Craftsman Ratchet

[Downwindtracker 2]

I don't know if 1970 or so rates vintage but a simple question. I have picking up Craftsman ratchets at the fleamarket , of the three oval head, button release, one is different . The oval is larger, it lacks the oiling hole and is FORGED IN USA-v- 43784
------- PATENT PENDING-----
Deep stamp

The other two have the oiling hole, smaller oval and #43785. one heavy stamp, one light stamp. Are these later models ? And if the 43784 an earlier one, what time frame ?

 

[woody 73]

Too be exact in 7 months and 13 days any thing from the year 1970 will be...wait for it, wait...VINTAGE.


But yet my mind is blank on the GJ members name at this time that did a complete Craftsman write up of all the different styles, (not who made them) . I think brain fart it must have been Dr. Doom if I am not mistaken.


Let me check and get back to you.

 

[woody 73]

I am sure he did a very nice job but my search skills are not helping me tonight.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a link you might check.
http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/index.php?topic=23826.0
-Don

 

[Rileysan]

Too be exact in 7 months and 13 days any thing from the year 1970 will be...wait for it, wait...VINTAGE.


But yet my mind is blank on the GJ members name at this time that did a complete Craftsman write up of all the different styles, (not who made them) . I think brain fart it must have been Dr. Doom if I am not mistaken.


Let me check and get back to you.

Oh hell ... that means I'M going to be vintage in 7 months!

 

[Straightgrain]

Here's another link that may be useful.

http://alloy-artifacts.org/craftsman-maker-v.html

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Thank you, I didn't look a his type study, but did read enough to realize I have an early quick release in the 43784. The design is a more costly to make then the 43785 . The quick release wedge is in a blind hole, unlike the through hole on what I assume to be the later ones. As old as I am, that still predates my earliest tool purchases. 1967. My first paycheck went into tools. But not Craftsman, they much too expensive. So it must have been a fleamarket find. It must have been a short production run. Because by '71 I started to have enough money in my jeans to buy Craftsman on sale.

 

[Jim C.]

Thank you, I didn't look a his type study, but did read enough to realize I have an early quick release in the 43784. The design is a more costly to make then the 43785 . The quick release wedge is in a blind hole, unlike the through hole on what I assume to be the later ones. As old as I am, that still predates my earliest tool purchases. 1967. My first paycheck went into tools. But not Craftsman, they much too expensive. So it must have been a fleamarket find. It must have been a short production run. Because by '71 I started to have enough money in my jeans to buy Craftsman on sale.

The first time a Craftsman 3/8” drive ratchet was offered by Sears with the model #43784, was somewhere around 1979 or so. The first Craftsman ratchets to have the quick release function were offered by Sears closer to 1967. I probably wouldn’t categorize a ratchet with model #43784 as one with “an early quick release” mechanism. The 3/8” drive ratchets with the 43784 model number were around until about 1993, so depending on which version you have, I’d categorize your ratchet as being a middle to later model with the quick release function. The 3/8” drive ratchets having #43785 stamped on their handles started showing up around 1970 or so. Those are somewhat earlier ratchets, with the quick release, than are those with model #43784. Maybe take a closer look at the Type Study referenced above by d42jeep. I’m sorry the pictures aren’t great, but you should be able to compare the details on your ratchets to those depicted in the Type Study, and then make a determination as to the approximate age of your ratchets.

Jim C.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I'm not really a collector, I just have few tools. How many times have you heard that denial.

I appreciate the further knowledge. I haven't found the pictures yet. But you have answered the question . My main interest is in woodworking tools but when I looked at the ratchets, I did have Sesame Street moment. One is different.

So after reading the study, I looked at my two 43785s, one has deeper stamping with smaller Craftsman, and I guess a PA. This one would be the one I purchased new. The other the Craftsman is a finer stamp with the FA.

Since I must have thought they were fairly decent after using one for all these years, I won't have picked a couple up more at a fleamarket. However reading you study has piqued my interest in picking in finding a 3/8 Gray to compare it to. Grays don't have the QR feature, though.

 

[Jim C.]

........So after reading the study, I looked at my two 43785s, one has deeper stamping with smaller Craftsman, and I guess a PA. This one would be the one I purchased new. The other the Craftsman is a finer stamp with the FA...

I never really made any conclusive decisions about the depth of the stamps on the handles. I guess there could be several reasons why some stamps are heavy/deep and others are faint. I’ve seen stamps that were double struck, upside down, on the wrong side of the handle, and reversed. Quality control could be a factor. Other things to consider might be the press used to apply the stamp, and its operator. Perhaps the ratchets were manufactured in different facilities or on different assembly lines. Maybe the stamps themselves were in various states of their respective life expectancies. I don’t think those things lasted forever and probably had to be changed occasionally. A newer stamp might produce crisp, well defined letters and numbers, while one closer to the end of its useful life might not. It’s hard to say for sure. Anyway, the Type Study does not get into those details because I really don’t think there’s a conclusive answer to the depth, clarity, etc. regarding the handle stamps.

Jim C.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Tools and women, in that order, are something I notice. I've seen the lighter stamps on Craftsman tools in later years when I wandered through Sears. It makes economic sense in production to use less force to stamp. I'm in Canada, so who knows.