Kit Wrenches, Auto Kit and others

[four.cycle]

Ronson / Ronson Specialty Co., 7-9-11-13-15-17-19 Mulberry St., Newark, NJ / "Nine in One" Wrench / (see Art Metal Works) / http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2017/01/ronson-nine-in-one-wrench-ronson.html / http://toolarchives.com/node/31 /

I am unable to find a dedicated thread for "Ronson" or "Art Metal Works" here on GarageJournal.com, which is unfortunate considering the history of the company and the ingenuity of its founder Louis Aronson, who also invented the first practical cigarette lighter, which is why you recognize the name.

Here are my two Ronson 'Nine in One' SAE wrench sets (patent 942993) - one of which is obviously in better condition than the other.
Since my last post in this thread, it looks like I managed to find a replacement for the one with the tiny square hole, which is prone to snap off if over-torqued. It would appear that the previous owner at some point needed an opening slightly larger than 5/16".

The marked opening sizes on the wrenches are:
1/4" x 1/2" (the one with the square hole)
5/16" x 19/32"
3/8" x 11/16"
7/16" x alligator/bottle opener/screwdriver - making it actually a Ten in One set. Of course, you could conceivably think of that small square opening as a tap wrench, making it an awesome Eleven in One set, which is possibly how the one at far left in the first image got broken.

The wrenches are stamped only on one side. The reverse side is blank. The wrenches are plain unfinished steel.

Note the two flat sides on the screw which holds the set together, which keeps the other wrenches all aligned and allows one to use one wrench size at a time with the advantage of a fairly stout handle. It is the screw which is the "unobtainium" part of this set - many of the sets one can find for sale online are missing the original screw.
The set on the right also included the original flat washer, which is not shown in the photo. (Our windstorm today blew it off the sawhorse. Fortunately I was able to find it - it is visible in the fourth photo.)





* I'll get a dedicated "Ronson" thread set up later. I have some other things I need to do first. BK

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I am unable to find a dedicated thread for "Ronson" or "Art Metal Works" here on GarageJournal.com, which is unfortunate considering the history of the company and the ingenuity of its founder Louis Aronson, who also invented the first practical cigarette lighter

Not to pour Ronsonol on the fire, but there are a few subjects that just seem to come up in other threads. I'd look forward to it if no other reason than to try to complete my kit with other people's spares!

 

[LesserSon]

It is the screw which is the "unobtainium"

Yes - true of so many of these kit sets. I’m thinking of re-aligning/specializing my picking focus to just wingnuts and odd screws, LOL. They are probably hiding in mixed-junk bins & baby food jars all around the country.
Or manufacturing replicas…

 

[RTM]

I’m thinking of re-aligning/specializing my picking focus to just wingnuts and odd screws, LOL. They are probably hiding in mixed-junk bins & baby food jars all around the country.
Or manufacturing replicas…

I often poke through toolboxes and grab stray nuts and wingnuts, occasionally screws, but mostly Yankee driver bits and other similar smalls. I once bought a lot of 200# of misc. shop crud in glass bottles in wooden crates. I'm slowly sorting through the bits when I need something. Bottles of brass wood screws have been gone through, and a bottle of nuts released a weird size nut I needed to fix a grinder motor power terminal. Have not gone through the wingnuts yet, but once pulled a couple of fun vintage ones with Mickey Mouse type ears..

 

[DAustin]

I have a small collection of wrenches made for carrying in one's automobile. I think these were a popular kit sold to owners of cars many years ago. The oldest may be the Auto-Kit set. I've seen old ads for them but don't know of the history myself.





The fact they are made with Vanadium Steel makes me think they were made by Henry Ford. Not too sure about that.



Individual wrenches are often found in piles of leftovers. I have a couple. But to be truly a complete set you need the special conical screw and nut that holds the kit together.



I have several other wrench kits but none I think are as old as this set. I'll post some more if you like.

Charlie

Are these types of tools considered to be some of the earliest type of combination wrenches ?

 

[four.cycle]

DAustin -
What you have there is a set of J.P. Danielson "Auto Kit 100" box-open-end wrenches.
If my memory serves me correctly, what you have there is the earliest iteration of that particular wrench:
Typewriter font / "Pat Pend" / plain steel finish.

Later iterations of that wrench exclude the "Pat Pend" (those manufactured after the patent had been issued), and (again, I'm working from memory) the last version used a sans-serif font.

It appears you are missing the original tapered screw and round knurled nut which held the kit together:

As with the odd screw I mentioned just above on the Ronson "Nine in One" set, the screw and the nut are the "unobtainium" pieces of that set.
I know that the late "papaw" (Noel) of papawswrench.com had someone who was a machinist make some of those up in his shop - that's how scarce they are.
Fortunately all my Danielson sets are complete.

more information here:
Danielson / J.P. Danielson, Jamestown, NY / "Bet'r-Grip" "Auto Kit" / http://alloy-artifacts.org/danielson-jp-company.html / http://alloy-artifacts.org/danielson-jp-company.html#history / http://toolarchives.com/node/115 /

As to your question about were they the first "combination" wrench, I'd have to say no.
Notwithstanding that most offerings from various manufacturers of the day were either double-open-end wrenches, or specialty "socket wrenches" made for a specific task on one specific car, they had by then figured out how to make a double-ended wrench employing both a box end and an open end, as can be seen on page 576 of the 1931 Montgomery Ward catalog:

 

[DAustin]

DAustin -
What you have there is a set of J.P. Danielson "Auto Kit 100" box-open-end wrenches.
If my memory serves me correctly, what you have there is the earliest iteration of that particular wrench:
Typewriter font / "Pat Pend" / plain steel finish.

Later iterations of that wrench exclude the "Pat Pend" (those manufactured after the patent had been issued), and (again, I'm working from memory) the last version used a sans-serif font.

It appears you are missing the original tapered screw and round knurled nut which held the kit together:

As with the odd screw I mentioned just above on the Ronson "Nine in One" set, the screw and the nut are the "unobtainium" pieces of that set.
I know that the late "papaw" (Noel) of papawswrench.com had someone who was a machinist make some of those up in his shop - that's how scarce they are.
Fortunately all my Danielson sets are complete.

more information here:
Danielson / J.P. Danielson, Jamestown, NY / "Bet'r-Grip" "Auto Kit" / http://alloy-artifacts.org/danielson-jp-company.html / http://alloy-artifacts.org/danielson-jp-company.html#history / http://toolarchives.com/node/115 /

As to your question about were they the first "combination" wrench, I'd have to say no.
Notwithstanding that most offerings from various manufacturers of the day were either double-open-end wrenches, or specialty "socket wrenches" made for a specific task on one specific car, they had by then figured out how to make a double-ended wrench employing both a box end and an open end, as can be seen on page 576 of the 1931 Montgomery Ward catalog:

I don't have a set of those, I was just asking how these fit in with the first combination wrenches. Sorry about the confusion .

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was just asking how these fit in with the first combination wrenches.

That's a good question.

Plomb is generally credited with the first open and box end combination wrenches, introducing them in Catalog No. 12 (1933).

But Western Auto catalogs also advertise J.P. Danielson open and box end combination wrenches in the Auto-Kits as early as 1933.

I guess because they're smaller, nested kit wrenches, not full size, the nod goes to Plomb.

Maybe they were spying on each other. In 1946 they would join inventive forces, so to speak, when Plomb acquired J.P. Danielson and used their former factory to continue making Plomb-branded pipe wrenches, adjustable wrenches and pliers, and PENENS branded open end wrenches with J.P. Danielson dies.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked this up at the flea this morning hoping it was an Aetna. It's not. I have never seen this brand (I guess that says "Crown") before. 3/8" x 7/16" open end sizes and a marking of 1/4" after that HARDENED STEEL next to that triangular opening in the middle. I have to say, that's a bit of headscratcher for me. Some companies put tap openings there.

 

[four.cycle]

not sure about Aetna or NB (two other manufacturers of that type of flat, stamped, DOE wrench) but Indestro made a series with a "rethreader" hole in the center (as opposed to the ones with the square opening in the center intended to be used as a tap wrench.)

not a clue on "Crown". first time I've seen the name. I just added it to the list. (I am assuming that unit is U.S. made.)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It is indeed a chaser, 4.c. I forgot all about those.

 

[LesserSon]

Hmm. I thought I posted a Crown/Wizard comparison at the beginning of May. I don’t see it here. Maybe on a different thread?

Yup - here on the Indestro thread.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, LS. I hate to use the term identical, but dang, those look identical. Another Wakefield tool to look for!

 

[four.cycle]

you think maybe Wakefield stamped out the "Crown" unit?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Idk. Probably a fools' errand with these considering they are so easy to copy and don't have many opportunities for distinction.

 

[four.cycle]

Well... "outsourced" might possibly be the answer to the "who made it" question on Aetna and Crown.
I do not believe the Wakefields looked much different than the Indestros - I have a full set of early Wakefield DOEs, but I'm not sure whether or not I've got those rethreader wrenches in either brand.

 

[RubiconJK]

I'm assuming this is the right place to post this little wrench and curious if it looks familiar to anyone? Found today in an Estate sale pick with some other stuff. Its unmarked (except for size) 5/16 X 3/8 combo and the hole in the middle is what makes me think it is likely part of a kit.

 

[four.cycle]

errr.... wait... what?
5/16" open-end x 3/8" box end?
not a clue, but I believe your assumption that the hole is an indicator it was part of a set is correct.
best wild guess: something along the lines of a "Steelcraft" - possibly something from offshore.

 

[RubiconJK]

errr.... wait... what?
5/16" open-end x 3/8" box end?
not a clue, but I believe your assumption that the hole is an indicator it was part of a set is correct.
best wild guess: something along the lines of a "Steelcraft" - possibly something from offshore.

That strange combination of sizes is really the only reason I picked it up.

 

[Outlawmws]

That strange combination of sizes is really the only reason I picked it up.

errr.... wait... what?
5/16" open-end x 3/8" box end?
not a clue, but I believe your assumption that the hole is an indicator it was part of a set is correct.
best wild guess: something along the lines of a "Steelcraft" - possibly something from offshore.

Common on the Autokits. the "matching size" is on the next wrench up so you have one open and one box to work with for a nut/bolt arrangement - which usually means 2 of the same size.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Outlaw,
I'm thinking they realize they're not like typical combination wrenches, with the same opening. Their astonishment is that odd pairing. 5/16 is usually paired with 7/16, if I recall correctly, occasionally 1/4, and I even have one set (Franklin) paired with 13/32. 5/16 paired with 3/8 is odd.

 

[DAustin]

It's funny we don't think anything odd about having two different sizes on open end wrenches.

 

[RubiconJK]

Common on the Autokits. the "matching size" is on the next wrench up so you have one open and one box to work with for a nut/bolt arrangement - which usually means 2 of the same size.

Outlaw,
I'm thinking they realize they're not like typical combination wrenches, with the same opening. Their astonishment is that odd pairing. 5/16 is usually paired with 7/16, if I recall correctly, occasionally 1/4, and I even have one set (Franklin) paired with 13/32. 5/16 paired with 3/8 is odd.

Lugz, that was pretty much it. I'm not an Autokit collector but I just liked the novelty of the size combination. (and it was only a quarter!)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not an Autokit collector

I am, and I don't have any sets with that combination. J.P. Danielson, Barcalo, and Indestro typically paired a 5/16" box with a 7/16" open. (I have a special Indestro set with a 5/16" open and a 1/4" box (8-point)). I just double-checked AA and the examples on this thread and it pretty much holds true. But 4.c has a set that looks like it has a 5/16" box and a 3/8" open end, which is bizarre. See page 1 post #19 (second set).

 

[four.cycle]

wow.... that was a while back.... still don't know where I got the "pump wrench" thing...

yes, on the Indestro "open-box-end" wrenches (as they were called in the catalog), the box end was a size down from the open end. the only real oddity was the smallest one, which had a 1/4" 8 point box end.

 

[d42jeep]

So these wrenches would make up a #900-6A?
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

yeah... looks like it... only thing missing is that funny little piece of angled sheet metal stamped with the part number and the screw and wingnut.

 

[Mintgrun]

It seems odd that Don's set does not include the 3/8" size.

I thought I had a complete Indestro set because I have each size on at least one end of the wrench(es), but now I know I am missing half of them.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Indestro made those sets in different configurations - 4, 5, or 6 pieces. Not all of them contained the full range of sizes.
And as should be evident from the number of different sets they offered, a guy could spend a lifetime trying to collect them all.

 

[DAustin]

I just so happen to have a Barcalo set, not too surprisingly.
-Don

I picked up a wrench like the one on the bottom of the photo with no hole, in 7/16 open end and 3/8 box end. Could you tell me what's the story with these kit wrenches without the holes?

 

[LesserSon]

I have seen them.
My assumption is that they were sold individually - skipping the hole would slightly lower the cost of manufacture. With no concrete evidence, I can also imagine them in kits that used a clip and not a pin to keep them together.
Maybe a year or two ago, I bought one in a size I needed, drilled a hole in it to match the others in the set. I doubt I could identify it from the others now.
Speculating on the drilling process, I wonder if they were drilled individually, or stacked in a jig and drilled through in one pass, then immediately pinned. Some brands have a single-diameter hole for straight-sided pins; some have stepped-diameter holes for tapered pins. Either way, it would seem a more difficult QC task to get the wrenches to stack up well on a pin if drilled individually.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some ronson wrenches

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice set OTG! I'd like to find a set (don't recall seeing this in the wild ever...) and add to the "Coleman tool set" - right period, and a good association.

 

[d42jeep]

I picked up a wrench like the one on the bottom of the photo with no hole, in 7/16 open end and 3/8 box end. Could you tell me what's the story with these kit wrenches without the holes?

This should answer the question. Merry Christmas.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ There was also at some point a "hole-less" Indestro knock-off that was made in Germany. Looked identical to the Indestro other than (1) having no hole and (2) being marked "Made in Germany". (Might have been "West Germany"... it's been a while.)(They were in an ebay listing of Ron's (Chicago) for months. He finally sold them to somebody.)

 

[DAustin]

This should answer the question. Merry Christmas.
-Don

Thanks that explains it. Merry Christmas.

 

[JjKk40]

My never used T Williams scooter wrenches! I'll get pics of the actual wrenches and clip later on but here they are in the awesome box!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Shhweeet! What a tease though making us wait for the wrenches.

Farmer J is going to love seeing that. You need to double tap his SuperSlim thread.

 

[four.cycle]

will they still work on things other than scooters and contintental cars?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Continental car?