Show your "Long C" Craftsman!

[Catfishdan]

Thanks. Mine are on the way.

 

[Provincial]

Long C Viscosimeter from Sunday's Flea Market.

 

[Rileysan]

Long C Viscosimeter from Sunday's Flea Market.

You may very well have found the only used example I've seen! Believe it or not, they are still readily available on eBay, NIB!

Here's mine ...

Brian

 

[Rileysan]

I was playing with my 1/4" drive Craftsman socket sets tonight and started down another rabbit hole - how many varieties were there? Naturally, two of the sets I need to complete my collection (Deluxe midget set with amber handle, and 11 piece set mounted in a "Handy Clip") are currently listed on eBay. I hope to come away with at least one of those sets without losing my shirt, this week!

Anyways, I believe the topic of varieties of sets deserves another thread, so I'll be content to post a few pictures and call it a night ...

Brian

 

[JoCoSawdust]

I've never seen that box your open gear rat is in Brian, the one with just the Long C Craftsman logo (not the conventional oval logo). That's interesting. I'll have to dig out my 1/4d pre-war sets and see what I've got.

 

[Rileysan]

I've never seen that box your open gear rat is in Brian, the one with just the Long C Craftsman logo (not the conventional oval logo). That's interesting. I'll have to dig out my 1/4d pre-war sets and see what I've got.

I actually have two of those boxes (the second being a basket case) so I feel comfortable in saying it was actually available for sale and not just created by Craftsman tool fanatic. Both boxes came off eBay from different sellers, more than a year apart.

Brian

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Yeah it definitely looks OEM. One more twist to the never-ending "what the hell was Sears doing" saga. Best of luck snagging those two artifacts from the 'Bay. I won't be bidding against you!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

... I'll be content to post a few pictures and call it a night ...

Nice spread.

 

[Rileysan]

These popped up on eBay last Sunday and I was fortunate enough to grab them for $40 (BIN) plus shipping. And if you didn't see them, don't feel bad ... they were listed for 16 minutes before I saw them.

I'm using the seller's photos but they arrived today. It would be hard to imagine finding a nicer set!

Brian

 

[c1504]

Nice find. What’s the reason for two of each size?

 

[Rileysan]

Nice find. What’s the reason for two of each size?

I can't provide any specifics because I have no experience adjusting valves on flat head (or older, solid lifter engines), but if I understand correctly, you needed 2 wrenches of the same size to adjust some valves. It was a common practice to market sets of tappet wrenches that contained two of each size. I also have sets of Bonney and Herbrand tappet wrenches in tool rolls that contain 2 of each size.

From the 1942 Sears Craftsman catalog:

 

[LesserSon]

They are thin wrenches, used for tappet adjustment, jam nuts. I have no experience, either, but illustrations show them used one-handed held like scissors.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

That's a nice set Brian. Very ingenious design to the tray. I have one with a red tray which I tend to think is a bit older of a version before Sears went full on with blue. Nice quick snag on your part!

 

[Rileysan]

That's a nice set Brian. Very ingenious design to the tray. I have one with a red tray which I tend to think is a bit older of a version before Sears went full on with blue. Nice quick snag on your part!

Have you posted photos? If so, I missed them. Can you share?

 

[JoCoSawdust]

I have but they're way up thread. I got these with a DOE wrench set that had faint remnants of red paint on the clip as well.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice find. What’s the reason for two of each size?

One is for the jam nut ("check nut" in period parlance), the other is for the adjusting nut. When you were finished with the adjusting nut, you locked it down with the jam nut.

They are thin wrenches, used for tappet adjustment, jam nuts. I have no experience, either, but illustrations show them used one-handed held like scissors.

The third one in that photo is holding the tappet still.

 

[Rileysan]

I have but they're way up thread. I got these with a DOE wrench set that had faint remnants of red paint on the clip as well.

Not gunna lie - I'm jealous! I've been on the lookout for the "arced" Craftsman logo wrenches for a while. That's a great looking set!!

 

[Smokeshow69]

These popped up on eBay last Sunday and I was fortunate enough to grab them for $40 (BIN) plus shipping. And if you didn't see them, don't feel bad ... they were listed for 16 minutes before I saw them.

I'm using the seller's photos but they arrived today. It would be hard to imagine finding a nicer set!

Brian

This is a nice set! Worthy of a you **** for sure!

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Thanks. Those wrenches in your set are in great shape. It's always nice to find a complete set of anything. Getting harder and harder to do these days.

 

[c1504]

One is for the jam nut ("check nut" in period parlance), the other is for the adjusting nut. When you were finished with the adjusting nut, you locked it down with the jam nut.

I’m not sure why I didn’t think that you would need two wrenches to do that. But, it’s not something I’ve done yet and I haven’t ever come across a whole set before.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

No problem, c1504. Perfectly understandable. Confusing matters more, there are tappet wrench sets from the same era that did NOT come in pairs. Plomb, to name one example. And we didn't even bring the feeler gauge into the picture yet. It was a manual dexterity challenge!

 

[wrenchguy]

I’m not sure why I didn’t think that you would need two wrenches to do that. But, it’s not something I’ve done yet and I haven’t ever come across a whole set before.

I never seen a 3 wrench setup like that, usually after the jam nut is loose i use its wrench to hold the lifter/tappet then turn the threaded adjuster as needed.
That photo looks of a really old overhead valve engine with a peculiar adjusting method.

The thin tappet wrenches discussed here were kinda specific to flathead engine valve adjustment and 2 were needed.

 

[LesserSon]

A peculiar adjusting method THAT SELLS MORE WRENCHES!

 

[JoCoSawdust]

I tried to resist this set on eBay but failed miserably. This thing has led a charmed life. All chisels are marked Craftsman BC. The 3/8 has geometric font but no Long C while the other two are standard Long C logos.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That's in fantastic shape.

 

[Outlawmws]

Time capsule!

 

[3baygarage]

That’s beautiful. I’ve had the chisels but never seen the set with pouch. I’ll bet the 3/8 underline just got cut off being so close to the edge.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Immaculate.

 

[ooba tooba]

Very nice JoCo! Looks shiny and new!

 

[Berserker2]

Good topic

 

[Hoorn]

Picked this up a few days ago. August 1943. Of note is there is no cast "OIL" above the dynamic jaw oil hole, there is a very light stamped "OIL".

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Very nice vise Hoorn. I've yet to get a shot at a Long C vise in my area. The lack of the "OIL" casting is interesting. Perhaps Ed can shine some light on that based off his vast collection of vises.

 

[Hoorn]

Thank you. On the Reed R Series thread, AngryBeaver had said the earliest Reedsman he was aware of was August 1943. Perhaps that has something to do with it?

 

[drivesitfar]

HOORN: i've got one or two or ... of these old Reedsmans and I love the lines on them. none of mine look as good as yours though. NICE WORK!!

JoCo: nice little holder for the chisels and chisels look new. WOW

ALL: I've got some catching up to do on this thread and if these last few posts are anything like the rest I'll need some napkins to keep wiping the drool off my face.

thanks for sharing guys!!

 

[ed4banger]

Picked this up a few days ago. August 1943. Of note is there is no cast "OIL" above the dynamic jaw oil hole, there is a very light stamped "OIL".

Very nice vise Hoorn. I've yet to get a shot at a Long C vise in my area. The lack of the "OIL" casting is interesting. Perhaps Ed can shine some light on that based off his vast collection of vises.

...

 

[Hoorn]

Appreciate you weighing in Ed. That heritage logo Reed is very uncommon. Finish on it is superb. I've looked over your fantastic collection many times, out of curiosity do you have a favorite? Is there one vise that you feel is superior to the others as far as fit, function, strength, design?

I ask because, although the Reedsman vises are my favorite, it's more because of their appearance and because I'm a Craftsman guy and really like the long C logo. I think the logo looks particularly handsome cast on these vises.

When I put my 5181 next to my Athol 614, despite the Reeds having a reputation for being very strong vises, in almost every category the Athol is bigger. Both the dynamic and static jaws are significantly beefier, the neck of the jaws are thicker, the Athol weighs more, while much of the Reeds weight is in the 4 bolt base which is huge. The horn underneath the Athol is literally 3 times bigger than the Reed as well, and it has the superior buttress thread vs the Reed acme. Since you have such a varied collection, what stands out to you as the superior vise?

 

[ooba tooba]

I have never seen one w/o the cast oil, but have seen them almost completely missing as this is a high wear area. Nice vise. Here is my 5181, a little bit newer with the heritage badge, still looking for a long-C 5181. Trying to get each with both logo styles

You guys have some awesome stuff! This popped up on my FB marketplace but I have other priorities. No affiliation.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I won this 1941 Mechanics catalog of the bay for the starting bid. It looks a little rough and some of the pages have rips where the pages got bent but all will tape back together. These are fun to look through. I do have the digital copies but it isnt the same as leafing through the original.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Nice find Smokes. The only problem is, once you own an original copy of that tool flyer, you're required to wear a white lab coat and neck tie in your shop at all times.

 

[Hoorn]

You guys have some awesome stuff! This popped up on my FB marketplace but I have other priorities. No ]

That is an outstanding vise. I don't think I've ever seen one of the Reedsman vises with that much of the original paint left. That original deep royal blue with a hint of violet was such a cool color Craftsman used back in the day. Thank you for showing that.