What actually happened to Elu?

[LFS19]

I was always under the impression they we bought by black and decker and rebranded under the DeWalt brand.
What I don't really understand, though, is that there's a website for 'Elumatec', which Is what Elu was until they changed their name in 1984. They're still going, selling what looks to be big, industrial machines. They also have a HQ in the UK.

Don't really get it. Does anyone know the story? I presumed Elu was gone living on only in part by some of the DeWalt routers, but I've never seen any tools branded 'Elumatec'.
Also, considering they changed the name in 1984, does that mean all my Elu branded stuff is at least 35 years old?!

Cheers

 

[Shrubby]

Eugen Lutz sold his power tool business to B&D in 1984 to concentrate on bigger machinery aimed at window manufacturing (there are a lot of strange Elu routers for cutting in window fittings) the Swiss B&D Delemont works made lots of the tools and Perles and GMM made others. Bean counters at B&D couldn't justify two professional tool brands and Elu was killed off in 1999 in Europe - slightly earlier in the UK, 1996 was the last catalogue I had
Quality declined markedly under B&D and Elu stickers appeared on lots of Italian black & decker/DeWalt stuff
Matt

 

[acewoodturner]

Elu used to be the 'industrial standard to buy' tool till B&D took them over- a bit like Festool are today for most things. The minute that happened the standard went rapidly downhill. Cheap Indian bearings in the routers for example which last about 10 minutes and render the router useless.
Good second hand Elu tools are still available on Ebay and are far superior to new Dewalt tools. Everything B&D churn out under one of their brand names is rubbish and is cost controlled tightly by the bean counters instead of designed and made and then the cost worked out which is what Festool do. The quality difference is startling. I don't want a replacement tool , I want a good quality tool to start with and that's why I never buy B&D!

Mike

 

[LFS19]

Eugen Lutz sold his power tool business to B&D in 1984 to concentrate on bigger machinery aimed at window manufacturing (there are a lot of strange Elu routers for cutting in window fittings) the Swiss B&D Delemont works made lots of the tools and Perles and GMM made others. Bean counters at B&D couldn't justify two professional tool brands and Elu was killed off in 1999 in Europe - slightly earlier in the UK, 1996 was the last catalogue I had
Quality declined markedly under B&D and Elu stickers appeared on lots of Italian black & decker/DeWalt stuff
Matt

Interesting, thanks for the write up!

 

[LFS19]

Elu used to be the 'industrial standard to buy' tool till B&D took them over- a bit like Festool are today for most things. The minute that happened the standard went rapidly downhill. Cheap Indian bearings in the routers for example which last about 10 minutes and render the router useless.
Good second hand Elu tools are still available on Ebay and are far superior to new Dewalt tools. Everything B&D churn out under one of their brand names is rubbish and is cost controlled tightly by the bean counters instead of designed and made and then the cost worked out which is what Festool do. The quality difference is startling. I don't want a replacement tool , I want a good quality tool to start with and that's why I never buy B&D!

Mike

So if B&D bought the brand in the mid 80s, how much of the gear you see on eBay is lower quality B&D stuff after the acquisition? Does that mean my trusty MOF97 router from Elu is actually B&D??

I've also been eyeing up an old DeWalt planer, and upon closer inspection, this also has the B&D logo.

 

[Lons]

So if B&D bought the brand in the mid 80s, how much of the gear you see on eBay is lower quality B&D stuff after the acquisition? Does that mean my trusty MOF97 router from Elu is actually B&D??

I've also been eyeing up an old DeWalt planer, and upon closer inspection, this also has the B&D logo.

What the other 2 guys said is pretty accurate.

I was selling DeWalt, Elu and some of the B&D professional range from my depot branch from around 1988 when I took over until 1992 when I moved on and to the best of my knowledge, both Elu and DeWalt tools were pretty much as original before they were bought by B&D.
DeWalt were being assembled alongside the B&D range in their Spennymoor factory but the parts were shipped in and I believe weren't "cheapened" until around 1990 when we noticed the number of failures and complaints increasing.

My MOF 96e is vintage 1990 and one of the gooduns btw.

Bob

 

[LFS19]

Cheers for the reply.
So will the aforementioned cheapening of parts that occured around 1990 with DeWalt be the same for Elu too?

MOF97 was a typo, I also have the 96 but not the e.
Is there a way to tell how old a tool is?

 

[Lons]

Yep mine was also a typo, it's a 96e ( it is late at night and had a couple of beers, :lol: ) Mine is version 02 btw.
It's so long ago I can't remember but sure it was coded on the plate so need to look at that and see if it rings any bells with me. I think they removed the "made in Switzerland" off the plate on later models.

I also had the larger 1/2" MOF 177e but sold it as it wasn't used a lot. Worst decision I ever made as I bought a DeWalt 625 a few years later and it isn't a patch on the old Elu where quality is concerned.

Reduction in quality was across the brands though for obvious reasons was staged over a period of time, what I would say is that if an old Elu or DeWalt is still in good working order after all those years then it's more than likely to be an original as the B&D later ones would probably have expired.

 

[Nick.]

1996 was the last catalogue I had

- nice one - I still have my 1997 catalogue
I worked for B&D through the transition & heard similar comments from my dealers as echoed in comments above - reality is though the business model worked via massive marketing & innovation at the time - I remember the first 14.4v cordless launch at Shepperton Studios.
Cheers all,
Nick (ex-Elu/Dewalt salesman)

 

[Sideways]

There's one safe way to tell the "proper" Elu kit.
Look at the power switches - all the original Swiss made stuff had orange coloured power switches and two tone (dark + light) grey bodywork.
Later Italian manufactured but Elu branded machines carried the Elu logo but the switches changed to blue plastic. The light grey disappeared from the colour scheme too. The Italian made machines just weren't as good.
The dewalt variants in black and yellow got worse.
Delving deeper, if you examine the exploded parts diagrams for the MOF96 and MOF177 routers, you'll find reference to "Type".
Type 1 and 2's were original Swiss made Elu's. By the time you get to type 4 I think you're post sale.
I can also confirm the connection with Perles (originally Swiss, now Slovenian). I have a small Perles 150mm circ saw that is identical to one of the MH(xxx) models sold by Elu many years ago except for the colour of the plastic. It's quite nice because it's small and light - a one hander - but the castings are not as well finished as they used to make for Elu.
Elu are well made tools that last and are maintainable. I'm on my third set of bearings for my original MOF96E and it still runs great. The MFF80 handheld planer has serious power and an accurately machined sole if you need to take the tool to the wood. When I bought a vintage MOF177E, it soft started unheld on the bench and sat there purring like a kitten
The differences are definately more than skin deep. I had to replace an armature to renovate an otherwise good 96E and all I could get was a dewalt generation replacement part. The quality of machining and winding on the dewalt part was clearly inferior and despite top quality replacement bearings, that machine doesn't run quite as smoothly as my original 96E.

 

[custard]

Somewhere in the workshop I've got a MOF 31, Elu's very first router from the 1950's. It still works a treat.

If I can dig it out I'll post some photos.

 

[LFS19]

There's one safe way to tell the "proper" Elu kit.
Look at the power switches - all the original Swiss made stuff had orange coloured power switches and two tone (dark + light) grey bodywork.
Later Italian manufactured but Elu branded machines carried the Elu logo but the switches changed to blue plastic. The light grey disappeared from the colour scheme too. The Italian made machines just weren't as good.
The dewalt variants in black and yellow got worse.
Delving deeper, if you examine the exploded parts diagrams for the MOF96 and MOF177 routers, you'll find reference to "Type".
Type 1 and 2's were original Swiss made Elu's. By the time you get to type 4 I think you're post sale.
I can also confirm the connection with Perles (originally Swiss, now Slovenian). I have a small Perles 150mm circ saw that is identical to one of the MH(xxx) models sold by Elu many years ago except for the colour of the plastic. It's quite nice because it's small and light - a one hander - but the castings are not as well finished as they used to make for Elu.
Elu are well made tools that last and are maintainable. I'm on my third set of bearings for my original MOF96E and it still runs great. The MFF80 handheld planer has serious power and an accurately machined sole if you need to take the tool to the wood. When I bought a vintage MOF177E, it soft started unheld on the bench and sat there purring like a kitten
The differences are definately more than skin deep. I had to replace an armature to renovate an otherwise good 96E and all I could get was a dewalt generation replacement part. The quality of machining and winding on the dewalt part was clearly inferior and despite top quality replacement bearings, that machine doesn't run quite as smoothly as my original 96E.

Yep mine was also a typo, it's a 96e ( it is late at night and had a couple of beers, :lol: ) Mine is version 02 btw.
It's so long ago I can't remember but sure it was coded on the plate so need to look at that and see if it rings any bells with me. I think they removed the "made in Switzerland" off the plate on later models.

I also had the larger 1/2" MOF 177e but sold it as it wasn't used a lot. Worst decision I ever made as I bought a DeWalt 625 a few years later and it isn't a patch on the old Elu where quality is concerned.

Reduction in quality was across the brands though for obvious reasons was staged over a period of time, what I would say is that if an old Elu or DeWalt is still in good working order after all those years then it's more than likely to be an original as the B&D later ones would probably have expired.

Thanks for the replies - interesting stuff!

My MOF96 has the grey colour you're talking about, but has a black switch and was made in Germany...

I'm guessing the Dewalt WD 1150 I've been eyeing up on eBay is to be avoided, then, in account of the fact it has a B&D sticker on it and was made in Italy.

 

[LFS19]

Somewhere in the workshop I've got a MOF 31, Elu's very first router from the 1950's. It still works a treat.

If I can dig it out I'll post some photos.

Wow, would certainly like to see that!

 

[Benchwayze]

In the early nineties I bought two 177e Elu routers to use with the Leigh jig. Unfortunately I found the jig too fussy to set up, and anyway I had decided to forget the idea of full self-employment. So I sold the jig and one of the 177e routers. (I got a Keller jig which is fine with lighter routers. Great for kitchen drawers and other quick jobs. I got it from Roy Sutton so that will give you an idea of how long ago that was.)

I soon wished I hadn't sold the 177e when I bought a router table! The replacement was a deWalt, which I mounted in the table. As far as I could tell, the deWalt was an exact copy of the 177e; but for the 'livery'. I never had any problems with the deWalt, despite that I was informed, no router is really designed for inverted use. I found it just as reliable as the 177e.

Ever changeable me, I soon got fed up fiddling with router tables, and now I usually figure out a way of doing what I need, with hand-held routing. When I found my other 177E wasn't getting used much, I cleaned and serviced the deWalt, and sold that. My 177e is still on it's original bushes, and has been serviced regularly. Although, I might soon have to give up machine woodwork owing to lack of strength and the fact I am getting doddery on my feet. For safety, another redesign of the shop is overdue, so Number One Son is on red alert!

Anyhow, if you can find a lightly used Elu router on eBay ( or wherever), snap it up. It should last you until you can afford a rebuilt Wadkin, spindle moulder! :lol:

 

[Jacob]

I had a little B&D SR 100 router for many years, which was re-badged Elu. It was excellent quality and got a lot of use until I bought a bigger one and gave it away.
Nothing sub standard about it.
I quite miss it as small size made it handy for little jobs

 

[Lons]

I had a little B&D SR 100 router for many years, which was re-badged Elu. It was excellent quality and got a lot of use until I bought a bigger one and gave it away.
Nothing sub standard about it.
I quite miss it as small size made it handy for little jobs

There are still quite a few of those around and pretty cheap but the fact they are still around shows they were decent tools, however from memory ( I'd need to check back ), I think the B&D SR100 wasn't simply a re-badged MOF96 but was actually a reworked version of the ELU and that usually meant cheaper parts as it was aimed at the hobbyist user market.

If you want a lighter router you should look at the little Bosch or Makita, I have the Makita RT0700CX2 kit which I find very useful indeed.

cheers
Bob

 

[custard]

Wow, would certainly like to see that!

I've posted some photos here,

post1236050.html#p1236050

My mistake by the way, it's a 1950's MOF 11 not a MOF 31 like I previously said.

 

[Sideways]

People regularly talk about Festool as being a premium manufacturer because of their "system" of tools and accessories but one of Elu's strengths 35 years ago before I'd ever heard of Festool was their range of accessories.
The routers standardised the 8mm and 10mm fence bar system, there were bushes, fine adjusters for depth and fences, small inversion stands, fences, pressure pads, feather boards.
A cast alloy table took all of the main circ saws and routers alike for portable inverted operation (not entirely unlike the Festool CMS).
The TGS flipover saw used an induction motor and operated in chop saw mode or inverted as a portable tablesaw.
The planer had an inversion stand and a tiny 3" thicknesser attachment.
Their range included saws, drills, routers, jigsaws, a biscuit jointer with precision fence, planer, superbly smooth recip saw, ...
Not too shabby a "system" really

 

[Lons]

I had a couple of the first ELU 9.6 cordless drills and they were excellent at the time, I "re-celled" the batteries a few times and only threw them away last year. I remember they were bloody expensive even with the discount I got as branch manager.

 

[LFS19]

Wow, would certainly like to see that!

I've posted some photos here,

post1236050.html#p1236050

My mistake by the way, it's a 1950's MOF 11 not a MOF 31 like I previously said.

Awesome; looks built like a battle ship. Great write up, too.