Some months ago there was a brief discussion of Swallow Airplanes and the Tuffy screwdrivers they manufactured. Unfortunately I can't locate that thread now, but did want to clear up something.
I inherited my first Tuffy screwdriver from my dad, who owned a Piper Cub and a Cessna (140, I think) in the early and mid-50s. I never knew the source of the tool until eBay came on line and I began to pick up a number of Tuffys and talked to some sellers from the Wichita area who gave me some info on Swallow. Very little data is on the Web, and much of it is either wrong or contradictory because Swallow itself had a confusing history. I've been rewriting the "facts" in a little Word document for many years, and finally think I have about half a grasp of the thing.
The problem is that Laird built a plane called the Swallow 1920-23 and then sold the company, which incorporated as Swallow Airplane Company -- different plane, different company, really. By '24 Jake Moellendick ran the company, and shortly after that Stearman and Walter Beech left because Moellendick wouldn't swap over from wood frames to tubular metal, joining Clyde Cessna to form Travelair.
Swallow (sometimes also known as Swallow Airplane Mfg Co.) built planes, including some nifty racing models, up until about 1935, having been in receivership and/or reorganization once or twice. Many Swallows were used in airmail service; Lindbergh flew one as an airmail pilot. Apparently the Depression killed Swallow's aircraft business, but like other small companies they stayed alive by providing parts, training and (probably) tools to other groups, including the government, up through WW2. I presume they died out in the early 50s, but never could nail that down. There is still one Swallow still flying.
Despite what I had always heard, the Tuffy screwdrivers with the folding handles were obviously NOT contemporaneous with Swallow planes and, alas, were not part of their tool kits. I now have the patent papers on the Tuffy; it was applied for (ten yrs after the last Swallow rolled out) in June '45 and approved Nov 27, '45, and within months they were produing 100,000 a month -- which is why there's always one or two on eBay, though some are modern clones of varying quality. Not as old as we all thought, but still the toughest screwdriver on earth.
Leaving out a lot of details, them are the bare bones, though there are a lot of conflicting dates on the Web. If anyone has any further interest, I'll be glad to provide my little history document and a number of photos. I'd have stuck a couple in here but I couldn't figure out how it worked.
My email address is smokehill (at) adelphia dot net -- but it may be changing over to comcast dot net any time now.
G. White
MSgt US Army (Ret)
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