Cam Loc wrenches

[Username already in use]

These wrenches are buried in a bunch of different threads with odd 'what's it' titles or Kelsey Hayes/Bonney/Snap-On/Herbrand/etc threads.
How bout a nice place for them to live with the correctly spelled title?

Here's a 7/8" Cam-Loc made by The Kramer Fab. Co. MI. Patent 2550010 dates to April of 1951 and can be viewed on the USPTO site HERE.

So, if you've got a whole set or just one of these interesting ratcheting wrenches, feel free to post it here.

1/2" Kelsey Hayes:

 

[woody 73]

How about instead of another lets see all your xyz tools post ; how about op telling us the patent information, the inventor, when he lived & where he died, listing all his patents, who made the tool in question, what years were they made, how many other companies used their ideas, was it a good idea, etc.

You do that op and you will win my full respect!

 

[Username already in use]

I hear ya Woody! I don't have the time for the deep dive right now. I did link the original patent info in the previous post which is a good start. I'll try and come back with more info as I get more time.

 

[bonneyman]

Here's my work set of doubles in a box I made for them.

 

[bonneyman]

Here's some of my loose one, along with a good close-up. I find them really comfortable to hold and alot easier to speed fittings on and off. A bit bulky and not available in metric but other than that nice tools for A/C work.

 

[bonneyman]

I was gifted with a 7/8"er that had a damaged spring. Here are some pics of the disassembly and repair process - which I do not recommend for the weak of heart.
I ground the rivets down so I could get the thing apart. The spring wasn't broken - just slipped off of a retainer wire. Fabbed a new one and reassembled, using a socket to hold things in place while I added pins. Re-screwed it together, thing ratchets.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I did a mini-deep dive on Cam-Loc on the Bonney thread, Unaiu, posting my discovery that the inventor, Alfred E. Kavalar, was the Chief Engineer at The Kramer Fabrication Company, ending the mystery and speculation about T.K.F. and their connection. That post (edit: and some of my Cam-Loc wrenches) can be found here. I have yet to find physical evidence of Kavalar licensing the Cam-Loc patent (it was NOT assigned to T.K.F.) for private label production, but logic dictates he must have. The Cam-Loc design can be found on wrenches made by Swagelok, Bonney, and Snap-on (1950's and 60's FW- series). Not to digress, but Bonney - vis-a-vis their parent company Kelsey-Hayes, got involved with Kavalar again, when they made Loc-Rite wrenches, another Kavalar invention.

I haven't gathered any other personal biographical information about Kavalar, which doesn't interest me.

 

[Username already in use]

This double Cam Loc followed me home today. Marked TKF Co on one side and Air Filter Service on the reverse. Sizes are 3/4" and 5/8".

 

[FrankLee]

Here's a fairly complete set including 3/8" and 1/2" socket adapters. There are a couple SCS but obviously no doubles. Most of these belonged to my father. I filled in a couple pieces. I sold these in 2013.

Patent: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f3/5c/f2/661121e56f2867/US2550010.pdf

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[Private Lugnutz]

Those drive studs are really hard to find in the wild. Super nice layout, Frank.

 

[bonneyman]

Nice tools, UAIU and FrankLee.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I added an original T.K.F. 9/16-incher to my collection today from the flea market. Probably in the best condition of any I have so far.

 

[tom coffey]

I have an AC Filter, Cam Loc wrench.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks for contributing, tom. I don't remember seeing that name on one in the wild before.

 

[bonneyman]

Nice!

If you use it, just keep debris from building up in the crevices of the head with some spray solvent and then light oil. Those Cam-Locs work great.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I added this CAM-LOC to my collection from the flea market this morning. I see that bonneyman and Unaiu already have one. What I did not notice until I had one myself was the converged HF marking. Mine is a converged HF 1. So is bonneyman's. Unaiu's is a converged HF 2. What is that marking?

I hate to say it, but it looks like a Henley Filson logo.

 

[bonneyman]

I added this CAM-LOC to my collection from the flea market this morning. I see that bonneyman and Unaiu already have one. What I did not notice until I had one myself was the converged HF marking. Mine is a converged HF 1. So is bonneyman's. Unaiu's is a converged HF 2. What is that marking?

I hate to say it, but it looks like a Henley Filson logo.

Never noticed that HF 1 mark before.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That converged "HF" monograph is not Henley Filson. I have a pair of Henley Filson sapper crimpers from the same era and I just checked them. The letters in the Henley Filson monograph are way more stylized and contained in a circle. I know I've seen this converged HF before, but I can't place it.

 

[bbbarracuda]

I picked up this 1/2" Cam-loc wrench this last weekend. The rollers are pretty rusty, so its soaking at the moment. Even with the rollers not rolling, it actually seems to work fairly well.
First one I've come across.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Huh.. pretty cool.

Do they work well or are they kinda gimmicky?

 

[bonneyman]

Huh.. pretty cool.

Do they work well or are they kinda gimmicky?

I've found that they work well in certain situations. Being bulky for the opening size you've gotta have some unrestricted area to use them. And all the nooks and crannies of the mechanism means dirt and grease can get in there. So, you've gotta keep them clean. But the large handles and ratcheting action really help with fatigue during use. And they are quite robust - I've never broken one and have come across only one wrench that had a broken spring issue.

If you've got the room to work on SAE fittings (they didn't make them in metric) they are a nice addition to the wrench box.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Added a couple original "in-house" branded jobbers to the CAM-LOC drawer this morning. That is not rust, but copper undercoating you see showing through in a few places.

 

[Jbullfrog]

I went to a local mechanic's auction and picked up my first set of GM Cam-loc wrenches. The 1/2" has a 3/8' ratchet drive lug in it. I scrubbed the red over-spray from the pouch, to see the logo.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found this at a ReStore today. Triangle era Kelsey-Hayes. All the others in my collection are much earlier Kramers, but I was happy since it's a size I didn't have. Other than the various marking differences (KH branding, fancier script Cam-Loc logo, no patent number, etc), technically, functionally, it also has only half as many rollers! Five to be exact. All the others, regardless of the opening size, have ten. I took a couple group shots.

 

[genog]

Interesting thread so I'll keep it going

Spotted an AC Filter Service today.....
5/8" - 3/4"

 

[FrankLee]

Here's a fairly complete set including 3/8" and 1/2" socket adapters. There are a couple SCS but obviously no doubles. Most of these belonged to my father. I filled in a couple pieces. I sold these in 2013.

​

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I re-added missing photos in my quote above.



Here's an "interesting" Cam-Loc torque wrench head... original or mod?

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Here are a couple others I had.

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I kept only one T.K.F. Cam-Loc, a 5/8". It works great for working on 3/8" copper plumbing supply lines.

 

[Zrxrunner]

FYI...if anyone is wanting some, recent stop at Harry Epstein got me a NOS bonney badged 11/16 cam lock wrench with original box. They had a lot of em. Also had 3/8 and 7/16. Ill upload a pic when I get home

 

[tym]

Found this 1/2" example at ReStore for a buck. Looks to have been barely - if ever - used. It'll be handy in the garage "miscellaneous tools" bag.