9/32" Drive Set Family Heirloom

[Provincial]

This was posted on a forum that has nothing to do with tools:

Forgotten tools: There once was a 5/16 drive set made in the USA..

I have my Dad's WW2 era snapon 5/16 drive socket set. He was an A&P airline mechanic from 1941-1951 or so. He also carried it as a Flight Engineer and retired as a pilot in 1980. It has not been used in quite some time. It includes 10 sockets 3/16 to 7/16 a ratchet, sliding T bar, T spinner, and a screw driver handle with a removable tip all in a metal box.

I replied:

Measure it carefully. The 1/4" drive was preceded by a 9/32" drive. The 1/4" drive replaced it during WWII.

His response:

You are correct as I measured the ratchet at .277 and the sockets at .286 (9/32=.28125). Dad was in school for his A&P in 1941 and I believe he had these in school. His Dad was an automobile mechanic/factory rep and his tools are mostly larger sizes.

Thank you for the information. JB

And:

I just checked Ebay for snapon WW2 9/32 socket sets and saw several offered. Some in a red metal box and some in a green metal box. Just like Lucky Strike cigarettes. Red before and after the war but green during the war. My set is in a green metal box so Dad may have gotten them while in the Army. Dad was a mechanic, drafted and then returned to the airline.

This is one of the reasons this is my favorite site as I feel I learn something new every day here.

I'll probably PM him and tell him about this site. Maybe he can share photos of this great heirloom that he treasures!

 

[Big Bad Dad]

A couple years ago, at an estate sale, I picked up an old Snap On ratchet, extension, and a couple of sockets. I think I paid a dollar for it all. Thought they were 1/4 drive. Nope, just a bit bigger. Nice conversation pieces, but nothing I can really use.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not sure where you're going with this, Jock, but the funny part for me is not so much that he mistook the drive size for 5/16 (as we all know, and as you alluded to, half the sets that show up for sale somewhere are usually misidentified as 1/4-drive), but that he was checking them out on eBay. If he runs into the sets that occasional GJ member with the username SOCKETS is selling, he'll be valuing his dad's set at $1,500!

 

[Provincial]

I was just pointing out that people inherit interesting things, and sometimes "talk" about it on forums. The only reason for telling him about GJ would be if he wanted to find out more, since he obviously had followed the sets history in the family.