Gilmore Pattern Works; G & W Tool Co. - History

Manufacturers Index - Gilmore Pattern Works; G & W Tool Co.

Gilmore Pattern Works; G & W Tool Co.
Tulsa, OK, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class: Wood Working Machinery

History

Last Modified: Jan 11 2023 2:58PM by Jeff_Joslin
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In 1957 Lawrence R. Wagner of Tulsa, Oklahoma, patented a wood-planing device designed to be mounted in a drill press. Within a year the "Safe-T-Planer" was being manufactured by the Gilmore Pattern Works of Tulsa, which was a different name for G & W Tool Co. of Tulsa, the original assignee; eventually the "Gilmore Pattern Works" name was dropped in favor of "G. & W. Tool Co." (By 1963 the product name had become the "Wagner Safe-T-Planer".) The Gilmore Pattern Works was owned by Richard E. Gilmore. G & W Tool Co. was the original patent assignee and was, we suspect, a partnership of Gilmore and Wagner. Production continued into the 2000s but eventually ceased, Gilmore having died in 1988 and Wagner having died some years before that.

Information Sources

October 1958 Hitchcock's Wood Working has a short illustrated article on the "Safe-T-Planer", available from Kind-Collins Co. [sic], 12653 Elmwood Ave., Cleveland 11, Ohio. That name should be Kindt-Collins Co.
July 1963 Popular Science page 106 has an article (by R. J. De Cristoforo) on rotary planers. Among the suppliers are "Wagner: Gilmore Pattern Works, 1164 N. Utica St., Tulsa, Okla." A photograph of the Wagner Safe-T-Planer clearly shows patent number 2785713. Other suppliers of similar devices were Barron Tool Co. of Detroit, DeWalt, Inc., of Lancaster, Pa., and Sears, Roebuck & Co. of Chicago.
1967 Directory of Oklahoma Manufacturers lists "Gilmore Pattern Works 1945-E-M / 1164 N. Utica Ave. (74110) / Richard E. Gilmore, Owner / 3541 Drill press / 3544 metal molds for rubber molding / 3545 Rotary planer attachments for drilling machines: 'Wagoner Safe-T-Planer' / 3565 Wood and metal patterns, metal patterns for shell molding".
September-October 1989 American Woodworker has a writeup on the Safe-T-Planer from G & W Tool Co., PO Box 691464, Tulsa, OK 74169. The drill press model was $35 and the radial arm saw model was $40.
1990 trademark registration 1,623,301 "SAFE-T-PLANER... Reg. 11-20-1990." Looking up this registration at USPTO gives us a filing date of 1989-09-14, by G W W TOol, Inc., Tulsa, OK. Rewed from 2000-11-20. In the paperwork is a comment, "With regard to the name 'Wagner' appearing on the specimens of record, 'Wagner' was the last name of the original inventor of the rotary planer tool for G & W, who is now deceased. 'Wagner' is another trademark of G & W Tools, Inc. which has been used in conjunction with the mark SAFE-T-PLANER... Addressing the issue of the name 'Gilmore' which appears on the specimen of record, G & W Tool Company is also known as 'Gilmore Pattern Works'. See the back page of the enclosed brochure showing 'formerly advertised as Gilmore Pattern Works.'" On another page, from the applicant and dated 1989, it says, "The mark was first used on the goods at least as early as May 1956, was first used on the goods in interstate commerce at least as early as Early as April 1958, and is now used in such commerce."
November-December 1992 American Woodworker has an ad for the Wagner Safe-T-Planer. G & W Tool Co., Inc., PO Box 69164, Tulsa, OK 74169. Drill press kit, $35, radial saw kit, $40.
Lawrence Robert Wagner (1900-1975) is buried at Broken Arrow, Tulsa County, Oklahoma. This is the most likely match we could find for our inventor, Lawrence R. Wagner. Richard E. Gilmore (1910-1988) is buried at Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the most likely match for our manufacturer, Richard E. Gilmore.