My small but growing collection of Wizard tools (all Western Auto welcome)

[bluebolt]

I was at the "Great American Steam Up" at Antique Powerland Park and museum in Brooks, Oregon last weekend and today when I encountered this Wizard branded lawn tractor. I thought "Surely Western Auto didn't sell tractors?!?". Yep, they did!

Brian

That tractor is cool!

 

[Provincial]

A friend showed me this find. It turns over and has compression and spark. He's going to rebuild the carburetor and put it to work.

It would be a nice compliment to the garden tractor!

 

[Indexmill]

I grew up in western Connecticut in the 60's and 70's and we had a Western Auto store in town. I still have every tool I bought there.

 

[drivesitfar]

Riley: thanks for starting another cool tool thread. I'm sure i have more than a few Wizard tools in some drawer, bucket or box and as I dig them out i'll post them up.

in the meantime i always like seeing what others have and the learning about these old tools is always fun.

cheers

 

[Provincial]

Found this Western Auto feeler gauge last weekend.

 

[Rileysan]

Riley: thanks for starting another cool tool thread. I'm sure i have more than a few Wizard tools in some drawer, bucket or box and as I dig them out i'll post them up.

in the meantime i always like seeing what others have and the learning about these old tools is always fun.

cheers

They seem to accumulate without much effort, don't they?


Brian

 

[Provincial]

I picked up this Wizard 1/4" drive ratchet at the local flea market Sunday. It works like new. The patent number idicates that it was made by Indestro.

 

[Rileysan]

I picked up this Wizard 1/4" drive ratchet at the local flea market Sunday. It works like new. The patent number idicates that it was made by Indestro.

Very cool! I have yet to come across any 1/4" ratchets but I've managed to find a few sockets, which are also Indestro made.

Brian

 

[drivesitfar]

Riley: well I won't say not much effort, but it's fun effort so I guess you could say that. with you and Smoke coming up here now all the time even if I wanted to start running around again looking for cool old deals you guys might already have most of them in your cars heading back to Portland.

not saying you can't do that and it's probably fair cause i used to drive to Oregon 1 to 3 days a week picking up stuff. Speaking of which it's been a while since we've spent a few minutes together so hope all is well in your world.

i'll have to start reading up more on Wizard to see if they made their own or if Industro or some other tool company made them or maybe it's already been mentioned on this thread and I just need to read it again.

Provi: love finding little old made in USA ratchets and yours looks like it's in pretty good shape too.

 

[Capt. Spaulding]

I pick up Wizard tools when I see them. Got these for $1 last week. All sockets are like new inside and the finish on the outside is still great.

Haven’t cleaned them yet.




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[h~moto]

Picked up a Wizard breaker bar for $2 this weekend.

 

[Rileysan]

Riley: well I won't say not much effort, but it's fun effort so I guess you could say that. with you and Smoke coming up here now all the time even if I wanted to start running around again looking for cool old deals you guys might already have most of them in your cars heading back to Portland.

not saying you can't do that and it's probably fair cause i used to drive to Oregon 1 to 3 days a week picking up stuff. Speaking of which it's been a while since we've spent a few minutes together so hope all is well in your world.

i'll have to start reading up more on Wizard to see if they made their own or if Industro or some other tool company made them or maybe it's already been mentioned on this thread and I just need to read it again.

Thanks for weighing in, and yes, we need to spend some time together! Smoke has a brother in the North side of Seattle that he's gotten hooked on tool collecting as well so we can expand our viewing area without having to make frequent trips. In fact, the last time I was up there was more than 6 months ago!

I haven't discovered all of the manufacturers used by Western Auto but they sold tools under several names including Wizard, Westcraft, Western Giant, Western Auto, and probably more. Early Western Giant hand tools were made by S-K, and Wizard hand tools were made by Indestro, and possibly others. The later stuff was imported. I'm still learning about the rest.

Brian

 

[HeelSpur]

Got this stubby phillips.

DSCF2155 by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[Rileysan]

Got this stubby phillips.

DSCF2155 by wvwheaties, on Flickr

That's a great reminder ... "Westline" is another name sold by Western Auto. Thanks!

Brian

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Got a Wizard 1” deep 12-point a few days ago for $2.00. Looks to be hardly used if at all, haven’t cleaned it yet. My question is why the hole near the end? At 1/2” drive nobody would need a place to put a tool through there unless it was a clearance issue?...or maybe this was to hang the socket above a bench?


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[Rileysan]

Got a Wizard 1” deep 12-point a few days ago for $2.00. Looks to be hardly used if at all, haven’t cleaned it yet. My question is why the hole near the end? At 1/2” drive nobody would need a place to put a tool through there unless it was a clearance issue?...or maybe this was to hang the socket above a bench?


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First off - nice socket. It was made by Indestro for Western Auto (Wizard).

As for your question, I haven't read a satisfactory answer to that question. Truth is, I haven't actually looked because I simply accepted it as-is.

I think that by the time this socket was made (post war, I think), the hole was simply a part of the existing tooling used to make sockets. And since it doesn't hurt the quality of the product, why change it - even if it was no longer needed!

As for the original reason for the hole, I suppose it was simple economics. This design was used (and possibly created?) during the Great Depression, and tools were expensive. A simple driver made from round stock worked just fine for removing spark plugs (the original reason for deep sockets) so there wasn't a need to buy a ratchet - or more than 100 of them, like some of us!
Brian

 

[Username already in use]

A simple driver made from round stock worked just fine for removing spark plugs (the original reason for deep sockets)

This. Deep sockets were typically sold in sets with a round stock 'L handle'. I hope D42Jeep doesn't mind me borrowing an image of his SK deep set. You can see the L handle in the box with the sockets.

 

[d42jeep]

It was common in early spark plug sockets to have holes for bars. They fell out of favor as time went on. On the right side of this first picture of wartime spark plug sockets are the ancestors of your Indestro made Wizard socket.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a slightly newer Wizard socket I forgot to post next to it’s D-I wartime ancestor. The bar hole in the socket had been discontinued by the time this one was made.
-Don

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Thanks a lot for the replies and info, when I’m back to that town with time to spare I’ll dig through the whole crate of sockets and see what comes up, I need to put together some inexpensive sets so I always have tools in whatever I’m driving. So when did they stop putting the holes in them? Wondering how old that socket is...
PS-the nice ones live in my big “Home Box”...too good to rattle around in my truck..

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[Dozerhand]

I think the breaker bar and the deep socket take the same cross bar.

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks a lot for the replies and info, when I’m back to that town with time to spare I’ll dig through the whole crate of sockets and see what comes up, I need to put together some inexpensive sets so I always have tools in whatever I’m driving. So when did they stop putting the holes in them? Wondering how old that socket is...
PS-the nice ones live in my big “Home Box”...too good to rattle around in my truck..

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In checking the S-K catalog, it looks like they discontinued the hole in the early ‘50s. I think the time frame varied from one manufacturer to another. In checking the 1959 Indestro catalog posted by four.cycle here,
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344222&highlight=Indestro+catalog
they were still making sockets with the hole in ‘59 but it was gone in the early ‘70s.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a gapper/feeler combination I expected to be made by Kastar but it was marked Western Giant.
-Don

 

[Catfishdan]

Here's a western auto #1 Philips I got today. The wood handle is perfect.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I think that's the first Western Auto screwdriver I have ever seen. Is it marked on the ferrule or on the shank? And what is the Phillips license #? That could tell us who made it.

 

[Catfishdan]

So the ferrule is marked "WESTERN AUTO No.1379s". The shank is marked "no. 1 Phillips-lic.1. PAT-250723 made in U.S.A carbon steel".
Lic.1 makes it a Stanley made screwdriver as far as I know, but I'm often wrong.

 

[Capt. Spaulding]

Love the Wizard stuff! Keep it coming!

 

[Stuart in MN]

So the ferrule is marked "WESTERN AUTO No.1379s". The shank is marked "no. 1 Phillips-lic.1. PAT-250723 made in U.S.A carbon steel".
Lic.1 makes it a Stanley made screwdriver as far as I know, but I'm often wrong.

I believe I have a Stanley screwdriver that looks like that, so you're probably right as to who made it for Western Auto.

 

[tombell572]

Haven't thought about Western Auto in a long time. A college friend's dad had a W/E store in Brockport, NY outside of Rochester. That was in the 1960's--I recall it was a fairly big place, more of a hardware store than just auto parts.

Tom B.

 

[h~moto]

Locking pliers that I bought awhile back.

 

[brute84]

Noticed this thread and had to post a pic of our now closed Western Auto. It closed earlier this year shortly after a fire. Apparently Advanced Auto let some stores retain the name. This leftover was more like an Ace Hardware than the Western Auto's I remembered in the 70s. I live in Poteau, OK.

 

[h~moto]

Just posted a Wizard Loc-Grip last week.
Here is one I got today.
This one has thinner jaws.

 

[d42jeep]

I think this long feeler gauge I found in my machinists box might qualify for this thread,
-Don

 

[Stuart in MN]

I picked up this Western Auto box today for $1.00. No wrenches inside, just some old hacksaw blades, but I still thought it was pretty cool.

 

[Provincial]

I saw this Western Auto toy truck at the local flea market last Sunday. Cute, but not $35.00 cute!

 

[d42jeep]

I believe that the Chrome X Quality stuff was supplied by Duro/Indestro as was the Indestro clone I found today.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

yes, it was... and that "ChromeXQuality" box is a real find!

 

[RubiconJK]

Here is a 6" Wizard adjustable I have that is part of my ever growing collection of US made 6" adjustable wrenches!

 

[MR.X]

I'll be the first to admit I know little to nothing about Western Auto stores so I'll leave that for another thread. I'm not aware if Western Auto had a presence here in Portland, Oregon but that doesn't seem to affect the availability of their house brand of tools, Wizard.

Here's the first post of my growing Wizard tools collection.

Show yours!

Brian

Found this little 40 page brochure today. Pencilled Mar 42 on cover, looks like a aug 41 date printed on back.

 

[Rileysan]

Found this little 40 page brochure today. Pencilled Mar 42 on cover, looks like a aug 41 date printed on back.

Now that is cool! I've looked for specialized tool catalogs on eBay but haven't seen anything bigger than a few pages of seasonal advertising. Nice find!