Fellows

Machine Tool Builders, Inc. in no way represents or sells new Fellows Machinery or Products. We do however service, repair, resell, rebuild and re-control used machines or customer owned equipment.

Edwin R. Fellows (May 29, 1865 – May 21, 1945) was an American inventor and entrepreneur from Torrington, Connecticut who designed and built a new type of gear shaper in 1896 and, with the mentoring of James Hartness, left the Jones & Lamson Machine Company to co-found the Fellows Gear Shaper Company in Springfield, Vermont, which became one of the leading firms in the gear-cutting segment of the machine tool industry. Fellows’ machines made a vital contribution to the mass production of effective and reliable gear transmissions for the nascent automotive industry.By the conclusion of World War II, Fellows Gear Shaper Company machines were in defense contractor plants, manufacturing geared components for aircraft engines, tanks, instruments, cameras, fuses and other war-time materiel.

Unfortunately, but not unlike handfuls of other great US companies,  Fellows was eventually eclipsed by foreign competition and ultimately closed their doors and liquidated assets in 2002. Being bought up by another local Rockford IL Machine tool company.

MTB still supports and repairs many of the Fellows models, as well as converts these machines from mechanical to CNC platforms. In particular we focus on the Model 10 and 20 series shapers plus the Model 36″, 60″ and 70″ bridge style machines. We typically convert all these these model machines to CNC, but we can also assist mechanically and electrically with typical service related issues on any of these models.