Old Husky USA ratchet

[rjvjeepster]

Picked this up at a garage sale today for $2. Felt nice and USA made, I think it's a 60 tooth. I did some searching, it looks like New Britain/Blackhawk made these?

 

[Al Borland]

I have it's half-inch twin. Good solid New Britain ratchet.
May not be as old as you think. Home Depot was selling those until Husky went Chinese. They kept on stamping them with the early sixties patent number even though it was long age expired.

 

[rjvjeepster]

Alright cool. Should definitely be worth my $2. The pics make it look 3/8" but it's 1/2".

How do I open it? it looks like there's a split in the ring.

 

[lbgradwell]

Home Depot was selling those until Husky went Chinese. They kept on stamping them with the early sixties patent number even though it was long age expired.

No chance.
Husky at Home Depot was entirely a Stanley relationship. The OP'S ratchet pre-dates Stanley and even the Stanley-made Husky ratchets stamped "USA" (that were probably not) sold via the HD were of a different design.



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[Al Borland]

Actually, Stanley at one point bought what was left of New Britain. Whether they were still manufacturing the kilness ratchets, or just clearing the warehouse out, I don't know. I do know that the half inch socket set I picked up in 2002 had the same ratchet with the same patent #s as the ratchet I have had since I was a kid. Side by side they are nearly identical except the old one has the patent # in big numbers on the bottom and the newer one has it on the top in smaller #s after "Husky"

 

[Al Borland]

Alright cool. Should definitely be worth my $2. The pics make it look 3/8" but it's 1/2".

How do I open it? it looks like there's a split in the ring.

Is it a snap-ring or a split ring? if it's a split-ring, use a little screwdriver to walk one end out and work it around. If it is the 60 tooth variant think carefully about taking it apart. Reportedly they are a pain to reassemble. 45 tooth ones, no big deal. Split rings can be replaced with a snap ring, which makes them so much easier to disassemble/reassemble and/or clean.

regardless of age or tooth count, these are a very good durable ratchet. One of the better round-heads. I use mine (and like mine) more than my SK Waynes.

 

[rjvjeepster]

It's the 60 tooth one for sure. And it's split ring. I was just going to lube it for maintenance sake see if it smooths it out, the selector is ever so slightly tight so I was thinking some lube might help. But if it's a pain to get back together I'll leave it. Chances are it's never been lubed in 50 years so doesn't make a difference.

 

[Citation]

I picked up one like that not too long ago. I didn't work so I took it to HD and was given the current round head ratchet. 60 vs 32 tooth and not as well made.

 

[bimmerZ5]

i had a Husky ratchet set like that from the late 1990's... hated it. one day the ratchet mechanism flew apart and was a pain to make sure i got every little spring/ball and other bits out of the engine. HD replaced it under warranty, but I sold the set and got something else.

 

[zkling]

They are very smooth for the age. They made a tiny little 1/4" that I have yet to see a modern equivalent of. The handle is like the size of a golf pencil.

 

[bonneyman]

Alright cool. Should definitely be worth my $2. The pics make it look 3/8" but it's 1/2".

How do I open it? it looks like there's a split in the ring.

Here's the internals of a New Britain clone ratchet. Pop the internal snap ring off and the gear assembly will come out.

 

[rjvjeepster]

Looks fairly straightforward...is it worth taking it apart and risking not being able to put it back together?

 

[gdocktor3]

Just go slow and be careful. When I take ratchets apart, I do it in my oblong magnetic parts tray thing I got from Sears. Ya know a magnetic nuts and bolts cup or whatever they're called. This way, there's less of a chance those little springs or the detent ball will go flying into narnia. The magnet will catch and trap everything if you go slow. Round head ratchets are pretty easy. Make sure you put the direction selector in the middle to fit the gear back in the head when you reassemble. I spray mine down with brake cleaner and use a round copper tubing brush to clean the ratchet head and an old tooth brush on the pawls. I like using Vaseline or thin grease on roundhead ratchets. I feel the grease fills in the voids making the ratchet tighter and smoother.

 

[lbgradwell]

Actually, Stanley at one point bought what was left of New Britain. Whether they were still manufacturing the kilness ratchets, or just clearing the warehouse out, I don't know. I do know that the half inch socket set I picked up in 2002 had the same ratchet with the same patent #s as the ratchet I have had since I was a kid. Side by side they are nearly identical except the old one has the patent # in big numbers on the bottom and the newer one has it on the top in smaller #s after "Husky"

It's true that Stanley ended up with the Husky brand formerly manufactured by NB (like the OP's example) but there was an interim step with National Hand Tool. The NHT ratchet that was eventually marketed for many, many retailers (think Craftsman Tri-Wing) was already in production when Stanley acquired Husky in 1986. The Husky relationship with Home Depot began in 1992 and I'm not aware of any HD Stanley ratchet that was not based on that model.
Assuming you are accurately recalling 2002 as the date of the purchase of your set, it would require that the Kilness model was still being supplied (stamped with an expired patent number) a decade after the relationship with HD began and 15-16 years after Stanley acquired the brand! I find that hard to accept.
Can you post a few photos of the ratchet in question?

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[wasabiboys]

regardless not bad for 2 bucks

 

[bonneyman]

The only trick is one of the coiled compresser springs has one tang longer than the other. Can't remember right now where that goes, but keep an eye out for that when you disassemble and be sure to put it back in the right place and correct orientation and you'll be fine.

 

[Al Borland]

I will get a pic Monday of it and the rest of the set in it's blow molded plastic case. Reason I remember buying it was I did a job where I had to account for all my tools at the end of the shift, every day (Jail-type job). Matched set in a blow-mold case - kinda like tool shadowing in a bigger box.
45 tooth single pawl CS-45 no big deal to disassemble. Dual pawl 60 tooth, there are springs involved that like to spring away. Can be done, but if the ratchet is working...
Remember, it worked before you broke it.

 

[Al Borland]

2002 wrench:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=5224&pictureid=63337
Patent number on top of wrench:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=5224&pictureid=63340
Set (remaining) in plastic case:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=5224&pictureid=63338
Case only made in China:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=5224&pictureid=63339

 

[lbgradwell]

That's very interesting, Al. I am extremely surprised that any NB-produced Husky was EVER available at HD, much less in 2002.
I can only surmise that a cache of NOS acquired in the rights to the name was re-discovered at that time and sold off. You did well; that model is vastly superior to anything Stanley produced.

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[Al Borland]

Sockets broaching is consistent with some of my older NB-craftsman sockets as well. Heat-treat on them....not so much. Soft sockets.
I could believe they acquired a back-stock of older NOS items, and tried to move them, especially in light of the whole Stanley "USA" thing.....

 

[7avalon7]

I found a 3/8 ratchet in an estate sale a couple of weeks ago. It has some surface rust that I am trying to clean now. It still works fine from what I can tell.

 

[TorKe]

You guys buying old USA, pre-foreign made tools that aren't made in the US any more: what is your plan when the tool breaks? Warranty wise.

 

[cowboy73]

Torke, the old USA made tools were built to last. If I buy a old tool for $2 and it lasts for 10+ years, it only cost me 20 cents a year for the first 10 years of use. Anything after that is free. It isn't about the warranty, it's about owning a well made tool. The warranty for any tool isn't worth the paper it is printed on. Even Snapon, Mac, Matco, Cornwell have tools they don't carry anymore and would likely reject for a warranty claim or at least offer something different than what you got. When is the last time you got a 9/32 drive socket warranteed? Snap On uses to make them as did others......nobody uses that drive size anymore.

 

[bimmerZ5]

You guys buying old USA, pre-foreign made tools that aren't made in the US any more: what is your plan when the tool breaks? Warranty wise.

I think if you're asking that question, you might have missed the point entirely on why some people prefer to buy old USA made tools 2nd hand. It's not about warranty. I think it's about buying a higher quality tool ; although, I don't always assume "made in USA" means higher quality, it some times does. Also, buying 2nd hand tools usually means you're paying a lot less... so much less, you might even be able to buy an extra one or two for repair parts or self-replacement when the one you're using fails.

Buying a tool with a "lifetime warranty" (which means the lifetime of the company, not the owner), is not always the best way to own a tool. It's the way a lot of tool manufacturing company's marketing department would like you to think is the only way to own a tool, but it isn't.

Same goes with a lot of other situations too... like owning a used car out of warranty; if it is cheap enough that after adding maintenance/repair costs of the vehicle it is still more affordable than buying "certified pre-owned" or "new", it makes sense to own. Those required maintenance/repair costs depend on the quality of the vehicle... if it was a solid vehicle with very little problems, was well maintained by the previous owners, or the repair costs are cheap; the numbers start to make sense. So, if you have a used, but better built tool that is likely to last you a long time before it wears out, at a "used tool" price, even without warranty, it makes more sense than buying brand new, low quality, with lifetime replacement warranty.

 

[TorKe]

Yeah but even high quality tools tend to break. Note that I specifically said the word break and not wear down.

 

[bimmerZ5]

Yeah but even high quality tools tend to break. Note that I specifically said the word break and not wear down.

LOL... if a particular brand/model/type of tool "tends to break", then I wouldn't really put it in the category of "high quality". most decent quality tools aren't going to break easily if you're using them for what they were designed to do. "high quality" tools should take a bit more abuse. but nothing is going to be 100% fool proof.

 

[TorKe]

Oops. I should use my words more carefully. Anyway the question wasn't really answered on what happens when a high quality made in the USA, no longer made in the USA, tool breaks.

 

[7avalon7]

You guys buying old USA, pre-foreign made tools that aren't made in the US any more: what is your plan when the tool breaks? Warranty wise.

I got no plan

Why do I have to have a plan when the ratchet cost me $1? If it breaks tomorrow then too bad Life is too short to think for a plan for $1 ratchet. Having said that, I highly doubt mine had seen a lot of usage, so I think it will last for a while.

 

[TorKe]

You gonna exchange it for a made in Asia model? Or gonna keep it?

 

[7avalon7]

You gonna exchange it for a made in Asia model? Or gonna keep it?

I have a pile of used metal parts from fixing my car that every so often I take to the local recycle center, so my first reaction was that if the $1 ratchet breaks, then it will be recycled, or just keep it for sentimental value. Most likely I am keeping it

Never thought about exchanging it - is that even possible? If I have to ship it, it is not worth the trouble.

 

[TorKe]

If it's a Husky it should be exchangeable at Home Depot.

 

[B.S.A. (ret.)]

Yeah but even high quality tools tend to break. Note that I specifically said the word break and not wear down.

Guys, the horse is dead and decomposing!

If a particular individual finds that tools which everyone else regards as high-quality tend to break for him, I would submit that individual might be pushing those items beyond their design limits. If you find that Gearwrench or some other brand of off-shore or domestic tool with generous lifetime warranty policies is more suited to you because every time you break a tool you get a new one - go for it. If another individual is fine with used, quality U.S. made tools from yard sales, pawn shops and the like, conserving financial resources in the process, who are we to judge them?

Sorry, I'll step off of my soap box now...

 

[bcexplorer]

I picked up one of these at a garage sale this weekend, when i took it apart i was suprized as i thought it was a double pawl! Its incredibly smooth, i cant was to use it.

 

[bcexplorer]

Of course now i have to collect a set of those husky sockets i keep seeing here and there!

 

[TorKe]

ITT: high quality tools are completely 100% fail proof and if it ever breaks not by human error but by an act of God , the owner must keep it as a memento.

 

[bigredjeepone]

Nice find . . . my dad has the same one in half inch. Bought as a set at least 40 years ago.

 

[bigredjeepone]

You guys buying old USA, pre-foreign made tools that aren't made in the US any more: what is your plan when the tool breaks? Warranty wise.

Why have a plan . . . just collect them and enjoy them.

I have plenty of new tools to break and wear out. My antique stuff is to look at. I have a 1940s Craftsman breaker bar and 5 others from MAC, Snap On, Kobalt (Williams era) and Craftsman (USA era). Certainly not going to grab a 75 year old breaker bar to tear down suspensions with.

I like the older tools and to think about the hands and vehicles that were touched by them. I know for a fact that breaker bar was with my grandfather during his time as a B17 mechanic in the Army Air Corps and was with him until he retired as a diesel mechanic in the 80s.

 

[7avalon7]

Mine after cleaning up the surface rust. Really liking the fact that it has knurling - in fact this is my first ratchet that has one.

 

[twertsy]

For most, if not all of those older round head rats, the trick to putting them back together is to have the selector switch in the "neutral" position. Just an FYI...........

 

[ganymede]

ITT: high quality tools are completely 100% fail proof and if it ever breaks not by human error but by an act of God , the owner must keep it as a memento.

Awww. Nobody is giving you the response you want .
Keep trying.