1929 Mossberg Set Professional edition

[baldytooltime]

Mossberg 630 wrench and 631 ratchet
Necessities for Ford

 

[baldytooltime]

631 Ratchet

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Mossberg 630 wrench and 631 ratchet
Necessities for Ford

Very cool

 

[d42jeep]

Since we don't have an APCO-Mossberg thread, I'll just leave this universal drain plug wrench here on a thread discussing tools from Mossberg's last gasp offerings.



It was a freebie from Don (@d42jeep). Jock (@Provincial) reported finding one a few years ago on the GS thread. I don't think Mossberg was making it prior to the APCO merger. It doesn't show up in the 1928 catalog or in any late-period ads or trade mags.

I was able to find this snippet-only view reference in a 1940 Canadian trade mag...



...and this funny but also endearing mention in a 1982 issue of Cars & Parts, which seems to have been dedicated to the resurgent restoration/rod hobby. It's also a snippet-only view that Google Books cannot make fully available, but I managed to piece a few different snippets together to near-complete the Q&A, which is kinda sorta like the 1982 long distance print and US Mail version of a Garage Journal "Whatzit?" thread. Grady Cox of Avery, Texas has found one but has no idea what it is. So, of course he quaintly draws a picture of the wrench and sends it in a letter to Ken New, the "Tool Talk" (letters) section editor of Cars & Parts. Ken doesn't know what it is, either, but he guesses it might be automotive based on the branding, and begins to give Grady a history lesson on Mossberg. I tried to query my way into a snippet of the rest of his Answer, but no dice.

In case you have one of these vehicles, here is which opening in the wrench to use.
-Don

 

[searman]

This APCO Mossberg

I decided the worn out fluid left in my old quart of Evapo-Rust just wasn't up to the task, so I splurged on a 3.5 gal bucket of fresh stuff. Glad I did--even though I had to first de-grease all the parts first. Soak, Rinse, Repeat--took me two days. Then I used Johnson's Past Wax to stave off the flash rust. The wax slightly darkened some of the pieces.
A few discoveries during/after the cleaning process:
1. I've got a duplicate 13/16" socket, but am missing the 5/8".
2. What I assumed was the 367 Speed Brace, not only wasn't a speeder, it wasn't a Mossberg at all-- it's an unbranded 3/4" socket handle.
3. I have three styles of crosshatch knurling--fine, coarse and acute angle--see photo.
4. The brackets for the 366 speeder keep the speeder handle too close to the edge of the door flap and prevent the flap from closing.
5. My luck with decals continues to be poor. Gently using only a Q-tip and plain water to address some dirt, I still lost a little ink.

Anyway, here's the cleaned up case with tools:

I was poking around in Antique Tools and came across this set. I have what looks like the exact same ratchet that I got from my grandfather many years ago, but no other pieces. It's marked APCO Mossberg, so it's 1927 or newer, but it has surprisingly few other markings...not even a patent number. Is there any way to date it or know the model?