Dayton ratchet and socket set

[Private Lugnutz]

Dads’ tools match the B shield Sockets!

Courtesy of Worthpoint

Thanks, 3bay. What years is that? I never knew Bonney went retro on the B-shield like that! Pretty cool thing to do. And on drive tools no less. Heck, they weren't even putting the B-shield on drive tools when the B-shield was first trademarked.

EDIT: Not 1950, 1951, or 1957, I can tell you that, where all the sockets still have a single band of heavy knurling, and no B-shields, but those are the only postwar Bonney cats I have.

 

[3baygarage]

The B shield thing has always confused me, but I think it represents the Bon E Con line. According to AA, the B shield items are circa 1950’s -1960. Makes me wonder how old some of these Dayton items are.

Edit: I’m sorry. That’s the Bon E Con “B in a hex”, not B shield. Now I was talking about the wrong logo.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Yes b in a hex. Not sure on the years for those, but box is pre zip code so 60ish? If they are not in 57 cat.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Edit: I’m sorry. That’s the Bon E Con “B in a hex”, not B shield. Now I was talking about the wrong logo.

No prob. It was too small in the photos for me to see but they easily could've been shields. So I was giving their Marketing Dept too much credit for a retro line! Maybe if I was running the Dept and insisted on bringing back the Princeton shield logo I could've saved them from conglomeration demise!

Yes b in a hex. Not sure on the years for those, but box is pre zip code so 60ish? If they are not in 57 cat.

Apparently somewhere between 1958 and 1963.

 

[DadsTools]

It’s simple. Dads’ tools match the B shield Sockets!

Wow. Saw your photos from worthpoint on post #40. I don't know about you guys, but I'm liking that a lot. There's that shoulder on the extension bar too. As always, thanks 3bay.

I poked around on AA and the only Bon-E-Con drive tool having the B-shield or hex (which I would assume goes along with the double-band sockets) I could find that AA graced with a date was a ratchet they dated 1957-60. This would also work quite well with the late-1950s style label in the set.

Doesn't look like the worthpoint ratchet is Bon-e-con, though, but that doesn't matter--it's the B-hex Bon-e-con sockets that seem to fill the bill.

So my set wasn't Bonney. But it was. Just not regular Bonney (I don't feel bad selling it now!).

I'm still liking AA's date on the B-hex rat of 1957-60, because it goes with what I found about the label.

Perhaps this is enough to at least put a stake in the ground at a specific place along the Dayton timeline.

 

[3baygarage]

Glad we got that sorted out.

Here’s a round head.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Likely the Chicago brand is because Grainger is headquartered there, not where the tools where made. Im assuming Dayton has always been a brand of WW Grainger ?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That has been my understanding bk. 3bay those triwing ratchets started around 66, so they were still supplying dayton at that time.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

So my set wasn't Bonney. But it was. Just not regular Bonney...

Not sure what you mean, but I think that style was their regular offering in the timeframe we have narrowed in on. A stark departure, no doubt, from their original line, which remained fairly consistent (minor changes) from inception through 1957, apparently.

Im assuming Dayton has always been a brand of WW Grainger ?

It's very confusing. Either the Grainger website contradicts itself, or I am not understanding. A company history article says "Dayton" was trademarked in 1937. Later, in the same dang article, it says that in 1966 Grainger acquired the shares of Dayton Electric Manufacturing Company that it didn't already own, implying it was a separate enterprise that it had been buying out a little at a time for years. So which is it? Was Dayton a Grainger TM? Or a separate company they bought? Or were there two different Daytons?! (None of this has anything to do with the Dayton Electric car company in Dayton, Ohio, right?) There are plenty of machines out there with an address of 'Dayton Electrical Manufacturing Co., 748 West Adams Street, Chicago 6, IL', which is Postal Code, pre-Zip Code, pre-1963.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I suspect just a corporation grainger controlled for their own purposes. For tax, liability or some reason unknown.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Never really thought about it before, but the time switches for my pool are dayton. I think hand tools were really a small part of what was sold under that name.

 

[DadsTools]

Never really thought about it before, but the time switches for my pool are dayton. I think hand tools were really a small part of what was sold under that name.

That's the impression I was left with after studying the vintagemachinery site. Lots of power tools and shop equipment. The hand tools may have been just something like, "Oh, yeah, while you're buying your power and shop equipment from us, we also happen to have a hand tool line if you need them, so we can take care of you there too."

I admit I never delved into the ownership of Dayton. I thought Dayton was simply Grainger's house brand. Apparently it's not that simple. In any event, it appears that the Dayton power equipment was actually made by Dayton (mostly? some of it?), where the hand tools were subcontracted.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Yes I think they just sold them as an afterthought. Did they actually manufacture power tools and time switches or were they just a reseller? Probably a bit of both.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...the idea of a supplier putting their own unique flair on their customer's brand name is a little odd...

I couldn't stop thinking about this, guys. I tried to think of another example from the vintage tool world and couldn't. It's unprecedented, and, I'm not sure it's been done since. To illustrate my point, I had a little fun this morning with a few well-known "What if?" scenarios. I am exaggerating for effect, but still. This is essentially what Bonney did - putting a little of their own signature - into the Dayton brand.

 

[Provincial]

One should remember that the dies that made those impressions were made by hand, by artisans. These were people who created art, by hand. They interpreted the one-dimensional layout presented to them in three dimensions. Among the limitations they had to consider was the effect of wear on the die. It had to hold up long enough to either make it through the production run, or long enough to be cost-effective.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

If that's in reply to my point, Jock, I am missing the relevance of yours. Please clarify.

 

[Provincial]

Just pointing out the the execution of the logo was done by craftsmen who had artistic talent. Their work is "industrial art."

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks. Got it. Agreed. And true about any and all tool logos, in general. Just wanted to make sure you weren't commenting on my point in a way that I was not comprehending.

 

[Provincial]

An interesting tidbit: The roll stamping dies that put the lettering on the barrels and receivers of Winchester firearms were made by the same engravers that engraved the custom firearms. Few tools are hand-engraved, but some of the trademark dies required skilled engravers to make them.

 

[Provincial]

double post