Was the Indestro 6272 ratchet anything special?

biscuit141 · May 1, 2013

There is 3/8 Indestro 6272 in good shape at my local pawn shop. They are asking $16. I need another ratchet like I need another hole in the head, but if it's a good one I can pick it up. I do like old tools. It seemed like it still had good teeth from feel. Here are some pics.

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bobcatdan · May 1, 2013

Special, no. Nice ratchet, yes. My dad has a couple of those and I like them.

oak_park · May 1, 2013

It's a decent ratchet but 16.00 is way too high. I wouldn't pay more than 8.00 for it. The knurling on the handle looks like it is worn down, could just be the lighting reflection though.

biscuit141 · May 1, 2013

No you are right. The knurling is worn. But the head and rest of the handle looks to be in great shape. That was my next question. What should I pay?

rusty65 · May 1, 2013

I would pay a max of 12 dollars for it. It has decent looking chrome and indestro made very strong ratchets.

biscuit141 · May 1, 2013

What does the internals look like? 36 tooth I take it?

rusty65 · May 1, 2013

Yeah it's 36 tooth if I'm not mistaken. I have the 1/2 version with cheater marks all over the handle and the ratchet still works like new and looks new internally at least if your not counting the cheater marks

.

Pumpman1968 · May 1, 2013

Offer the guy $8 then settle for $10. Its nothing "special" just a good ol' basic ratchet that will do exactly what it was designed to do for decades.

ajchien · May 1, 2013

I think it would go for $10 in so California.

stephen9666 said:
Indestro is the brand of ratchet I find broken at the swap meets more than any other. I generally pass on them now unless they work flawlessly, because when you open them up they often need more than just a cleaning. Other brands like SK and Wright are almost never broken. If they don't work, they usually just need a cleaning.

The pear heads like this one don't seem to be as delicate, but I still have bought several examples that turned out to be broken. If memory serves, it's usually the teeth on the gear that fail.

And the most common Indestro round head design is very delicate and more often than not the ones I find are broken. Either the teeth on the pawl are broken or the mechanism for switching direction. I pretty much completely pass on this design now.

Hi Stephen - do you notice any difference between indestro and indestro super?

ganymede · May 1, 2013

stephen9666 said:
Back on the original topic-

The ratchets like the one the OP posted aren't terrible. I doubt you could break one without a cheater. But, as others have said, it's not worth that price. And, from my experience, I would carefully inspect it to make sure it works well. See if it binds or skips in any spots. The flattened knurling could be an indication it was hit with a hammer or had a pipe put on it, which can easily lead to broken teeth.

Nice to see someone whos had negative experience still look at things objectively.
I've owned a bunch over the years and have examined even more. Lots of them have had mashed knurling from pipes and dents from hammers. Most were just well worn mechanically.
My only indestro breaker bar has seen a cheater and the head isn't any sloppier than a new craftsman or proto.
Maybe people see the name Indestro and take it as a challenge.

larryq · May 1, 2013

I'll agree with the statements made so far. I've gotten that exact same ratchet for $15 shipped on eBay (good condition) so $16 at a pawn shop is no great bargain.

Stephen9666's observations on Indestros are spot-on. Good performance as long as they're not abused, but not as tough as SK and Wrights.

bonneyman · May 1, 2013

I like the Indestro pearheads. Nice beefy handle, good user. Not especially fine action, but a solid tool.
$16 is way high. I'd say $10-12 for your particular example if it is clean inside. Undo the two screws and pull the plate off and inspect.

biscuit141 · May 1, 2013

It doesn't would like I will make a special trip over there for it. I will probably stop by again next week and if it is still there I will open it up. Last week I was there they had a 1/2 Proto but I don't use 1/2 much as it is, the last thing I needed was a 6th 1/2 ratchet. Here is a like to the Proto they had and now that I see the price maybe I should have bought it! They were asking $20 and it was in good shape. I have just been trying to not spend so much money lately.

http://www.tooldex.com/hand-tools/sockets-ratchets-adaptors-extensions/ratchets/proto-5449xl-pear-head-ratchets.html

bonneyman · May 1, 2013

Here's the internal view of two that I have had. One with a what I call a batman pawl, the other is a Nighthawk-shaped pawl.

zphenx86t · Feb 10, 2016

This was fun to find since I'm staring at my 6272 gear with a couple of missing teeth - Are there replacements for the gear? It is a really nice feeling ratchet and I'd like to refurbish it. I hate stuff that doesn't work properly. And i hate to throw something away that could be easily fixed. Any ideas where i could get a new gear would be appreciated. I'll look around a bit.

AceofSpad3s · Feb 10, 2016

zphenx86t said:
This was fun to find since I'm staring at my 6272 gear with a couple of missing teeth - Are there replacements for the gear? It is a really nice feeling ratchet and I'd like to refurbish it. I hate stuff that doesn't work properly. And i hate to throw something away that could be easily fixed. Any ideas where i could get a new gear would be appreciated. I'll look around a bit.

Industro was merged Duro in the sixties, and closed in 1990. If I remember correctly, a chinese company bought them to use their name. Rebuild kits are going to be non existent at this point, there might be some nos somewhere but that is going to be a ***** to find. Best bet would to be look for a donor ratchet on flea bay or something along those lines. Don't throw it a way, just keep it around until you find a donor. I find that the second you throw something out, you end up finding the thing needed to fix it.

four.cycle · Feb 10, 2016

old thread.
some interesting comments.

The 6272 pear-head ratchet is a 24-tooth, according to the 1972 catalog.

The round head #2775 (in the lexicon of GarageJournal a "RHFT") was a 52-tooth.

The 6272 generally was included in the Indestro "Classic" and "Select" socket sets.
The 2775 was generally included in the Indestro "Super" and "MPI" (Molded Plastic Insert) sets.

The repair kit for the 6272 would be a # 6272-8. The repair kit for the 2775 would be a # 2775-8.
Odds of finding the repair kits for either are slim to none. You would be saving time and money by simply buying another ratchet.

There are presently no less than five of the #6272 ratchets listed on Ebay.

The lowest price one (which appears to be in fairly decent condition) is $10.50 + $6.75 shipping. I've dealt with the seller and have had no bad experiences with his stuff:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Indestro-62...911221?hash=item5d61365cf5:g:ZPgAAOSwBahVGFSe

If you want a beater to cannibalize for parts, the auction on this one ends in five hours:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/INDESTRO-3-...602462?hash=item1c6120795e:g:kk8AAOSwuAVWt8pI
It's now right at about $5.50 + $3.45 shipping

If I had to buy one today and wanted a good one, I'd look at this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Ind...:g:NW4AAOSwX~dWlXDO&item=291664260086&vxp=mtr
$17.50 incl. shipping, but it is engraved, which is why I haven't already bought it.

There are a couple others on there, but I am hesitant to buy anything when the knurling on the handle is bashed - it generally indicates the tool has been abused with a cheater or by banging on it with a hammer.

They're much easier to service than the fine-tooth #2775 - all that's needed is a small flat screwdriver.

As to their reliability, what I can say is that we got very few of them back as warranties when we carried the line; the returns on the #2775 were greater, but my guess is that the fine-tooth design doesn't put up with much abuse.

I have several of them. They're a dependable, reliable ratchet if they're used properly. They are not designed to remove lug nuts from motor homes; that's what 1/2" and 3/4" drive breaker bars are made for.

four.cycle · Feb 10, 2016

AceofSpad3s said:
Industro was merged Duro in the sixties, and closed in 1990. If I remember correctly, a chinese company bought them to use their name.

mmmm... no.
Duro-Chrome and Indestro both operated out of the same plant at 2649 North Kildare Avenue in Chicago, but were operated as separate business entities almost right up to the end in 1990.

Later price sheets were marked "Indestro Division of Duro Metal Products Company". Unfortunately I do not have a copy of one of those price sheets.

Late in the game, Indestro outsourced some of their "Xpert" line from Japan (not China). I posted a photo of an "Xpert" socket set in the "show us your Duro-Chrome and Indestro" thread a while back HERE:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5352935&highlight=xpert#post5352935

(That set recently sold for just above $50, believe it or not.)

Also late in the game - between the mid-1980's and 1990 - they started stamping tools "Duro-Indestro" (as opposed to "Indestro" or "Indestro Select" or "Indestro Super".) My best guess is the move was made to consolidate the lines of a company that was struggling financially at the time.

BK
former buyer/treasurer (retired), Tillicum Suppliers Inc., AA Auto Parts Inc., Tacoma, Wa. 1971-1988 - Indestro Tool Warehouse Distributors

four.cycle · Feb 10, 2016

^ not to be confused with "Industro", which is a completely different line of tools, made offshore, which has absolutely nothing to do with the Indestro Tool made in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

AceofSpad3s · Feb 10, 2016

four.cycle said:
mmmm... no.
Duro-Chrome and Indestro both operated out of the same plant at 2649 North Kildare Avenue in Chicago, but were operated as separate business entities almost right up to the end in 1990.

Later price sheets were marked "Indestro Division of Duro Metal Products Company". Unfortunately I do not have a copy of one of those price sheets.

Late in the game, Indestro outsourced some of their "Xpert" line from Japan (not China). I posted a photo of an "Xpert" socket set in the "show us your Duro-Chrome and Indestro" thread a while back HERE:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5352935&highlight=xpert#post5352935

(That set recently sold for just above $50, believe it or not.)

Also late in the game - between the mid-1980's and 1990 - they started stamping tools "Duro-Indestro" (as opposed to "Indestro" or "Indestro Select" or "Indestro Super".) My best guess is the move was made to consolidate the lines of a company that was struggling financially at the time.

BK
former buyer/treasurer (retired), Tillicum Suppliers Inc., AA Auto Parts Inc., Tacoma, Wa. 1971-1988 - Indestro Tool Warehouse Distributors

I stand corrected. Since you know so much about the later operations of the company, I am sure the guy over at alloy artifacts would appreciate the information. There is only about a paragraph about operations from 60's until the closure.

four.cycle · Feb 11, 2016

^ that is the primary reason I joined this website a few months ago: the dearth of accurate information about Indestro.

I attempted to contact AlloyArtifacts years ago but never received any response from them.
Perhaps part of my "buyer" way of thinking - I don't "chase" people down for answers or responses. (Or wait very long for responses from Ebay sellers on "best offers".)

I started doing the purchasing on Indestro right out of high school. My old man put me in charge of the buying on Indestro, Excello brass, and Cal Custom (the first three lines I handled.) My brother-in-law focused on the "hard parts" - Niehoff, Carter, Durkee-Atwood, Fel-Pro, etc., and I got the "soft stuff": tools, accessories - the "schlock", as it is known in the parts industry.

So... I know a lot about a little, and a little about a lot, and not much about all the rest.

Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about the company's history, or what was happening in the late 1980s, because they had me managing the retail stores and doing the buying and inventory management on the fly, while brother-in-law stayed in the warehouse and continued buying about half the lines. (at last count I was dealing with about 180 different vendors, and we carried about 183,000 line items in the stores and the warehouse.)

At some point in the mid-1980's, because Indestro's fill rate dropped below 30%, brother-in-law negotiated a deal with the Thorsen Tool representative (Don Hall at the time), and Hall finagled a deal with the factory to buy ALL of our existing Indestro inventory for $.40 (forty cents) a pound.
Brother-in-law then left the company, and the whole ball of wax got dumped in my lap.
After that I'm sketchy on details, because there was a lot of stuff happening with the company and the automotive aftermarket and it happened really really fast. Indestro Tool got switched to Thorsen (US), and then Thorsen went to hell in a handbasket and it became "TAT" (Thorsen Allied - imported from Taiwan). Tool sales plummeted. Customers were pissed off. Employees balked about trying to sell Taiwan tools at US tool prices, and I dropped Thorsen/TAT and switched the whole thing over to Wilmar, which at the time was coming out with a full line of fairly decent-looking, if not still made-in-China-cheap-***-**** tools. (Wilmar later became "Performance Tool" which can be found at O'Reilly's, if I'm not mistaken.) Garbage by any name you wish to call it, but it was cheap, and I had a hell of a relationship with the Wilmar representative and could twist his arms for pricing/dating/and co-op advertising money.

We sold off most of the stores and closed the last one in 1988, so I have no clue what happened to Indestro in their last few years of operation.

Just trying to fill in some of the blanks and dispel the misinformation - like the confusion with "Industro" - an Asian import line.

NoUserName · Oct 21, 2019

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and information, lots of questions answered about various brands that I've come across over the last few years and had wondered about, not the least of which was TAT tools.

four.cycle said:
^ that is the primary reason I joined this website a few months ago: the dearth of accurate information about Indestro.

I attempted to contact AlloyArtifacts years ago but never received any response from them.
Perhaps part of my "buyer" way of thinking - I don't "chase" people down for answers or responses. (Or wait very long for responses from Ebay sellers on "best offers".)

I started doing the purchasing on Indestro right out of high school. My old man put me in charge of the buying on Indestro, Excello brass, and Cal Custom (the first three lines I handled.) My brother-in-law focused on the "hard parts" - Niehoff, Carter, Durkee-Atwood, Fel-Pro, etc., and I got the "soft stuff": tools, accessories - the "schlock", as it is known in the parts industry.

So... I know a lot about a little, and a little about a lot, and not much about all the rest.

Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about the company's history, or what was happening in the late 1980s, because they had me managing the retail stores and doing the buying and inventory management on the fly, while brother-in-law stayed in the warehouse and continued buying about half the lines. (at last count I was dealing with about 180 different vendors, and we carried about 183,000 line items in the stores and the warehouse.)

At some point in the mid-1980's, because Indestro's fill rate dropped below 30%, brother-in-law negotiated a deal with the Thorsen Tool representative (Don Hall at the time), and Hall finagled a deal with the factory to buy ALL of our existing Indestro inventory for $.40 (forty cents) a pound.
Brother-in-law then left the company, and the whole ball of wax got dumped in my lap.
After that I'm sketchy on details, because there was a lot of stuff happening with the company and the automotive aftermarket and it happened really really fast. Indestro Tool got switched to Thorsen (US), and then Thorsen went to hell in a handbasket and it became "TAT" (Thorsen Allied - imported from Taiwan). Tool sales plummeted. Customers were pissed off. Employees balked about trying to sell Taiwan tools at US tool prices, and I dropped Thorsen/TAT and switched the whole thing over to Wilmar, which at the time was coming out with a full line of fairly decent-looking, if not still made-in-China-cheap-***-**** tools. (Wilmar later became "Performance Tool" which can be found at O'Reilly's, if I'm not mistaken.) Garbage by any name you wish to call it, but it was cheap, and I had a hell of a relationship with the Wilmar representative and could twist his arms for pricing/dating/and co-op advertising money.

We sold off most of the stores and closed the last one in 1988, so I have no clue what happened to Indestro in their last few years of operation.

Just trying to fill in some of the blanks and dispel the misinformation - like the confusion with "Industro" - an Asian import line.

matthew · Oct 21, 2019

FWIW my two bits, if folks come across this thread looking at old Duro-Chrome or Indestro ratchets -

I generally like pear-head ratchets. I like the 6272, but it’s not particularly small or fine. I know the 3/4” version is tough, and I suspect the other drive sizes are, too.

However, as there is an exception to every rule - I prefer the Indestro round head ratchets to the pear heads. The 1/4” in particular is just really nice. May not be as tough, but just a pleasure to use. And the tri-wing selector switch is just a beautiful design.

There was one or two sellers with NOS rebuild kits out there on eBay. Bad news is they seem to want more money than just buying a decent replacement.

Was the Indestro 6272 ratchet anything special?

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