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Cummings Machine Works was a Boston, Massachusetts based business. It was founded by Henry Havelock Cummings in 1881, when Cummings was 23 years old. [1] The company was awarded a United States Defense Department contract to manufacture fixtures in March 1941. The contract amounted to $17,893. [2] The company was among the firms which contributed to the building of the Boston Opera House, completed in 1909, supplying steelworks used in the construction of the stage. [3]

Cummings Machine Works has been credited with the development of the sally saw. A patent filed in 1945, and assigned to the company, describes a saw with a circular blade. The blade could be rotated between horizontal and vertical, thus allowing a tree to be felled, limbed, and bucked with one saw. [4] Other inventions included a hydraulic hospital bed, automatic doughnut machine, teardrop vehicle and Hookups.[ citation needed]

Last owners were Robert M. Mustard Sr., president, and Lewis W. Mustard, treasurer. Last known address was 10 Melcher Street in Boston. Went out of business in 1958.

References

  1. ^ Leonard, John William; Downs, Winfield Scott; Lewis, M.M. (1922). Who's who in Engineering, Volume 1. John W. Leonard Corporation. p. 328. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  2. ^ $5,954,308 More Defense Contracts Are Announced, The Wall Street Journal, March 12, 1941, pg. 6.
  3. ^ Jackson, Frank H (1909). Monograph of the Boston Opera House. Boston: W. A. Butterfield. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  4. ^ US patent 2490255, Henry A. Chase, "Portable Power Actuated Rim-Driven Annular Saw", assigned to Cummings Machine Works