Craftsman BE Ratchet

[JDV12345]

I have this vintage ratchet along with a New Britain that appear to have the same screws for cover plate. Anyone have additional screws or who would have that size that could be cut or altered to fit?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bonneyman]

A little late to the party but I've found various ratchet screw replacements at old Ace Hardware's. They have bins of small machine screws (depending on the store) and you could do the trial-and-error method of seeing if one size/thread fits your ratchet.

 

[JDV12345]

Thanks for responding. I have a new Ace close by, but not an older store. Knowing these are small threads, and only a short portion is actually threaded. Yeah, take the plate and see what would fit. Appreciate it.

 

[RTM]

Expect them to be silly small, like 3-56, or worse 4-56, an odder size. Or is it 2-56¿

 

[JDV12345]

You are correct, really, really small threads. Gotta be hard to find. I have ordered from McMaster in the past but would need to know the size before attempting to order. Thanks

 

[RTM]

would need to know the size before attempting to order.

Do you have any of the old screws, or just the plates. I have a pitch gauge, and various thread checkers to deal with vintage problems like this.

 

[JDV12345]

I actually have the screws. One of the four is partially stripped. I was able to find another one on eBay that seller said was not working and for parts. Guess I can start there....but if I can get it to work, then all I would need would be another 1-2 screws and have another one for collection.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm away until Thursday, but I may have a couple junkers (unsightly, picked up for parts) of those. They're not uncommon. I'll check, and if so, I'll send you the screws.

 

[JDV12345]

I will pay you for them, and shipping and whatever. I have thread checkers....and die sets but not sure they go that small. Know you follow my comments.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Bad news. The roached New Britain rat I was thinking of is a Craftsman BE 1/2-inch drive.

I do have a couple NB-made 3/8-inch drive rats - Crafty Circle-H and NB40. I don't consider them donor ratchets, though. As you can see, the screw on the bottom of the NB40 has been boogered and will need to be e-z-outed and replaced eventually. So, I pulled the good one and spec'd it out. They are 4-40. Any decent hardware store will have flat head 4-40 machine screws. Probably slot, though. Might need to go to a Fastenal or older hardware store to find Phillips and galvanized so it's not a shiny finish.

 

[JDV12345]

And I appreciate it very much. A great help. What sort of thread checker do you have down to that size?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The ninja death star looking thing in the last pic. Brown & Sharpe No. 633 pitch gauge. Vintage.

 

[four.cycle]

will need to be e-z-outed

Easier method available.
Don't recall where I bought these. They were cheap. Bought two, gave one to my buddy.
He loves his set. Mine has saved me from grief and trouble on more than one rusted-to-hell lawnmower.
Fabulous.
There's a guy peddling them on ebay at $10 bucks a pop.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm good with several kinds of extractors, 4.c, and I've even used a drill, and then backed them out in low/slow reverse, but thanks anyway.

@JDV12345

Here's the pitch gauge I used and another one (No. 155) from Starrett. Something to look for.

 

[JDV12345]

I have something similar, along with a 100 piece tap and die set, but not sure it goes down to 4/40 though. When I get back home from road will check. And head to fastenal for screws.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I found an old Starrett on ebay. Put it on "watch list" and waited for seller to "make offer", which he did. Not sure how far down it goes because it's lost here somewhere.

 

[Mintgrun]

The range on their No.6 gauge is 2.5 tpi to 42 tpi.

 

[Etchase]

Or measure the diameter and count the threads per inch. The latter is good brain exercise, and how many times you have to start over is a good indication of whether or not you should make important decisions that day. I think it was a Proto Big Dawg that used 3-48’s. Not a local hardware size at least in my case. Zoro had singles for less than a buck, but it was $85 shipping to Hawaii. McMaster Car to the rescue.