International Forge Co. 3/4 ratchet

[davethorik]

Picked this up today, some kinda funky Craftsman variant. Looks almost nickel plated.
Selector looks newer. Detent ball is sunk. Works well. Came with an unmarked sliding T drive stud, and 2 rusty sockets. One is a 5 band Plomb Los Angeles pictured.
Didn't find much on Google.

 

[Provincial]

I have an International Forge 1/4" drive set in a metal case that is fairly complete. I have not seen any other example of this brand until now.

 

[r_olson_06]

Same here. I have a 1/4" ratchet but have not seen any larger. Looks to be a Craftsman rip off.

Looking for the following Plomb Pebbles Wrench 3061

 

[3baygarage]

Cool! That’s a ratchet I don’t recall seeing before.

 

[transam81]

Looks sort of like a mish mash. Proto head, craftsman handle and perhaps a New Britain middle.

 

[davethorik]

Transam, I think it was the late 40s/50s all Craftsman rats had heads that looked like this. Box head I think they're called. Edit: pic added oil hole.

To me they most resemble Snap-on, but were Moore Drop Forge. Craftsman 3/4 rats kept this design while the smaller sizes went through many changes. Newer models have been upgraded to quick release. You might be able to buy it new as a Chinese Craftsman today.

The grip looks Craftsman except the letters are forged-in and protrude from the surface, Craftsman are stamped into surface.

The middle is the truly weird part, I thought of Truth ratchets at first.

 

[davethorik]

Cool! That’s a ratchet I don’t recall seeing before.

And wow

 

[3baygarage]

I did some major digging in the garage. Haven’t seen these in a while. A 3/8” and 1/4”.


I also noticed the 3/4 has that hump like you see on a Truth. The blank panel is interesting as well.

 

[B17E1943]

Interesting.

I have an International Forge 1/4" drive set in a metal case that is fairly complete. I have not seen any other example of this brand until now.

Let's see it.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Great. One more thing to look for...

 

[snapmom]

The stuck ball, let pent. oil soak into it for about a day. then hit the back of the plug with a hammer, or just bang the plug against something steel. This has often working for me.

 

[Provincial]

Interesting.



Let's see it.

Here are some photos:

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice little set.

 

[B17E1943]

Here are some photos:

Nice!

 

[twertsy]

Earliest mention I can find of them (newspapers) is 1950, Clarence R. Balek - Pres. Mr. Balek passed in 1961. The appear to have been known for Aluminum tool forging more than anything. There's only one mention of them past 1961, a job advertisement (looking for telemarketers) in 1986.

I do see Truth in the spring detent in the handle. Oddball for sure.

 

[davethorik]

That makes sense, after Provincial posted pics of his set I saw Chicago on the box, altered my search and found a couple aluminum pipe wrenches.

The ratchets appear MDF sourced, and the smaller ones are doppelgangers for Craftsman, but my 3/4 is unique. Interesting.

I did spray pb on the detent ball. Tried snapmoms trick, no dice. I found a large nail set that fits on the ball, pushed as hard as I could and no movement. I then hit the nail set with a ball pein hammer and that got the ball loose. I can now push the nail set on the ball in by hand, it has a very strong spring force behind it. However it appears to be excessively double-staked from the factory and the ball cannot protrude far enough to engage a detent. Or there is still crud in it. I filled the inner cavity with pb and its soaking again.
Guess I'm on the lookout for a craftsman 3/4 rebuild kit. Maybe.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The middle is the truly weird part, I thought of Truth ratchets at first.

I do see Truth in the spring detent in the handle.

Me too. TRUTH was providing that style 3/4-inch drive ratchet to MAC in the late 40's - except for that flat handle at the end.