Philco / Not Philco

[Private Lugnutz]

GJ'ers Oldtuleguy and bmwrd0 will immediately recognize this box…

…and its contents…

…as PHILCO.

Here are some photos of their PHILCO kits…

Otg's...

and Beemer's...

…which can be seen in more detail in post #1067 on page 54 and in post #1264 on page 64, respectively, in the ‘Midget Socket Tools’ thread. (You can find it in the Index in the Sticky.)

One might say my set looks even more appropriate sitting next to my authentic antique Philco Superheterodyne 91B cathedral radio.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Very nice! Love the old radios.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Except that my socket set is not a PHILCO!

Note, first of all, that there is no big bold “PHILCO" over smaller "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF.” marking on the lid. Could it have been rubbed off? Highly unlikely. Note that it almost looks like there was a rectangular label there that is now missing.

The marking on the shank of the long driver pretty much confirms that this was not a Philco socket set.

“AMERICAN SWISS” is the trademark of the American Swiss File & Tool Company of Elizabeth, NJ.

If you think that’s a little odd, you wouldn’t be the only one. American Swiss, revered for their files and file-related tools, is not exactly known for their socket wrenches. But a little research revealed that in 1940 they did in fact offer mechanics tools…

…including socket wrenches.

If you’ve been following along on the PHILCO midget set topic on the 'Midget' and 'Thorsen' threads, you know that MR. X and Otg own Thorsen midget hex sets that include stubby spinners that are spittin' image identical to the PHILCO stubby spinners…

…suggesting that perhaps Thorsen is the OEM for the Philadelphia Dry Storage and Battery Company (Philco). One major fly in that ointment is that the Thorsen sockets are not identical. See posts #792 and #798 on page 40 of the ‘Thorsen’ thread for more photos. (You can find it in the Index in the Sticky.)

What does all this mean for identifying the OEM of the PHILCO sets?

Probably not too much. Except that whoever was making them for PHILCO and Thorsen was obviously also making them for American Swiss File & Tool Company, because I highly doubt that they are the OEM. They have no history of making any socket drive tools prior to offering them in 1940.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

By the way, exasperated by not knowing anything about these PHILCO sets (when were they made? what specifically were they used for?), I did some research.

On July 30, 1942, PHILCO extended their original trademark to include socket wrenches, claiming first use in 1931. That has to be a reference to the packaging, in this case the wooden box the wrenches were contained in, since none of the tools are branded.

I also reviewed a bunch of Philco parts and accessories catalogs on-line at the Philco Phorum.

Ours sets first show up in 1931 and stay the same through 1936.

In 1937 they added a fifth, smaller socket (3/16”) to the set and put the wooden box inside a larger kit box with additional tools.

In 1938 they expanded the set even further. There’s our stubby now joined by a “YANKEE” type ratchet, an L-handle, a sixth socket (7/32”) and four special bits.

In 1942 they expanded again, and Beemer will be happy to see that some of the extra bits in his wooden box probably come from a larger kit and a different box in this era.

By 1949 the tools are unrecognizable from our antiquated wood-handled drivers and detachable sockets and bits. They are modern, composite handled nut drivers and screwdrivers.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This is tangential, but during my research I ran across Unplugging Philco…

…a novel which I thought, based on the title and cover, may have been a post-modern comedy about some failed Gen-Xer’s attempt to get his grandfather’s radio working.

I was wrong. Philco is the last name of the protagonist. He is apparently all thumbs when it comes to tools though. And I found this paragraph especially funny, which pretty much describes 9 out of 10 toolboxes I find myself standing in front of at the flea market very week.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

”Until next time race fans, this is Tick Tock McLaughlin… (cue the William Tell Overture ‘First Call’ bugle on vibraphone)… signing off!”

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Very nice! Love the old radios.

Thanks, Otg. But the search for the OEM continues!

 

[Farmer J.]

Lugz, I haven't got a clue who made them, but we enjoyed the nice illustrated bedtime story!

 

[theoldwizard1]

I actually worked for Philco for about 6 months before they disbanded my division. Got transferred into Ford Motor. One of the best things that happened in my 31 year career !

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Those long ferrules on the drivers remind me of something

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Lugz, I haven't got a clue who made them, but we enjoyed the nice illustrated bedtime story!

Haha! Thanks, J.

Next up: Where the Wilde Things Are, followed by Goodnight, Half-Moon Wrench and Hydraulic Jack and the Beanstalk.

I actually worked for Philco for about 6 months before they disbanded my division.

Interesting. When, where, and what were you doing for them? If you don't mind me asking.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Those long ferrules on the drivers remind me of something

They remind me of the ferrules on classic Bridgeport screwdrivers, and BHM did make a very similar-looking driver and sockets billed as a radio-electric set. But it's not quite right, and looks to be square drive.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As I have said elsethread, they also kinda sorta resemble the drivers that MTF made for themselves and for Vim Tools, from the handle to the ferrule, and they were advertised for radio work, but those shanks were round with a very prominent and long square drive end.

EDIT: Photo added. Taken from the Vim catalog, but as I pointed out to 4.c on his thread, the image was take directly from the MTF 1930 catalog.

 

[tym]

Any plans to get the radio working again? I can see it needs a new speaker cone and grille cloth, for starters.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

After a dig through various "radio" socket sets the ferrule looks closest to the mtf. These old wood handle drivers are all pretty similar.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Any plans to get the radio working again? I can see it needs a new speaker cone and grille cloth, for starters.

Plans, yes. Not much action, though.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...the ferrule looks closest to the mtf.

Agreed. But the handle is grooved, and, as I pointed out above with the Vim cat excerpt, the shank is all wrong. We'll figure it out eventually.

 

[tym]

Plans, yes. Not much action, though.

Well, 2020 is the year of getting-to-stuff-we-set-aside-since-we're-all-home-forever-now.

 

[ttpete]

Plans, yes. Not much action, though.

The speaker is an electro-dynamic type. It has an electromagnet instead of a permanent magnet. It also serves as a filter choke for the power supply. You can use a PM speaker, but you'll need to add a filter choke to the power supply.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That is correct. I didn't want to radionerd the thread, keeping it on tools, but here are a few shots. I need a 42 tube and an 80 tube, which is the rectifier for the high voltage, and I have to replace all the electrolytic capacitors and resistors all now out of spec. It also has a bunch of line filter caps across the 120Volt AC line even when the switch is off, which will also short the power supply or worse if I don't replace them. I bought a circuit diagram for the set and sorted everything out years ago. That and my notes are still inside the back of the cabinet.

 

[ttpete]

That is correct. I didn't want to radionerd the thread, keeping it on tools, but here are a few shots. I need a 42 tube and an 80 tube, which is the rectifier for the high voltage, and I have to replace all the electrolytic capacitors and resistors all now out of spec. It also has a bunch of line filter caps across the 120Volt AC line even when the switch is off, which will also short the power supply or worse if I don't replace them. I bought a circuit diagram for the set and sorted everything out years ago. That and my notes are still inside the back of the cabinet.

I played with tube stuff when I was a boy. If you have trouble getting an 80, you can switch to an octal socket and use a 5Y3. Be careful, B+ voltage can be 300v.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Oh, I know, there are all kinds of places and ways this thing could kill me!

 

[tym]

I played with tube stuff when I was a boy. If you have trouble getting an 80, you can switch to an octal socket and use a 5Y3. Be careful, B+ voltage can be 300v.

I replaced a shorted 6X5 rectifier in my Zenith "beehive" set with two silicon diodes and a dropping resistor; that's another option for Lugz. 6X5s are notorious for shorting and taking out the power transformer in old Zenith sets.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Lugnutz I knew of the Philco radios but the tool sets were a surprise. Thanks for sharing.

 

[four.cycle]

Private Lugnutz:
On that Thorsen set above:
I was pretty surprised when I received copies of the 1933-1934 and the 1938-1939 Thorsen catalogs, printed during that era when Thorsen was using that font style on their products. What surprised me was the volume of outsourced product they offered in the catalogs. Other than the standard "Techni-Heat" sockets, ratchets, drive accessories, and wrenches, pretty much everything else in the catalogs is somebody else's product.
That the Thosen, Philco, and your own American Swiss sets all appear to have the same handle tells me that somebody was making them for somebody else, but I'd be hesitant to name Thorsen as OEM simply because of the volume of outsourced product in those earlier catalogs. Of course, that's just wild-guess-speculation-conjecture on my part.

So it was OTG who snagged that "Kresge" set! If that's the same one, I backed off at the last minute on that one.
Mr. Kresge most definitely had an "illustrious" career.

Am I correct in assuming this is the thread for the "RADIO" socket sets? Or do we have a dedicated thread for that?

Funny that they all look the same - long skinny boxes and all - but they're all just a wee bit different.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

This would be as good a thread as any! Fun sets to collect.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Philco started life as the Philadelphia Battery Company, back when those old radios had an "A" and a "B" battery. Once EE figured out how to make DC from AC (using a diode tube) they quickly started making "battery eliminators" and then radios. Not sure what time frame exactly this was.

During WWII they made FM radios for use in some fighter airplanes.

During the Cold War, Cheyenne Mountain was filled with Philco computers.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Am I correct in assuming this is the thread for the "RADIO" socket sets? Or do we have a dedicated thread for that?

We do NOT!

This would be as good a thread as any! Fun sets to collect.

Agreed! I don't even need to change the title. I'll call it "Radio Socket Sets" in the Sticky though.

 

[four.cycle]

Works for me. I'll post that Bridgeport set here when I get it. That Braunsdorf-Mueller set is mine. (You didn't notice that it had "MINE" written on the box?!?! )
NO idea where that Scurati set is, but I'm not sure that qualifies as it's not really a "radio" set.
I know there's at least one or two more here somewhere.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

From the insuline corp of america (crystal radios)

 

[four.cycle]

Who? :
What's the patent date on that 1/4" hex extension? Dec. 31, 1918 ? (Those sockets look familiar.)

 

[four.cycle]

PEXTO (Peck Stow & Wilcox) No. 1 5-piece "Radio Socket Set"

1/4" hex drive with detent ball. Shaft of driver handle has two "stops" pressed into the end to prevent socket from sliding all the way up shalf. Sockets are bare steel, and have both "PEXTO" and size stamped on them (except the knurled "radio" socket, which does not have any size stamping.) 5/16" hex socket is cracked. Box is in great condition. Note price code on bottom of box in grease pencil.



(* also posted in PEXTO (Peck Stow & Wilcox) thread HERE: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/peck-stowe-and-wilcox.370649/page-4 *)

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Who? :
What's the patent date on that 1/4" hex extension? Dec. 31, 1918 ? (Those sockets look familiar.)

That's the pat date!

 

[four.cycle]

^ that's Sedgley's patent.
the similarity on the sockets is striking: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...owing-1-4-drive-socket-set-collection.405698/
causes me to wonder if maybe Sedgley was making them for ICA, or they were just manufacturing them under license (as was the case with New Britain.)

 

[Oldtuleguy]

^ that's Sedgley's patent.
the similarity on the sockets is striking: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...owing-1-4-drive-socket-set-collection.405698/
causes me to wonder if maybe Sedgley was making them for ICA, or they were just manufacturing them under license (as was the case with re

Looks alot like this new britain set

 

[Private Lugnutz]

causes me to wonder if maybe Sedgley was making them for ICA, or they were just manufacturing them under license (as was the case with New Britain.)

I.C.A. made radios in Long Island City, NY in the 30's and 40's, 4.c. After the war they made radios, televisions, and related equipment and accessories. The only reason I know of them is they made radio suppressor kits for the Signal Corps for jeeps and other trucks during WWII. That socket set with their name on it was almost certainly made by New Britain for them under license from Sedgley.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

PEXTO (Peck Stow & Wilcox) No. 1 5-piece "Radio Socket Set"

That cardboard box is to die for. I would never get tired of looking at it.

 

[four.cycle]

That socket set with their name on it was almost certainly made by New Britain for them under license from Sedgley.

Occam's Razor says you're correct.
That's the answer that makes the most sense.
Reginald Sedgley abandoned the tool business after only a few years and started doing custom work on guns. New Britain was manufacturing "New Britain" and "None Better" sets under license from Sedgley (presumably until the patent expired?)
(I've seen "Handle Lock" sets with the "ell" handle stamped with the same patent date as well, but never tried to draw any conclusions from that because so many of those old hex drive sets got cannibalized or had pieces replaced with other brands.)

That is a remarkable set there, Oldtuleguy.

As an aside: I was searching for something last night, and while digging through an old Walden catalog came across no fewer than three different sizes of "radio" Spintites for knurled nuts.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

You are referring to these funny sockets? I see them in old oxwall sets

 

[four.cycle]

yes

NO idea as to what year that catalog was published, unfortunately. They didn't print dates on their catalogs. Maybe somebody else here can take a stab at date range.