fanders
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Britool (Made in England) thread
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fanders
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Phew!
If anyone has a 1960s Britool catalogue they'd like to scan in, I'd love to see one of those here. Something like this:
View media item 76999
If anyone has a 1960s Britool catalogue they'd like to scan in, I'd love to see one of those here. Something like this:
View media item 76999
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Great catalogue Fanders and what a bonus it is dated 1949.
Interesting that the Hex drive is referred as "Original" see pages 12 to 22
Those sockets there and the horrors on page 23 are nothing like what Britool made 20 years earlier.
In due course I'll show these and pages from the catalogue.
Interesting that the Hex drive is referred as "Original" see pages 12 to 22
Those sockets there and the horrors on page 23 are nothing like what Britool made 20 years earlier.
In due course I'll show these and pages from the catalogue.
fanders
Well-known member
Pages from the later catalogue would be great humber2! Thanks.
Here's another question - when Britool introduced the 1/4" square drive socketry, the part numbers are prefixed by 'D'. Does anyone know what this means? 'D' for Dinky maybe? lol. The 1949 catalogue describes the other letters as follows:
M = Midget (9/32" square drive)
A = Aero (3/8" square drive)
E = Engineer's (1/2" square drive)
H = Heavy (3/4" square drive)
G = Giant (1" square drive)
along with the 'Original' 0.448" hex drive. Anyone know?
Cheers, fanders
Here's another question - when Britool introduced the 1/4" square drive socketry, the part numbers are prefixed by 'D'. Does anyone know what this means? 'D' for Dinky maybe? lol. The 1949 catalogue describes the other letters as follows:
M = Midget (9/32" square drive)
A = Aero (3/8" square drive)
E = Engineer's (1/2" square drive)
H = Heavy (3/4" square drive)
G = Giant (1" square drive)
along with the 'Original' 0.448" hex drive. Anyone know?
Cheers, fanders
D for Dwarf from Catalogue No 107
Phew!
If anyone has a 1960s Britool catalogue they'd like to scan in, I'd love to see one of those here. Something like this:
This is Cat No 107, it is undated but acknowledges BS1224:1965 on page 105.
Has the Dwarf 1/4 drive sockets along with a couple of interesting pages.....
p121 lists additions since Cat No 106, no new 1/4 Drive items which means earlier inclusion.
p122 lists deletions, no longer available M series 9/32 and .448 Hex
fanders
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Nice info! 
Excellent stuff. I was quite unaware of the history of what was offered by Britool before my involvement with them as a consumer. Of course, I'd seen plenty of the strange sets of hex-drive ones lurking in sheds, and old cars, but never really used them, as half the parts were usually missing anyway.
dutchgray
Well-known member
View media item 52384Just got these, 16 ring ended crows feet, not sure what Britool would have called them.
7 are Whitworth the other 9 imperial, not a complete set but only a few gaps, all 1/2 drive. I haven't seen many of these for sale and those that I have weren't cheap as singles. These were £38.50 (about $60) which I consider pretty cheap.
7 are Whitworth the other 9 imperial, not a complete set but only a few gaps, all 1/2 drive. I haven't seen many of these for sale and those that I have weren't cheap as singles. These were £38.50 (about $60) which I consider pretty cheap.
fanders
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Some more of the mythical C-series combination and open ended spanners here, AF sizes, mint condition and currently on UK eBay. They are very very shiney! Don't think they've seen much action over the years:
*edit - looking at the pictures, the open ended spanners are O-series (O for Open, I suppose, and C for Combination) - so two mythical series!
View media item 77969
View media item 77970
*edit - looking at the pictures, the open ended spanners are O-series (O for Open, I suppose, and C for Combination) - so two mythical series!
View media item 77969
View media item 77970
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SteveW1000
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Has anyone any of the refrigeration ratchets and sockets and also know why the sockets have a mail connection to the ratchet? Also in the range of Britool Torque wrenches there is the 1/4" Torque Driver.
Fraggles
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I have the ratchet only. No idea how
I filed off the hex end of the bit holder into a 1/4" square to use the ratchet as a bit ratchet
Dave455
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Wow!
Thanks for posting these pics! And the catalogue scans! I have a few old catalogues too, but no scanner sadly!
My father used to fly BAC 1-11's, and in the late 70's / early 80's he collected a new(ish) aeroplane from one of the BAC sites and had a bit of a tour. I asked him what tools they were using and he said it mainly seemed to be Britool or Bedford, but not the stuff you could buy in the shops, definitely a grade above!
I have encountered a little of the 'aerospace grade' Bedford and this certainly seems to be the case. The sockets seem to be much more accurately made, the shape is slightly different, I suspect the steel is different (it's certainly harder as no wear ever seems visible) and even the markings seem crisper! Was this the Britool equivalent I wonder? The era would be about right!
The BAe contractors (they get offended if you refer to them as engineers) that I've met all seem to be a discerning bunch, and I can see 'em going for something like this! One of 'em once told me that there is an S.B.A.C. (Society of British Aircraft Companies) spec for hand tools that is hard to meet, and certainly not with regular steels!
Hyster Gareth
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Great thread and I will have to post up my Britool tools. I started my apprenticeship using Britool much of it given to me by my grandfather a machinist for ICI.
Sad that we no longer produce tools like this anymore. I was watching an Equinox documentary about Cosworth and the V6 F1 engine on Youtube.
Watching pattern makers and other engineering disciples work there trade was fantastic to see.
Sad that we no longer produce tools like this anymore. I was watching an Equinox documentary about Cosworth and the V6 F1 engine on Youtube.
Watching pattern makers and other engineering disciples work there trade was fantastic to see.
fanders
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Time for some more Britool goodness, seen recently on eBay here in the UK. Firstly there were Britool tools from a Rolls-Royce toolkit:
View media item 57888
View media item 57887
And then a nice crow-foot wrench set, AF and Whitworth sizes that sold for £170 recently which is top money and far more than I was willing to pay:
View media item 57901
View media item 57893
View media item 57892
View media item 57891
I'll stick some more pictures up soon of my growing Britool collection, been buying odds and ends on eBay.
View media item 57888
View media item 57887
And then a nice crow-foot wrench set, AF and Whitworth sizes that sold for £170 recently which is top money and far more than I was willing to pay:
View media item 57901
View media item 57893
View media item 57892
View media item 57891
I'll stick some more pictures up soon of my growing Britool collection, been buying odds and ends on eBay.
dutchgray
Well-known member
I saw that crowfoot set but it was always going to go silly.
I have most of the crowfeet in my set already but not the drive tools, I have a couple larger sizes than in that set so it was by no means complete.
I have most of the crowfeet in my set already but not the drive tools, I have a couple larger sizes than in that set so it was by no means complete.
fanders
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I don't know why they went for so much, perhaps they are particularly rare? I'd like to have a set one day, but I'd only be willing to pay perhaps £100 for a set like that.
fanders
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Some recent Britool purchases, starting with a 1/2" drive E61 90 degree socket handle. Even though I've got the breaker bars and ratchets, this will see some use as it rests so easily in the hand. I really like using its little brother, the 1/4" drive D61, for aircraft and vehicle work:
View media item 58503
View media item 58504
View media item 58503
View media item 58504
fanders
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And next up, a 3/8" drive socket spinner. This was still in its RS bag, unused, might be from the early 1990s perhaps? Nice to have for certain jobs:
View media item 58505
View media item 58505
fanders
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And next up, an E92/2 1/2" drive stud extractor. I don't really know why I bought this, apart from the collecting aspect, but I think it will come in handy one day:
View media item 58506
View media item 58506