Frank Mossberg Pressed Steel Socket Sets

[MR.X]

Mossberg pumping out same ratchet platform ( plus handle end reversing mech.) for WW2 contract.

 

[Ayrhead]

Mossberg pumping out same ratchet platform ( plus handle end reversing mech.) for WW2 contract.

That’s really neat where they put the reversing mechanism. I haven’t seen one of those yet… thanks for posting the pictures

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That’s really neat where they put the reversing mechanism. I haven’t seen one of those yet…

Me neither. I have several ratchets with the same mechanism, but they're all Lowell or Keystone, and it's dead center in a round shaft. Looks like APCO-Mossberg had to put it on the side, inside that channel formed by the two pressed steel halves of the handle, because the middle is where they pressed those together.

 

[MR.X]

A217826 Browning 37mm Anti-Aircraft Gun carriage leveling mech.

 

[GhostintheMachineShop]

Hey y'all, seems I have acquired a few F Mossberg loosey's. If anyone needs these to fill a vacancy lemme know. I believe that all but 1 came from the #14 set as the logo is perpendicular to the axis of the socket or horizontal if the socket was sitting upright on a table or some such. See pics. 4 have the logo and fractional size on same face. 1 has just the logo with size not listed. 1 has a little bump out, I guess for a detent ball. 1 is cracked pretty bad but to fill a spot (not sure anyone has these in service) one could tap it back straight and the casual observer would never be the wiser, prolly.
I leave that up to the new owner if these can help anyone, reach out via PM ya.

Sizes are:

13/32 this one has the bump out
19/32
21/32
13/16 this one is cracked
Plus 1 with just the logo, very close in size to the 21/32

 

[3baygarage]

I believe this screwdriver already appears here in Ayerhead’s set.

Mossberg 101 offset 6” screwdriver

 

[Ayrhead]

Your pictures are better but yes I have that in my set.

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Mossberg ford set no. 7
Too cool not to post

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

All packaged up

 

[Ayrhead]

All packaged up

That’s pretty Kewl!!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Mossberg ford set no. 7

Nice! Are they spot welded or press fit? All the early socket wrenches, before they were detachable, are like history lessons. You can just see the lightbulbs going off.

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Nice! Are they spot welded or press fit? All the early socket wrenches, before they were detachable, are like history lessons. You can just see the lightbulbs going off.

They look to be press fit. I’m a sheet metal worker and I don’t see any spots but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any

 

[PSCo1867]

They look to be press fit. I’m a sheet metal worker and I don’t see any spots but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any

Here's another double offset socket wrench: 29/32 X 31/32. What's kinda interesting with this one is that the sockets are secured to a square bar, as opposed to round bar as with Patrick's & also with AA examples. The sockets are retained with heavy pressed-dimples, 2 per socket, 180 deg from each other. I'm guessing that this wrench is also part of a kit? Bottom pic is a smaller example from AA, showing the contrasting round-bar type.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up this empty No. 13 set box at the flea this morning.

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Picked up this empty No. 13 set box at the flea this morning.

great box

 

[RTM]

Here is another find from the shop clean out, grabbed these figuring someone here could use them in a set in progress. My buddy was flipping thru the sockets, grabbing brand names, and asking “WTH is this?” often.

Looks like the sizes are 9/16, probably modified and damaged, 5/8, 21/32, and 3/4”.




So again, if these can help someone, holler back at me.

 

[MR.X]

Fairbanks Co..... mechanical equipment Dept. store O.K.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Anyone run across the "Large Series" sockets? Just got a 357 (heh) ratchet, that uses the larger drive opening. Will post pics in a bit.

I've never seen or heard of a No. 357 ratchet, Cruzer. Are you sure it's not a No. 355? The No. 355 was a female only ratchet with an 11/16-inch opening that drove the standard pressed steel sockets from the outside. I have a set that Mossberg made for Syracuse that operated like that.

Yep, 357. Listed for "Large Series Sockets". Start at 23/32 and go up to 2 13/32. Never seen any sockets for this before, but now am on the lookout. https://archive.org/details/FrankMossbergCo1924/mode/1up

Me neither! Or the ratchet, extension and universal joint. It's interesting that the O.D. of the drive tangs are the same O.D. of the regular sockets. The drive tangs are 1/2" inside - for all the 1/2-inch drive male handles (extension, universal, etc) and 11/16" outside, for the 11/16-inch drive opening in the No. 350 and 355 ratchets.

My guess is that the 348 extension and 337 universal are specific to this larger drive size. I can see the extension has a smaller step-down, so it can be used with the 1/2 stuff if needed. Just measured, opening is 1.025" on the ratchet. The universal is a different number than the one supplied for the 350 ratchet (#336 vs 337).

Cruzer,
Just consolidating for now in one fell swoop so we don't have to go poking around to discuss it. I still can't quite figure it out. I will take a look again later. For now, here are two other references I found, in addition to the one you linked above.

 

[Cruzan80]

Thanks! I knew you were better at searching than I was. Let me know if you want me to add any pics in this post/thread.

 

[MR.X]

Had this forever on the windowsill above my bench grinder. Not marked Mossberg. Tried to imagine someone torquing one of these on a nut/ bolt this big without tearing it up.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

^ Well, there's one (1) for your ratchet, @Cruzan80 ! Just fourteen (14) more to go!

 

[Cruzan80]

@MR.X Let me know if you are willing to part with it. Happy to send some stuff your way.

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Cruzer,
Just consolidating for now in one fell swoop so we don't have to go poking around to discuss it. I still can't quite figure it out. I will take a look again later. For now, here are two other references I found, in addition to the one you linked above.

Not that is cool….and I want one

 

[Flathead_Fred]

Hey y'all, seems I have acquired a few F Mossberg loosey's. If anyone needs these to fill a vacancy lemme know. I believe that all but 1 came from the #14 set as the logo is perpendicular to the axis of the socket or horizontal if the socket was sitting upright on a table or some such. See pics. 4 have the logo and fractional size on same face. 1 has just the logo with size not listed. 1 has a little bump out, I guess for a detent ball. 1 is cracked pretty bad but to fill a spot (not sure anyone has these in service) one could tap it back straight and the casual observer would never be the wiser, prolly.
I leave that up to the new owner if these can help anyone, reach out via PM ya.

Sizes are:

13/32 this one has the bump out
19/32
21/32
13/16 this one is cracked
Plus 1 with just the logo, very close in size to the 21/32

Hey y'all, seems I have acquired a few F Mossberg loosey's. If anyone needs these to fill a vacancy lemme know. I believe that all but 1 came from the #14 set as the logo is perpendicular to the axis of the socket or horizontal if the socket was sitting upright on a table or some such. See pics. 4 have the logo and fractional size on same face. 1 has just the logo with size not listed. 1 has a little bump out, I guess for a detent ball. 1 is cracked pretty bad but to fill a spot (not sure anyone has these in service) one could tap it back straight and the casual observer would never be the wiser, prolly.
I leave that up to the new owner if these can help anyone, reach out via PM ya.

Sizes are:

13/32 this one has the bump out
19/32
21/32
13/16 this one is cracked
Plus 1 with just the logo, very close in size to the 21/32

Hello, don't know if you still have these. I just bought a set #9 and it is missing the square 21/32 and the hex 1-3/32. Am looking to find them. I do have a nice 31/32 that was a duplicate. Thanks.

 

[Flathead_Fred]

I recently acquired a Mossberg set #9. Most all the sockets are black. It is not painted on but looks like a black anodized coating. A couple of the sockets are just plain steel with no coating. Does anyone have any insight on this difference? Thanks

 

[four.cycle]

^ My initial wild guess would be that the two on the right were dipped in Evaporust or put on a wire wheel, which removed the black finish.
I don't own any Mossberg sockets so that's only a wild guess.

 

[bigredcornhead]

I have a set of these handed down from grandparents, so interesting and cool. Were these exclusively sold through catalogs, or were they in retail brick and mortar stores as well? Curious as to which store in Nebraska might have sold them back in the 20 and 30's.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Yes, they were sold through the local neighborhood hardware store, who bought them from a big hardware wholesaler like Shapleigh's of St. Louis, or possibly Paxton & Gallagher Hardware Co. in beautiful downtown Omaha.
The hardware business was very structured: manufacturer to wholesale distributor to jobber (retailer) to end consumer. There was no circumventing that distribution chain.
Montgomery Wards and Sears didn't offer Mossberg in their early catalogs - they were peddling "Lakeside" and "Fulton" and "Hinsdale" early on.

 

[Flathead_Fred]

Looking for these sockets (Willing to trade two of my extras for one of my needed).

Mossberg	Hex	square
	15/32	21/32
	1-3/32

Walden	Hex
	17/32
	19/32
	5/8
	25/32

Have these available

Mossberg	Hex	Square
	1-1/32	29/32
	31/32	19/32
	7/8	17/32
	3/4
	19/32
	1/2
	5/16

Walden	Hex
	1-9/32
	1-5/32
(2)	1-1/32
	13/32
	3/8

Willing to trade two for one.

 

[Mintgrun]

I found this Mossberg made 34-S Fairbanks OK wrench at a St. Vincent DePaul store last week. Typically slim picking in the tool section, but once in a while something cool shows up.



It's the only tool I have in a 64ths size.

I like the three-rivet knob attachment. There is a tiny circular Patent Pending mark on top.



Searching the forum didn't bring up many Fairbanks hits, other than a few from Mr.X, including one in post number 57 above and another in the Blackhawk thread.

 

[3baygarage]

49/64, now that is an oddball.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Searching the forum didn't bring up many Fairbanks hits, other than a few from Mr.X, including one in post number 57 above...

Since @MR.X 's handle is a 34-L (with a 37/64" socket on the end of it) and yours is a 34-S (with a 49/64" socket on the end of it), I am surmising that Fairbanks was selling re-branded "OK" versions of the fixed "heavy duty" socket wrenches Mossberg offered in various handle styles, where the "34" was their series number, the suffix "-L" signified the Ell handle, and the suffix "-S" signified the Speed Brace. I am guessing one could buy a whole range of sockets in either handle style and maybe a Tee Handle as well. I'd have to go back and look through cats and ads to find the range of service openings. Mossberg did later make and sell a 15-pc "heavy duty" (64/ths based) socket set, with detachable versions, and they were fifteen (15) from 29/64" to 1-17/64", but I believe it only came with a speed brace to turn them. Further reading here.

49/64, now that is an oddball.

I have a pretty good run of nine (9) of them in the Tee Handle style.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some pretty heavy duty looking 11/16 square drive sockets.

 

[3baygarage]

Wow, those are unusual.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Some pretty heavy duty looking 11/16 square drive sockets.

Wow, those are unusual.

If they were going to make sockets with solid male drive tangs, it does make perfect sense that they would make them 11/16-inch square, which was the outer diameter of the pressed steel socket tangs, which could be driven from the inside (1/2") with a drive plug, a male extension, etc, or outside (female ratchet). In other words, in terms of form and fit, they are exactly the same as the pressed steel sockets, but solid instead of hollow, and machined (by the looks of it), instead of made with an extruding process. But I've never seen them before. I wonder if it was an experiment.

Below, and posted before on the third ('Latest') Mossberg thread, is the socket sequence I am aware of...

Pressed Steel with 1/2" internal square drive openings/11/16" outside square drive openings (early) to Machined/Drawn Steel with 1/2" internal square drive openings/11/16" outside square drive openings (late 20's) to Hot-Forged/Cold-Broached with only 1/2" drive openings (very late 20's)

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Could be a missing link. Maybe an early attempt at forged sockets.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

^ That's what I'm thinking, between left (Early) and middle (Late) above. And, as if to accentuate the strange deviation, of course they just had to put the branding and the size markings on the bottom of the male drive tang for a final flourish.

 

[Ayrhead]

Some pretty heavy duty looking 11/16 square drive sockets.

Some pretty heavy duty looking 11/16 square drive sockets.

I found this on the alloy-artifacts website… I believe it says 1922-1925…

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found this on the alloy-artifacts website… I believe it says 1922-1925…

That makes sense. And thanks for jogging my memory! I thought I made note of these before, but I couldn't find it. It's from the other other Mossberg thread!

Here is a shot showing an evolution of Mossberg socketry. (Note they did make similar sockets branded "Ever-Wear" that would come between the second and third. I don't have any of those.)

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Some pretty heavy duty looking 11/16 square drive sockets.

Now that’s one I don’t have. Cool stuff. Late 20’s?