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

toolfool1994

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Excellent! So glad you found us here at GJ and look forward to your future posts!



Out of curiosity, did you or a family member save any catalogs and/or ads? They help to identify era the tools came from



Brian



I haven’t come across any old catalogs or things of that nature yet but there are lots of materials to go through still in the storage room in back of the store. It continued operation after Western Auto ended under the name Cox Appliance & Hardware and the Western Auto sign still hung out front until a bad storm almost brought it down around 2010. After that it was taken down for preservation. But processing 40+ years of stuff in an active business is no quick process. I’ll gladly post anything I find of interest.
 
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Oldtuleguy

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Here is a little wizard ratchet
 

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Oldtuleguy

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Some western giant sockets
 

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toolfool1994

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A few Western Auto wrenches and an old Wizard ratchet. The tools labeled Western Auto were the cheap economy line and Wizard was the high end tools.a08a33f876605b8fbd802e522d550d93.jpgf5cab686dca401f0ba8787e116c9d555.jpg32e149d42e16a1a377e6f5def518d905.jpg
 

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Oldtuleguy

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Neat ratchet. What about the western giant stuff? I think they are pretty old, may predate the wizard stuff.
 

toolfool1994

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Neat ratchet. What about the western giant stuff? I think they are pretty old, may predate the wizard stuff.



You’re right Western Giant was the predecessor to Wizard. The timeline of Western Auto tools goes like this:

1930 & before: sold other company’s tools, namely Hinsdale & Bonney

1931-1935: They labeled their tools Chromium Vanadium

1936-1939: The eastern branch of Western Auto labeled their tools Chrome-X-Quality, while the western branch used the name Western Giant

1940-onward: Wizard became the name for the top of the line tools, Westcraft for mid-level tools, and Westline was the economy line. Also in later years the economy line was simply labeled Western Auto and were made in Taiwan
 
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Rileysan

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You’re right Western Giant was the predecessor to Wizard. The timeline of Western Auto tools goes like this:

1930 & before: sold other company’s tools, namely Hinsdale & Bonney

1931-1935: They labeled their tools Chromium Vanadium

1936-1939: The eastern branch of Western Auto labeled their tools Chrome-X-Quality, while the western branch used the name Western Giant

1940-onward: Wizard became the name for the top of the line tools, Westcraft for mid-level tools, and Westline was the economy line. Also in later years the economy line was simply labeled Western Auto and were made in Taiwan

It sounds like you've done quite a bit of research! Do you happen to have any catalog scans? They are so few and far between!

Edit: Looks like I asked that of you before. Short memory ...


Brian
 

Oldtuleguy

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This one is stamped chrome alloy20190616_215124.jpg
 

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Rileysan

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This one is stamped chrome alloy

I would post it in the SK thread (if you haven't already). According to Alloy Artifacts, the stamping "Chrome Alloy" was used for contract tools like "Brazil tools" in the mid-1930s, which did not have any markings beyond what you see on yours. It doesn't mention Western Auto in the paragraph but it seems plausible the same socket set was sold to all vendors for use in their house brands.

Great set!

Brian
 

d42jeep

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Here are some S-K made Chrome Alloy sockets I posted upthread which are also marked Western Giant.
-Don
 

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Oldtuleguy

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I have no doubt sk supplied the generic chrome alloys to pretty much anyone who would sell them. These were from gambles, look like the western giants and chrome alloys.
 

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Rileysan

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I have no doubt sk supplied the generic chrome alloys to pretty much anyone who would sell them. These were from gambles, look like the western giants and chrome alloys.

That set is fantastic! I have a handful of Tiger sockets but no drive tools. I bid on a Tiger ratchet (SK beaver tail) last week but it sold for more than I was willing to pay (~$60). The Pacific Northwest never had a Gambles franchise that I can find record of, so finding Tiger and/or Artisan tools here is uncommon, though I do come across them from time-to-time.

Brian
 

d42jeep

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They are very rare around here too. I’ve only found a couple. S-K was well known for being a large contract supplier in the early days.
-Don
 

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Username already in use

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...Tiger ratchet (SK beaver tail) last week but it sold for more than I was willing to pay (~$60).

$60! Oh man, maybe I should think about selling mine! :shocking:

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Oldtuleguy

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I saw that auction too. I thought about it but already have a bunch of beavertails.
 
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Slinger646

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I don't know if there was only one OEM or many but I so rarely see Wizard power tools, I haven't made any effort to learn about them. Hopefully someone else can help out.

Brian

Here’s the only picture I have for now.
 

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toolmutt

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Welcome to the board, toolfool1994!

I have this set of "Western" branded sockets that I got from my dad. They are obviously a Duro/Indestro product. They are hard to find, in fact, the folks at Alloy Artifacts had not heard of them. I have always assumed that they were a Western Auto item but can't confirm such. In your Western Auto exposure, have you seen this brand name? They would have been purchased in Texas or possibly Oklahoma.
 

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toolfool1994

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Welcome to the board, toolfool1994!



I have this set of "Western" branded sockets that I got from my dad. They are obviously a Duro/Indestro product. They are hard to find, in fact, the folks at Alloy Artifacts had not heard of them. I have always assumed that they were a Western Auto item but can't confirm such. In your Western Auto exposure, have you seen this brand name? They would have been purchased in Texas or possibly Oklahoma.



I haven’t seen anything like that. It does appear to be Duro/Indestro and resembles Wizard and Westline stuff. Maybe it was the name for the economy line between Westline and the Western Auto labeled taiwan made wrenches? I don’t know when the westline name went away. Another possibility is that it was made by Duro/Indestro for Western Tool & Supply based out of California.
https://www.westtool.com/supply/About.htm
 

Oldtuleguy

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Here's a bunch of stuff I got from rick and dave. Still waiting for the boards and rest of tools. Suspense is killing me!
 

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Oldtuleguy

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I think they have a bunch more. Another box showed up today...
 

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Oldtuleguy

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Put up the board and the tools, rick and dave did a great job packing and shipping!20190630_155534.jpg
 

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d42jeep

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I found quite a few Wizard sockets at the Tahoe flea Saturday morning.
-Don
 

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Oldtuleguy

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Nice find! I am missing missing a few items as pictured and have alot of extras as well, if anyone wants to unload some or do a little trading.
 

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LNKMK8

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I picked this setup a few months ago and just now got around to going through it. Bought it from a guy in his 50's who said it was his dad's who passed away 10 year ago. He didn't inherit any of this dad's mechanical skills or interest, so it had been sitting in a damp basement since then. He destroyed the hasp and damaged the lid to get it open rather than cutting the lock off, and the damage basement left some damage to it. I believe it was in great condition prior :(

I was surprised to find the original tool list and some of the original packaging tags still in the box. I counted up about 75 of the original 91 pieces being there. Most notable missing pieces are all 3 of the ratchets and most of the 3/4" drive sockets. All of the 1/2" drive sockets are present, as well as the deep 3/8, 1/4" set, breaker bars with crossbars, and box end wrenches.

I haven't done any restoration efforts on it yet other than wipe the box down and some minor straightening of the top lid. I may end up selling this one as I already have quite a few projects going. Thought you guys would like to see it with the original parts list.
 

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