Newly aquired Mill / Grinder for identification

Just got this smallish mill home today.

Does anyone know the make? the seller did not know. It's missing it's hopper and the wooden sides of the shaker chute have rotted away but other than that it turns over nicely. The grinding plates seem to be in usable condition.

I want to use it as a working show item so I have to decide if I'm going to go for a full restoration or leave it in it's 'working clothes'

I have done some preliminary research into the labelling on the mill and it looks like there was a company called  Canadian Importers Ltd, The Portway, Avonmouth. I don't know yet if this company imported machinery from Canada to the UK or the other way around so it would be nice to find the mill's makers.

Could be a Massey Harris mill made in Canada.

Didn't that company import and sell dragsaws under the name 'Canavon'?

mattblack wrote:Didn't that company import and sell dragsaws under the name 'Canavon'?

Maybe, I can't find much info on them on t'internet, I'm going to contact Bristol city council after the bank holiday to see if they have anything.

blue cat wrote:Could be a Massey Harris mill made in Canada.

Could be, it's slightly different than the one below, mine has got a much larger grinding chamber.

Someone from the US has told me it's an 'Imperial', he's getting back to me with some photos of his and more info on the company later today.

Massey Harris No1

There has been at least one article in SEM about Canavon saws.

I think I have identified the maker of the mill.

Thanks must go first to member blue cat for this suggestion that it could be a Massey Harris mill so I did some research and found a catalogue entry for a Massey Harris No1 (see illustration above) which looks remarkably similar to mine, the most noticeable difference being the stand, mine has a more ornate cast iron stand resembling those fitted to English examples like Bamford Rapid Mills ETC.

I was then contacted by a FB user in the US who informed me that he had a mill the same as mine and that it it was an 'Imperial' supplied by the Canadian firm T Eaton Co LTD of Winnipeg and Toronto. He was kind enough to send me some photos of his Imperial.







The mill seen above also looks similar to the Massey Harris and mine but with some subtle differences (maybe model changes / enhancements) so I did some research into T Eaton Co LTD.

The following extracts are taken from an Eatons catalogue:

Farm Machinery 'In the 1910s and 20s, an extensive range of vehicles, farm implements and machinery, and tradesmen's tools was available in the Winnipeg catalogues.

The Imperial Brand 'Initially, catalogue items were advertised as having been "Made by a leading Canadian manufacturer." In the East, Eaton's distributed implements under its own name. In the West, after 1909, Eaton's promoted the "Imperial" line of farm implements. The Winnipeg catalogue stated that Imperiall Implements are Specially Adapted to Western Conditions'

So it is my theory that my mill is a Massey Harris manufactured, re-badged 'Imperial' and retailed by T Eaton Co LTD and ultimately imported into the UK by 'Canadian Importers LTD' of Bristol for sale to customers here in the UK........................unless anyone knows differently.

Note: I am in the process of stripping and getting the worst of the rust off the mill so that I can decide whether to leave it as is with an 'oily rag' look or go for a full re-paint. During this clean-up I have uncovered some yellow pin-striping similar to that seen in the Imperial mill photographs.

That all sounds right, T Eaton & Co Ltd was only a trading house buying products from manufacturers and rebranding them.