About Us

Reeder Products produces soul satisfying machines for custom knifemakers, master bladesmiths, metal and woodworking artisans. We build for makers that dream big and need the finest, most capable machines to turn their dreams into reality.

Reeder Products is a family owned and operated business built by three generations of metal artisan toolmakers with deep roots in aerospace and defense.  Reeder Products is a story of mentorship and features the father son journeys of Stanley, Don and Greg Reeder. 

Stanley Mason Reeder was a master watchmaker when he enlisted as an E5 in the Navy to serve during WWII. During his service, he became a commissioned officer and was responsible for running a gyro shop. The gyroscope supported mission critical navigation and fire control weapon systems. Only the most gifted and respected craftsmen were capable of working on challenging gyro projects. Stanley was a Second Lieutenant when the war ended. 

After the war, Stanley became a prototype design engineer and tool instrument maker for Texas Instruments in Dallas.  Over the years he transformed the two car family garage into a machine shop and started mentoring his son Don in the craft when he was only 14. 

They had a Cincinnati ToolMaster vertical mill, a 13 inch Sheldon engine lathe, drill press, vertical bandsaw, and assorted tool grinders in their garage shop. Don was cutting  dovetail slides and single tooling threads by the time he was 15.

Reeder Products officially opened for business in 1959 when Stanley and Don started taking on commercial projects in their garage shop.  Don was attending North Texas State University and working part time in the shop when he was called to serve in the Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Don ran the light machine shop on a repair ship. After serving in the Navy, Don returned to North Texas State University to study physics and math before jumping at the chance to work full time with his dad after they won their first large defense contract. 

Together, father and son launched Reeder Products from humble beginnings in their two car garage into a respected aerospace and defense contractor.  Over the years during peek aerospace and defense projects, they grew to 45 employees. 

Don honed his craft by working as a manual machinist for the first five years alongside other employees.  Their first computerized machine was a Pratt & Whitney CNC machining center. They punched the program out on a teletype and input with the use of a reader. 

During the  1980s and 1990s Reeder Products had six CNC Mori Seiki turning centers, five CNC machining centers, and two Hatachi Seike hydraulic bar feed turning centers, all with Fanuc controls. Don personally set up, programmed and ran every machine for the first few weeks so he was better informed about its capabilities for job bidding and planning.

Stanley retired in 1972 and passed a decade later. Don ran the business for the next 30 plus years. He eventually sold the manufacturing business and retired, but holding on to the father son dream, kept the corporate structure in place.   

After growing up in the family business Greg ventured off into the hospitality and printing industries but longed to open a machine shop to continue the family tradition. Greg asked Don to come out of retirement and help relaunch Reeder Products, once again, operating as a father son business. 

Reeder Products goal is to manufacture the world’s best grinders and sanders for knifemakers, bladesmiths, machine shops, woodworkers, makers that dream big, and anyone aspiring to have a soul satisfying machine in their shop.