otherwise i would have been the buyer. Still, decent used Cubmasters are on offer regularly, since many of them are still around in sheds, forgotten under years' worth of gathered dust. I added a pic from the Science Museum in London, showing a Safetymaster on the left (1958) and a Cubmaster on the right (1950). This pic was taken from Wikipedia.

    Also on Ebay.co.uk are regular offers of purchased stock from the British Ministry Of Defense, which originally must have been standard stock from Engineers' Regiments. These MOD-liveries run on 110 Volts and many of them are in very good order. The MOD will not have stocked Cubmasters, because these (though excellent robust machines) were meant specifically for DIY use. But if you are keen on other Wolf tools too, this will be an option for you.The little pic shows a Wolf/Kango circular saw from MOD-stock, which i recently puchased through Ebay.co.uk.

    In my story on page 1 in this thread, i also mentioned an Indian manufacturer from which i once saw Wolf license built models in black and yellow. I found this manufacturer back, they now even build these models in the original 60s Wolf livery.
    The Stark firm seems to make Hitachi-designs as well, probably under license. I pasted their Wolf-based models together in one pic. Stark will not experience patent or license problems from the original Wolf factory, as it is gone now. The modern nylon light grey and dark blue Wolf drill shown in the weblinks in the post above even sports the original Wolf typeface, and in this case there will be no infringement problems either. The current brand owner seems to be Chinese and will have probably have bought the brand name and all its marketing rights from Kango. Even the Sapphire product name was copied. Originally the term "Sapphire" was used by Wolf to designate its new very durable motor design, based on epoxy resin copper wire and coil assembly insulations. Metabo nowadays uses a similar designation ("Marathon") for improved motor durability.

    regards

    gerhard

  11. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    As chance would have it, there was a Wolf valve seat grinder as mentioned in the story above, on auction on Ebay.co.uk just as i wrote the story on August 23rd. Added are some pics of it. I also found a pic of the cream and aqua blue livery from the latter 70s and early 80s.

  12. #26
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Hawthorn
    Posts
    2

    Default Wolf Clubmaster Drill

    Hi Gerhard,
    Thanks heaps for all the photos and information on the "Wolf Clubmaster".
    It looks a very robust drill. Nothing like to cheap quality ones you get these days.
    I will keep a look out on eBay U.K for one.
    I'll let you know if I come accross any in my searches.
    Thanks again it is very much appreciated.
    Kind Regards
    Warren

  13. #27
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
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    Default

    hi Warren,

    thanks for the compliments! The Cubmaster is indeed very robust, but be advised that it is fifties' technology. Mine is stacked away in storage, so i can't get at it just now to read the type plate, but from memory i know that its power intake is around 250 Watts or less. This was a normal value for 50s and 60s DIY standards, even for some small industrial tools (e.g. the Fein 636-series tools had 280 Watts as a standard rating up to the 70s, after which it was cranked up through 300 to 320 Watts in the 80s' "Wattage race"). Many brands in those days offered all metal machines like this, even for DIY purposes, all durable yet small and moderately powered. Metabo for instance had a small metal 190 Watts DIY drill in its catalogue, which was even deemed fit to drive several attachments (sanding plate, jig saw drive, bench mounted grinding wheel). There was even a very small circular saw attachment available for it, which with 190 Watts could hardly have achieved more than "tickle kite sticks" (Dutch saying for underpowered tools). For the Cubmaster, Wolf provided similar attachments, including a floor polisher.

    So the Cubmaster is a fine, but tiny and oldfashoined drill. It manages 1/4 in. in steel and 1/2 in. in wood. Its motor has sleeve bearings, so needs a few drops of oil now and then. It is not yet equipped with the epoxy resin "Sapphire" copper wire insulation, nor is the tool itself double insulated. The somewhat larger "Safetymaster" was Wolf's first double insulated DIY drill (hence its name), but the Cubmaster still needs an earth wire. It has -of course- no electronics and i doubt if the earlier version even have a built-in noise suppressing capacitor. And if the armature or one of the sleeves or gears go, that's it, with no replacements parts to be had anymore.

    Should you want one to work with, you must be prepared to step back to 50s' levels of power tool performance. You could fix a missing capacitor yourself, just fix an MKT-type behind the switch, parallel to the motor leads. Its value should be 0.1 microFarad (also named 100 nanoFarad) at 250 V AC or 630V DC. Should the chuck key be missing, brands like Jacobs could still supply you with a replacement. One thing's for sure, though: you will attract attention when people see you use this nice looking little tool with its oldfashioned etched red and chrome type plate and hammerite finish.

    If robustness and durability is the objective, than there are still very good options today. Black & Decker has the famous "Holgun" line, which started in the 50s and still carries very strong and robust drills. Features from these designs were adopted in some DeWalt drills (DeWalt is B&D-owned since 1960) and these products enjoy such reputation that similar models were introduced by Makita and Milwaukee. And don't forget Hitachi, which is often underestimated. A good option i know from own experience is the Metabo 620 Watts drill. Of all Metabo drill motors of this size, i consider this the best they ever made. If 800 Watts or more are chased through this amount of copper and iron, than quick overheating could result, whereas 620 Watts have proven to be the best balance of electric eficiency and thermal reserves for this motor design. The 620 Watt Metabo drill design has been around from the 70s, the left pic shows the livery from 1982, with electronics, two speed gearbox and anti-stall safety clutch (SbE 620-2S). This particular model is discontinued now, but when you encounter one, snap it up immediately. You won't be sorry. Proof of the soundness of the 620 Watts motor is the fact, that is was also chosen to power the high torque single speed drill BE 622S, which is still available today. It has 35 Nm worth of torque and the auger drill with which Metabo sports it in advertisements, is no hoax. It can really turn such a thing through soft wood like fir or pine. Because of the good motor and the classic metal sturdy gear box and the all ball bearings, this is possible for such a compact machine. A disadvantage is the low rpm (550 no load), which is only natural for such high torque at "only" 620 Watts. Should you need more versatility, than a two speed gearbox like that on the older 620 Watts model would be more suited. With the mentioning of these Metabo drills, this post strays a bit from the orginal Wolf thread, but i hope the forum members will forgive me this.

    If a 620 Watts drill is too heavy, there are also compact 380, 480 and 500 Watt Metabo drills based on the same design. The rule is: always go for models with metal gear boxes and choose older or discontinued models, as you already pointed out yourself quite rightly. There is indeed the tendency towards the ever more sparing use of expensive materials like metal castings and a well hidden reduction of tool life, probably to let consumers pay for ever more company overhead and expensive neck ties, let alone shareholders.

    regards

    gerhard

  14. #28
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    To bend the thread back again from Metabo to Wolf: when i typed "Wolf Tools Limited" in the Google search prompt, i stumbled across a link in which it became apparent that Wolf Tools sponsored several movies aimed at building contractors and other industries, promoting their products. This is the link:

    http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/organis...57?view=credit

    I didn't see any of these movies myself, but anyone able to see them will probably be treated to a yesteryear's presentation full of very nice tools and ways of making things.

    greetings

    gerhard

  15. #29
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
    Age
    67
    Posts
    462

    Default

    Found another bit of info in a British History Archive about Wolf in London. This is the quote:

    "Wolf Electric Tools, founded in 1900, opened the Pioneer works in Hanger Lane in 1935 and acquired extra office and factory space on an adjoining site in 1976. The firm, innovators in making certain portable electric tools, in 1978 had 850 people at the works, which was also its headquarters. (fn. 60)"

    From: 'Ealing and Brentford: Economic history', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 131-144. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/rep...x?compid=22579. Date accessed: 25 August 2008.

    On page 1 of this thread i begin my story with a guess that Wolf was founded in the 30s. This proved to be wrong: it was already founded in 1900. The 1930-ish year i heard about, must have been the start of the Pioneer works instead of the start of the entire brand "S. Wolf & Co. Ltd." itself. Sorry for having put anyone on the wrong foot.

    gerhard

  16. #30
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    Nov 2004
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    Santpoort-Zuid, Netherlands
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    to Warren:

    Hi Warren,

    at the moment, an auctions for a small compact Metabo drill run on Ebay Germany. You can track it with

    http://cgi.ebay.de/Handbohrmaschine-...d=p3286.c0.m14

    This post was added September 3rd and will be useless when the auction has ended in a few days, but i added a pic below. This machine is almost as compact as a Cubmaster and i guarantee that it is just as durable. Its motor takes 380 Watts, no-load speed is zero to 1000 rpm (it has electronics) and nominal load speed is 0 - 600 rpm. It manages 25 mm in soft wood and the Metabo type name is BE 380 S. Contrary to the Cubmaster (which has sleeve bearings), this machine has ball bearings, very heat resistant copper wire insulation and a sturdy metal gear box. It can also run reverse, which the Cubmaster can't.

    regerads

    gerhard

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