Date: c. 1955

 

Description: This electric, handheld drill is actually a polisher or sander, depending on the need. A buff or sanding block could be attached to the end, and a mechanism similar to a power drill would be activated when the trigger was pressed. It is one of the many innovative tools under the Sioux Tools brand, owned by Albertson and Company. Oscar Albertson and Harold Jacobson were Swedish immigrants to Sioux City who started their tool manufacturing business in 1914. Originally they designed and sold spark plugs and gas savers, but the company really made it big when Albertson invented a valve lathe, a hand tool used to seat engine valves. Albertson’s policy was inventing the tools necessary for the job, and over the years his company developed over one hundred new inventions and was granted over 86 patents. When automobiles became popular the company was one of the first to develop tools strictly for use on cars, and by the 1950s the Sioux Tools brand had expanded into the sheet metal and woodworking industries. Their most innovative designs and some of their biggest sellers were electric hand tools like this one. Having a machine that could do work but still be compact and portable revolutionized the tool market and helped make Albertson & Company a huge success. The company also designed air-powered tools, which helped cut the costs of electricity for industries. Unfortunately the Albertson & Co. fell on hard times and was bought out by Snap-on in 2002, but they still continue to produce innovative tools under the Sioux Tools brand name.

 

Donor: Robert M. Anderson

 

On display