Craftsman circle-U 1/4" ratchet

[B Halverson]

I ran across this Craftsman circle-U ratchet while trying to clean up and organize the garage a little and was reminded to research it. All I found was that it might have been made by Plomb. It seems to be poor quality compared to most other styles of old Craftsman ratchets IMHO. The switch for the ratchet mechanism is a very cheap and light stamped sheet metal piece that is riveted on, and it does not work well when moved to the poorly cast in stops provided because first it easily glides right over the stops, and when positioned at one of the stops the ratchet does not work unless the lever is moved past the stop, then it still does not work well. Also the lever does not have any positive stops for it's positions to help keep it where it needs to be while in use, so very easily the lever could be bumped out of position in use and the ratchet would quit working as desired. My guess is this is from the 50s or 60s, and must not have been made for long as I have not seen any others in my life and I have been using Craftsman tools since the 60s, and seeing them at garage sales and flea markets for 40 years or more and never recall seeing any socket sets with this ratchet style. If anyone has any information on this ratchet that would be interesting, thanks in advance.

 

[four.cycle]

U-circle = Plomb/Penens, ca. 1944 - 1948

Craftsman Hand Tools Manufacturers and Date Ranges

keep this link handy at all times

and this one

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Mid 40s sears was selling some plomb made stuff marked circle U. Pretty short lived. Also sold some unmarked mixed sets.

 

[d42jeep]

If you would like to trade for a “superior” more modern Craftsman ratchet, I would be happy to part with any of these recent finds.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

Don are you sure you want an “inferior “ ratchet?

 

[d42jeep]

Inferior never stopped me before.
-Don
My first Dunlap flea market find.

 

[Provincial]

Inferior never stopped me before.
-Don

I hope your wife doesn't read your posts!

 

[3baygarage]

What you’re describing with the lever and stops and all that sounds about right. I’ve fought with a couple of similar ratchets. I think I had a lot of issues with a 1/4” challenger (basically a Plomb/Proto) with that same oval head.

I think sometimes the internals may pass the naked eye test but there might be unseen wear or perhaps even manufacturing flaws causing the issue. Hence you get a nice looking ratchet because it just sat around for a million years.

 

[B Halverson]

If you would like to trade for a “superior” more modern Craftsman ratchet, I would be happy to part with any of these recent finds.
-Don

Well it is not the only 1/4" ratchet I have laying around to use, so I will be okay, thank-you for the concern though. As far as collecting goes, my philosophy is to not spend any money on it, including money on shipping, mailing or traveling. I think I have gotten more old tools out of trash dumpsters or off the curb in my part of town this year than I have bought at local second-hand sales.