Anyone remember these? I bought a 9 piece standard set and a 9 piece metric set back in the early to mid 1990s. I remember thinking how unusual they were, and also how expensive they were. They weren't very popular because I ended up buying these off the clearance rack when they were priced around $25 per set. I think they were originally priced around $75 - $80 per set. They were also manufactured in France!!! I thought I would post a few pictures because you don't see them too often.
Craftsman Angle Socket Wrenches
- Thread starter Jim C.
- Start date
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Tool Pants
Well-known member
It is in page 2 of the link.
mrholeshot
MEMBER EMERITUS
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I've never seen a set of those before. As many times as I;ve been in Sears hard to believe I missed them. I wouldnt have bought them but I would have looked them over
When I first saw them, I thought they were unusual, and I was also impressed with their quality. They seemed to be very well made. (At least I thought so. I'm no expert.) The price was just too much to justify. About $75 per set!!! Every time I'd walk through the Sears store, I'd take a tour through the tool department and stop to look at those wrenches. After about a year or so, the wrenches were moved to the clearance rack, and they were priced at about $65 per set. They weren't selling. I still passed on them. After a couple months, they were at $55 per set. The price drops went on for a while. Eventually, they actually hit $24.97 per set. That's when I bought them. At the time, my local Sears had three metric sets, and two standard sets left. I bought one of each. They're nice wrenches, but I don't use them very often. I have other wrenches that can usually do the jobs I want to do, and I also fear breaking one. They're fairly rugged, but I doubt that Sears could replace them if I did break one.
Thanks for all the good information everyone has provided.
RustFarmer
Well-known member
Resurrecting this old thread because there is a double set of these RARE French made Craftsman Angle Socket Wrenches available on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321603336930
Tool Pants did some research on these, his post is here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=723896#post723896
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321603336930
Tool Pants did some research on these, his post is here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=723896#post723896
Tronyadorable
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Proto still has them.Facom. Stanley. Force makes them.Toptul. Maybe the Germans. Where's Monte ?
Thanks for bringing back the thread with an update. I'll be watching those very closely on ebay. I doubt that anyone will shell out $500 for those wrenches, but who knows. I still have the sets I bought and their plastic rolls. I'll definitely be watching to see what happens.
Jim C.
Jim C.
lbgradwell
Well-known member
woodstockva
Well-known member
Here are a couple metric sets that BETA makes....
http://www.beta-tools.com/catalog/articles/view/937/__lang_en/__catlang_en/__catalog_beta/__filters_
http://www.trident-supply.com/Beta_Tools_937_S11_11_WRENCHES_937_IN_BOX_p/3178-009370080.htm
http://www.trident-supply.com/Beta_Tools_937_S17_17_WRENCHES_937_IN_BOX_p/3178-009370081.htm
http://www.beta-tools.com/catalog/articles/view/937/__lang_en/__catlang_en/__catalog_beta/__filters_
http://www.trident-supply.com/Beta_Tools_937_S11_11_WRENCHES_937_IN_BOX_p/3178-009370080.htm
http://www.trident-supply.com/Beta_Tools_937_S17_17_WRENCHES_937_IN_BOX_p/3178-009370081.htm
+ unior and gedore
Cool tools. I like that they are hollow. It would be good if they were hex shaped outside as well so you could put a wrench on them.
Think clutch rod adjustment Jim, screw driver through the middle on the adjustment screw and the long end of the angle wrench through the inspection hole onto the lock nut. Maybe a tommy bar will fit in the short end with the screw driver still in the centre of the long end.
Think clutch rod adjustment Jim, screw driver through the middle on the adjustment screw and the long end of the angle wrench through the inspection hole onto the lock nut. Maybe a tommy bar will fit in the short end with the screw driver still in the centre of the long end.
^^^^^^ Yes they definitely have their uses and they have come in handy on a few projects, but generally speaking, I don't use them anywhere near as much as I use more traditional combo wrenches and ratchets with sockets. There are some wrenches in the set that I know I've never use once. If someone pays $500 for those wrenches, I'd consider selling mine for that price. They're nice wrenches, and they're well made, but I don't personally think they're worth $500 and I'm not so sure anyone would get $500 worth of use out of them. From a ******** Craftsman collector's point of view, well, that might be a different story. I think they were manufactured with the Craftsman name on them from 1994 - 1996, so they might be sort of scarce. We'll see what happens with the auction, but I'm betting there won't be any starting bids at $499.99.
Jim C.
Jim C.
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radrush
Well-known member
No sane person anyway...
A different double set went for pretty low money. Only $139. I don't know how I missed that auction.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Crafts...hash=item58c619b669&item=381280695913&vxp=mtr
neophyte
Well-known member
As others have said those were made or at least likely made by Facom. That particular design corresponds to Facom series 76 wrenches because they have a 12 point angled offset, and a 6 point socket on the straight end. Facom also makes a series 75 wrench that has 6 point sockets on both ends.
That type of wrench is a standard design in France. The major French wrench manufacturers all seemed to have offered them. Stanley even sells or at sold their own branded version in France. The design goes back decades if I'm not mistaken.
Other companies that sell them are MOB Outillage and SAM Outillage of France. Beta and USAG Tools of Italy. Gedore in Germany currently lists them. I believe one or more other German wrench manufacturers may have also offered them. The Bahco/Belzer catalogue lists them as series 28 and 29. Toptul offers them.
Stahlwille also sold them as the 4335 series wrench.
That type of wrench is a standard design in France. The major French wrench manufacturers all seemed to have offered them. Stanley even sells or at sold their own branded version in France. The design goes back decades if I'm not mistaken.
Other companies that sell them are MOB Outillage and SAM Outillage of France. Beta and USAG Tools of Italy. Gedore in Germany currently lists them. I believe one or more other German wrench manufacturers may have also offered them. The Bahco/Belzer catalogue lists them as series 28 and 29. Toptul offers them.
Stahlwille also sold them as the 4335 series wrench.
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radrush
Well-known member
Attachments
Taking a closer look at the auction, it looks like both SAE and metric sets are missing a sizes. There were a total of 18 wreches (9 SAE and 9 metric). The auction you referenced only depicts 15 wrenches, and appears to have two in the 10mm size. So, I think four wrenches are missing. Each set also came with its own plastic tool roll. Missing wrenches, no original tool rolls, $139 was probably the right price. Two COMPLETE sets (one SAE and one metric) with their respective tool rolls..... I'm guessing a few bucks more than $139. Maybe closer to double that. Just my opinion.
Jim C.
Spdfreak91
Well-known member
I just picked up a set finally , these things are pretty neat
Dang I like the look of the backside of the angle box.
Gotta be one strong alloy to be open like that and yet be strong enough to take the torque.