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Reed & Prince R&P 719–what’s this used for?

rdjohannes

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This is obviously my week for mystery tools, and I can’t resist a mystery. This is a Reed & Prince 719, which I cannot find anywhere online. It appears to be some sort of a nut driver. Does anyone know its purpose? Thanks so much!
 

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four.cycle

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Reed & Prince / Reed & Prince Mfg. Corp., 272 Nashua St., Leominster, MA 01453 (formerly 1 Duncan Ave., Worcester, MA) / https://www.reedandprince.com/ / est. 1886 / "Frearson" screwdriver / https://andvari.substack.com/p/reed-and-prince-mfg / see also John Frearson, Birmingham, England / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/reed-prince-r-p-719-whats-this-used-for.541407/ /

* there is also a brief discussion on Reed & Prince in this thread *

you can't discuss "Reed and Prince" without mentioning "Frearson":

Frearson / Frearson, John, Birmingham, England / "Frearson" screw / patent US 145411 Dec 9 1873 & 179695 Jul 11 1876 & 308247 Nov 18 1884 John Frearson / http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2012/11/vanished-tool-makes-reed-princefrearson.html / https://www.johnphfrearson.co.uk/some-interesting-frearsons/ / https://fairwindfasteners.com/blogs/news/reed-prince-frearson-drive-vs-phillips / see also Reed & Prince, Worcester, MA /

John Frearson designed a fastener. He then designed a tool to be used to install and remove the fastener. His patent of July 11, 1876 was an inprovement on the earlier design.
Mr. Frearson never made screws, nor did he make any tools. He just invented them.

The screws and the tools were manufactured by Reed & Prince, of Worcester, Massachusetts, and were used extensively in the boat-building industry.

I'm not absolutely sure - because there simply aren't any catalogs - but I believe this device was intended to be used on these "Frearson" screws:

Reed & Prince 721 Frearson screw driver 113025 01.jpg
Reed & Prince 721 B screw driver
 

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four.cycle

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1920 Hardware American Saw Reed & Prince Rowell Vaughan & Bushnell ad pp 61.jpg
1920 Hardware American Saw Reed & Prince Rowell Vaughan & Bushnell ad pp 61
1946 Aviation Reed & Prince ad pp 17.jpg
1946 Aviation Reed & Prince ad pp 17
1946 Aviation Reed & Prince ad pp 164.jpg
1946 Aviation Reed & Prince ad pp 164
1946 Hardware Age Reed & Prince ad pp 7.jpg
1946 Hardware Age Reed & Prince ad pp 7
1946 Hardware Age Reed & Prince ad pp 237.jpg
1946 Hardware Age Reed & Prince ad pp 237
Reed & Prince (Worcester MA) LOGO (Old Radar).jpg
Reed & Prince, Worcester, Massachusetts LOGO
 
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four.cycle

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HELP!

Prospective buyer is looking at my "Reed & Prince" model 716 driver.
Lacking ANY sort of "catalog", I'm not exactly sure what it is I have here.
Google's "AI" bot says the model 716 is a "Frearson" type driver, but it doesn't look ANYTHING like the "Frearson" driver I've posted just above.
We are dealing with a 1927 Model 3 Gibson banjo. We need to make sure this gentleman has the correct tool for the job.
My "Reed and Prince" 716 posed next to some other standard Phillips drivers:
 

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Mintgrun

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I think a standard Phillips will fit that screw better than the R&P (which appears to have been reshaped), but it is really hard to tell from where I am sitting.

I asked google what type of fasteners were used on vintage Gibson instruments and got the following answer.

Vintage Gibson guitars primarily used Phillips screws for their hardware (such as pickup rings, pickguards, and truss rod covers), but they featured specific nuances and can easily be confused with Reed and Prince (Frearson) fasteners.
 

four.cycle

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Tony said:
Here is the truss rod cover screw- it is less than 3/16” in diameter, so a small Reed Prince screw driver is in order. As you can see, the cruciform slots are buggered. My hope is to find a nice set of screws and the proper tool for them. These are from 1927 and were used with straight head screws if the factory supply had run out. The neck is a plectrum conversion to a Bluegrass banjo with five strings, and also dates to 1927. Maple from a 1927 tenor neck was used to widen it. All inlays were salvaged from the necks, and the fret board is made of Brazilian rosewood from an 1890 piano plank. Here is the back of the resonator. I purchased the banjo in 2017, so it has taken almost ten years to bring it to this state.
@JMLangford -
Tony said:
However- l would like to see what your luthier says. Thank you so much for your help and going the extra mile for me! God Bless! Tony
Here is my banjo for him- 1927 TB-3 conversion that we think a woman purchased to play in a jazz band. The resonator was unmarked.
It is fitted with a 1958 Remo script head; early Keith Bump Scruggs D-tuners; a first generation Snuffy Smith bridge; and a rare Patent Presto five string tailpiece. The fifth string tuner is a 1965 or so Kroll. He will recognize these. Tony
 

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four.cycle

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I have to wonder if we're over-thinking this:

patent 2046837 Jul 7 1936 Henry F. Phillips - the Phillips screw wasn't introduced onto the market until the mid-1930s.

Frearson was issued his first patent (for the screw) in 1873 and his second patent (for the driver) in 1876. He was issued a third patent for an improved driver in 1884.

patent 145411 Dec 9 1873 J. Frearson
patent 179695 Jul 11 1876 J. Frearson
patent 308248 Nov 18 1884 J. Frearson
 
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