Oldtuleguy
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Thanks bonneyman. Love the look of this ratchet so really wanted to get it back in shape.
Show your Indestro and Duro-Chrome tools
- Thread starter matthew
- Start date
d42jeep
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Cruzan80
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Just picked up this set at auction. Seems to have been rarely used. 
Sent from my Phone 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app
Sent from my Phone 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app
outofbounds
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Looks like a winner, there! Noticing you were scooping up everything old you could find too it seems.
Has anyone got a #738 Super Quality 11/16 wrench,. I find no references here or on AA?
It is a long one piece tool, box end on the long handle, fixed forged in socket after the right angle bend, plated finish.
Similar to head wrench others made for Chevrolet engines.
It is a long one piece tool, box end on the long handle, fixed forged in socket after the right angle bend, plated finish.
Similar to head wrench others made for Chevrolet engines.
Private Lugnutz
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I picked up a complete No. 147 Flat Box End Wrench set at the flea market this morning. Pic 4 is from the 1935 Indestro catalog. "Flat" refers to the construction (stamped out of flat pressed steel stock bars), because they clearly have an offset in the shank, and other ads (see Pic 5, from an early 1930's General Hardware store catalog) refer to it explicitly. Most of the cadmium finish has been worn off the wrenches. They are not thin, insubstantial wrenches, as I tried to show in Pic 6, but I did have to bend the No. 140 wrench back into shape for it to nestle correctly with the others. The set did not come with a bolt and wingnut, which were borrowed from one of the other 'auto kit' type wrench sets I own.
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I posted a Indestro 3/8" ratchet the other day—that I had forgotten I had—in the 'Indestro Tools' thread over in the General Tool forum.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8656802&postcount=35
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8656802&postcount=35
d42jeep
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After a little more than two and a half years, I finally found it, and completed my Duro Chrome obstruction wrench set.
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Private Lugnutz
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Congrats, Jim. The one fell swoops are great, but I always appreciate the onesy-twosy collecting completions more.
Thanks Lugz. My thinking exactly. There’s a little sense of excitement/satisfaction when you finally find the last tool to complete a set. Well, another set down and MANY more to go!
Jim C.
I thought I'd ask this question here instead of starting a new thread. Phots are of a Select Steel in what appears to be cadmium, according to AA late war years. What's odd about this one is that it has a forged-in "X" at each end of the panel recess, so there's four of them total. I've never seen this mark on another Select Steel wrench. Anyone have some info on this X wrench?
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Oldtuleguy
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r_olson_06
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Here is some pics of a 1/2" set that I think is circa 30s.
Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench
Love those ratchets!
Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench
Oldtuleguy
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Thats pretty early. Maybe late 20s.
outofbounds
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Oldtuleguy; Not something I have noticed before. Here is a 1/2" set i have been collecting.[/QUOTE said:There's a lot of WOW factor in that sat, OTG!
Oldtuleguy
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Thanks oob. Mid century duro stuff is stylish!
Semi-hole mechanic
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d42jeep
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OTG,
The box is pristine. Did you have to do any restoration? Great looking set. After checking Alloy Artifacts, I think Roy’s set is from the early ‘30s with the stars on the sockets.
-Don
The box is pristine. Did you have to do any restoration? Great looking set. After checking Alloy Artifacts, I think Roy’s set is from the early ‘30s with the stars on the sockets.
-Don
Oldtuleguy
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Thanks don. Has some dings and scratches, probably looks better in pics than in person.
Oldtuleguy
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Very cool sets. Really digging that 1/2" ratchet design.Oldtuleguy
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Thanks crtdi. That is an interesting one. They were not rebuildable so not super common. Would like to find a 3/8 version.
d42jeep
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This wartime Duro/D-I socket set arrived today from an eBay seller. Probably an early war set since the sockets are cad plated. It’s missing the 15/16” and 1” sockets which I probably have in my spares.
-Don
-Don
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Oldtuleguy
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d42jeep
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I really like the wartime large box 1/4” drive sets. Here is my best one with an actual Duro spinner (even though the handle is slowly disintegrating). The Duro spinners are like hen’s teeth. Of course, Tin Medic has a perfect one.
Maybe the only one in existence. The last two pictures are his spinner. It should be in the Smithsonian.
-Don
Maybe the only one in existence. The last two pictures are his spinner. It should be in the Smithsonian. -Don
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Oldtuleguy
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A phenomenon I am familiar with
I have the crumbled remains of several.
I have the crumbled remains of several.
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d42jeep
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I carefully cleaned up the cad plated D-I sockets today on the set posted upthread.
-Don
-Don
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Oldtuleguy
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looks good!
rustyzman
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Here is my Duro 1/2" drive socket set. As far as I can tell, this is a full set now. I found this at a really good estate sale a few years ago, on the second day (50% off day). It was a sale I really wanted to attend, but because of work, could not be there on the Friday when it first started. Went on the Saturday, hoping that something in the pictures would be left, but expecting that the majority would already be gone, as usual.
Got there right at opening expecting the crowd for the discount day. Arrived raring to go...and there were no customers in the garage at all! I think there was only 1 customer in the house too. Most all of the really good Snap On stuff from the pictures was still there and I managed to get everything I was hoping for, plus this set.
I don't normally collect Duro/Indestro, though i have had many of their tools over the years. Relations even grew up quite close to the factory in Chicago. But this particular set was special. It was complete, minus 1 socket and the L handle. Almost all the items appear to be essentially new, unused.
Under the cardboard in the lid was a Western Auto receipt from I think 1938 (could be 1933, but pretty sure it says '38) with a list of tools on it. I can't say that this set is absolutely one of them, but it does appear to say Wrench, Pliers and Set Wrenches with the prices. This price seems a bit low for this full set, but it would be reasonable to assume at least that this set existed at that date, or predated it (would be strange to keep a receipt from an earlier purchase in a later set this way, but who knows?). I was able to locate a correct missing L handle and socket from a well used set.
My wife insisted I get it when we found it. Just a cool set.
Got there right at opening expecting the crowd for the discount day. Arrived raring to go...and there were no customers in the garage at all! I think there was only 1 customer in the house too. Most all of the really good Snap On stuff from the pictures was still there and I managed to get everything I was hoping for, plus this set.
I don't normally collect Duro/Indestro, though i have had many of their tools over the years. Relations even grew up quite close to the factory in Chicago. But this particular set was special. It was complete, minus 1 socket and the L handle. Almost all the items appear to be essentially new, unused.
Under the cardboard in the lid was a Western Auto receipt from I think 1938 (could be 1933, but pretty sure it says '38) with a list of tools on it. I can't say that this set is absolutely one of them, but it does appear to say Wrench, Pliers and Set Wrenches with the prices. This price seems a bit low for this full set, but it would be reasonable to assume at least that this set existed at that date, or predated it (would be strange to keep a receipt from an earlier purchase in a later set this way, but who knows?). I was able to locate a correct missing L handle and socket from a well used set.
My wife insisted I get it when we found it. Just a cool set.
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Oldtuleguy
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Nice! Love the receipt.
Old Radar
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Looks like 1933 to me. Very nice set!
Oldtuleguy
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I have one of those sets as well. The receipt gives a nice date reference. Great piece of history.
Private Lugnutz
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Yeah it is. Cool wife, too!
rustyzman
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Absolutely, She is a Totally Cool Wife!
d42jeep
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rustyzman
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Absolutely does. A lot of their products seem to have stretched across both names.
Found a neat history located here: https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/indestro-duro-metal/
Found a neat history located here: https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/indestro-duro-metal/
Lesserstore
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I have this old Duro Chrome 1/4 socket box that I use to keep all my 1/4 stuff. It's rusty and I want to repaint it. I have the paint that matches the original color closest, but I was wondering how to replicate the squiggly lines effect on the original paint, if it can even be done at all.
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d42jeep
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It’s my experience that wartime Duro boxes were about 50-50 between smooth and wrinkle finishes. If you can find VHT valve cover black wrinkle paint you can use that as a base coat and do the finish coat with your color of choice. I just repaint mine smooth with Midwest Military Signal Corp #1. Here are some examples of original paint and repaints.
-Don
-Don
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Lesserstore
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Thanks. I'll try to find some of that wrinkle paint and paint over it with green.