New Wolf Tools made in India

[Rhyolith]

I really like the old wolf powertools and its a shame they are’nt made like they were anymore; least not in britain.

I have been aware of this company in india for a while, but alwasy assumed they were just cheap knockoffs: http://www.ralliwolf.com

has anyone tried, seen or heard anything of them? Are they at all comparable with the 1950s wolf stuff made here?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

no

 

[Bodgers]

I really like the old wolf powertools and its a shame they are’nt made like they were anymore; least not in britain.

I have been aware of this company in india for a while, but alwasy assumed they were just cheap knockoffs: http://www.ralliwolf.com

has anyone tried, seen or heard anything of them? Are they at all comparable with the 1950s wolf stuff made here?

Highly unlikely. The tooling and equipment used to make them is long gone. They are probably trading off a name association.

I don't think India is a hotbed for power tool innovation and quality, so I wouldn't expect much.



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[D_W]

Their all cast drills look great to say the least, but you never know what they're hiding. Gritty feeling chucks, pot metal gears, flimsy solder joints, etc.

 

[Dangermouse 2nd]

Ive heard of this firm before, all I can say is, as A collector of vintage power tools, I have most of the range that wolf made in the 1950's. The majority of the drills on their website look exactly the same, same metal cases, same design, same shape labeling, same chucks, same colour. Depends on how well they are made I suppose.....

 

[D_W]

The flip side to making things like all die cast tools is do we really want to use them? For example, their huge 25mm drill has a 680 watt power output and very low RPM. They call it a "production" drill, but the plastic tools that we have these days with insulated cases (more dampening, nicer to hold when they're cold) and much more power will be chosen for quick work.

They look great, though, but I'll admit I have no tools from that era in use in my shop/house, even though they're easily found around here. Newer designs are just more comfortable and more powerful. And faster to use in a trade situation, unless the job is simple like mixing grout.

 

[adidat]

i get that there probaby tougher than todays market offerings, but is there really a market for these items?

I remember using a wolf drill many years ago as a child and it was a bulky heavy thing!

adidat

 

[Bodgers]

I think they still build a version of the Morris Oxford in India don't they?

It sounds like the tool equivalent of that.



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[JimB]

The Ambassador I think it was called.
There was a bit of a craze in the early 1980s for Indian bicycles, heavy, rod brakes etc looking just like the ones that used to grace every scrap yard.

 

[AES]

It is indeed called the Ambassador, and last time I was there (about 5 years ago now), it was still being made. It's just like a trip in a time capsule (a lot of them are used as taxis). A lot of locals prefer them to more modern cars, (Jap, but Indian-badged, like the Maruti which is, I think, Suzuki), because the Ambassadors are "tougher" (chassis and all that).

Mind you, driving in India IS "fun" - only 2 things would keep a car off the road there - 1. The engine doesn't run at all (firing on just 3 or even 2 is quite OK!), and 2. the horn doesn't work. Anything else like brakes, suspension/shock absorbers, lights, wipers, silencer, etc, are purely optional and quite unnecessary extras!

Thread drift, sorry

AES

 

[Droogs]

AES is correct, the Morris Oxford is indeed made in India and is called the Hindustan ambassador. It's made using the same tools today that Morris sent to India from Cowley in the early 50's. A fair few of the Oxfords initially sold in the UK wrre actually brought over from India due to Morris being unable to meet inital demand

 

[Rorschach]

According to Wikipedia production of the Ambassador stopped in 2014. Interesting bit of reading though.

 

[Rhyolith]

I still want these kind of pwoertools, mainly for their vastly superior build quality.

My main belt sander is a 1960s Wolf and its a lovely thing to use: wolf-locomotive-belt-sander-t109555.html I also found the 1950s Wolf Light Production drill a very useful tool, its light and has high RPM making it excellent for polishing and powerbrushing.

Another use I have seen for these type of power tools was at the IBTC, where they used the largest varient of the Wolf gust buster drill for drilling out the prop shafts on the boats. Nothing else had enough torque.

 

[loftyhermes]

Royal Enfield motorcycles are still being made in India.