ABOUT COMMAND INDUSTRIAL
History of DeWalt radial arm saws
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Under a new name, Command Industrial is carrying on the decade's old family tradition of the Wolfe family, with the on-site servicing and restoration of vintage DeWalt radial arm saws. Wolfe Machinery Co. ended operations and closed in August, 2016. In 2016, the Bradley Tools & Fasteners Co was purchased along with the assets of the former Wolfe Machinery Co. and the two companies were combined to operate out of the same location, under the Bradley Tools name. The Bradley Tools portion of the business was sold along with the name effective Jan, 2022. The industrial side of the business (the former Wolfe Machinery) was rebranded as Command Industrial and continued operations.
DeWalt radial arm saws have a 100 year old history. In 1922, Raymond DeWalt invented the radial arm saw, first known as the “Wonder Worker”. DeWalt Products Co. was established in 1924. DeWalt obtained his first patent for the saw in 1925, with many more to come over the next number of years.
In the early 1900’s, most large cities had electric power but small towns and rural areas were slower to get it. As electrical power was brought into these areas for the first time, lumber yards and the woodworking industry, bought an electric power saw to do their cutting. They commonly bought DeWalt radial arm saws and many of those vintage saws are amazingly still in service today, some in the same location.
In 1947, DeWalt Products Co. was reorganized as DeWalt Inc. and then sold to AMF (American Machine and Foundry) in 1949. AMF did not make significant changes to the machines and continued producing saws until 1960, when Black and Decker purchased the company. Black and Decker build saws after completely redesigning them. Their machines were dramatically different than the older models, this began a new generation of DeWalt saws.
Early on, DeWalt began factory training service technicians around the country. They realized that their machines were simply too large and it was too inconvenient, for owners of the machines to take them into a shop for maintenance and repairs. Thus began the nationwide on-site saw service that in some areas, still exists today.
Wendell Wolfe began servicing DeWalt radial arm saws as well as other woodworking machinery across the Midwest in the 1950’s. His work was later carried on by his eldest son Charles (Chuck) Wolfe as Wolfe Machinery Co.
Today, Command Industrial provides the same services that Wendell Wolfe began in the 50’s. We still offer on-site maintenance, repairs and the restoration of classic / vintage DeWalt saws. We also repair and maintain many other types of woodworking machinery used in the woodworking industry. We service panel saws, table saws, rip saws, band saws, planers, drill presses, dust collectors and more.
We offer saw blades, blade sharpening, tooling and service parts. We also provide all of the OSHA required safety equipment to help keep these old classics in service while meeting today’s safety standards.
Not many woodworking machines build in the 1930’s through the 1960’s other than DeWalt saws are still in use today. The majority of DeWalt saws still have the originally manufactured motor which has never been rebuilt. A remarkable testimony to the durability and reliability of the old DeWalt radial arm saws.