Lectrolite, Lectrolite Tru Fit

[outofbounds]

A couple of very old Lectrolite Defiance, O. Tools surfaced recently. A single pivot “parrot head” pliers and a nice DOBE

 

[Shelbylex]

Got couple of more wrenches Lectrolite Tru Fit 3005 (got two more of the same size which are bare metal but no pictures yet - one still needs to be cleaned and one needs a shot together with 3001 (3/8-7/16), 3004 (3/4-25/32)
... I guess since I have 3001, 3005, 3005 I will need to keep an eye out for others on yard sales:
3002 (1/2-9/16)
3003 (5/8-11/16)
3006 (15/16-1) - Interestingly, I have a rusted Precision Bilt in this size number 3006 with L mark (produced by Lectrolite)
3007 (1 1/16- 1 1/8) - this one will probably be hard to find

P.S. The ones I posted will probably end up on CL - I will keep the other two once cleaned. Interesting that I got all 4 of them on the same yard sale - PO really found one of the offset sizes useful (I suspect 11/16...)

 

[Bockscar]

Got couple of more wrenches Lectrolite Tru Fit 3005 (got two more of the same size which are bare metal but no pictures yet - one still needs to be cleaned and one needs a shot together with 3001 (3/8-7/16), 3004 (3/4-25/32)
... I guess since I have 3001, 3005, 3005 I will need to keep an eye out for others on yard sales:
3002 (1/2-9/16)
3003 (5/8-11/16)
3006 (15/16-1) - Interestingly, I have a rusted Precision Bilt in this size number 3006 with L mark (produced by Lectrolite)
3007 (1 1/16- 1 1/8) - this one will probably be hard to find

P.S. The ones I posted will probably end up on CL - I will keep the other two once cleaned. Interesting that I got all 4 of them on the same yard sale - PO really found one of the offset sizes useful (I suspect 11/16...)

I have the wrenches from 1/2-9/16 to 15/16‐1


Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[HeelSpur]

2nd one down is a Lectrolite.

DSCF3672 (2) by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[Shelbylex]

Got to love it, Bockscar! Interesting how many different finishes they had - yours look chromed

 

[r_olson_06]

2nd one down is a Lectrolite.

DSCF3672 (2) by wvwheaties, on Flickr

That top Herbrand screams Utica circa 1939 made.

Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench

 

[outofbounds]

I few of my photo-worthy Lectrolite & Tru-Fit. I have a bucket full of deeply surface rusted DBE Tru-Fits. The value for resale leaves them in that bucket rather than as a viable rehab project. They seem not to fair well stored in the typical upper midwest garage.

 

[Ticotiger14]

What do you make of these lectrolite tappets. Can’t find any info on these particular ones.

 

[four.cycle]

Did you check The International Tool Catalog Library ?

Be sure to check "Lectrolite" and "S-K Lectrolite".

I have nothing on "Lectrolite" that's even close to being applicable on those.

 

[Provincial]

I would guess that those are quite late, perhaps some of the last Lectrolite-branded wrenches made.

 

[DadsTools]

What do you make of these lectrolite tappets. Can’t find any info on these particular ones.

These are from the Lectrolite Corp "T" series wrenches. These appear to be from the two different "T" series sets--the 4pc T22 tappet wrench set and the 4pc T14 "check nut" set. Both sets came stacked in a narrow plastic sleeve. These were first made after the re-design of the Lectrolite wrench line sometime in the late 1940s. When LC partnered with SK circa 1952, these particular wrenches were not re-labeled "SK-Lectrolite" like most of the premium wrench models, but remained Lectrolite labeled with no "SK." Based on available catalogs, they were sold through the last year of LC before being bought out by Symington Wayne in 1962, so circa 1948-1961. SK-Wayne continued to sell these same sets but without the LC label, switching the model numbers to 14-T and 22-T. I believe they continued through the Wayne era, but I don't know whether they persisted through the Dresser years.

 

[four.cycle]

thanks Dads!

 

[Ticotiger14]

Yes, Thanks Dad.

 

[d42jeep]

I have one of that style in with my Lectrolite tappet wrenches.
-Don

 

[DadsTools]

I have one of that style in with my Lectrolite tappet wrenches.
-Don

Nice collection. I think I only have one LC tappet myself buried somewhere.

Yes, the top one is from the later "T" series. But the others are older. LC did away with putting the Lectrolite name on the Tru-Fit budget wrenches during their late-40s line re-design, so those dual-marked wrenches predate that. They also have the older 8xxx model numbers. The one marked Chrome Vanadium is likely pre-war. when their wrench markings and overall geometry seemingly could vary with almost every production run ("Hey guys, how do you want to do this next run?"). They finally did away with all that nonsense with the late-40s re-vamp.

 

[Doylee4693]

A few very old lectrolite flare nut wrenches. Scored these and 3 indestro flare nut wrenches for 5 dablooms. The owner must have painted them orange to keep people from trying to steel them. The print on the tool looks so 1930’s/40’s

 

[d42jeep]

Those look to me like they may have been made from modified double box end wrenches. If so, somebody did a nice job. I’ve never seen a factory Lectrolite flare nut wrench.

 

[Doylee4693]

Those look to me like they may have been made from modified double box end wrenches. If so, somebody did a nice job. I’ve never seen a factory Lectrolite flare nut wrench.

You know what, you’re probably right. Kind of a bummer tho.

 

[Ricky Joe]

.

 

[Provincial]

That would make them a good tool to modify! Not brittle enough to snap when bent.

 

[Shelbylex]

I had an extra Lectrolite Tru Fit 3005 (bought several from the same sale) - found a nice gentleman to exchange an extra for 3002

My very slowly growing set which now includes 3001, 3002, 3004 and 3005

 

[Ricky Joe]

.

 

[saukit]

Here are some recent Lectrolite acquisitions...The wrench in the middle is double branded with Lectrolite on the other side. I added the unbranded wrench at the bottom initially because it was so similar to the other short DBE. After comparing it to an almost identical Indestro, I'm pretty sure it's Indestro. So ignore it for this post!

 

[d42jeep]

We found a couple of pre S-K Lectrolite combos at an estate sale this afternoon. Unfortunately, the 13/16” wrench has owners markings stamped in but the 3/4” cleaned up pretty well.
-Don

 

[Ricky Joe]

.

 

[Old Radar]

Initially posted on the Garage Sale thread, my estate sale find led me to this interesting thread. I found this Lectrolite 1711R roll, missing the four smallest combos C-12, 14, 16, & 18. This caused me to spend 30 minutes searching for them, but to no avail. Wrenches and roll are in great shape and cleaned up nicely.



My initial research found that AA proposes manufacture dates between the late 40s and very early 50s--just prior to the association with S-K. Several of the later S-K/Lectrolite catalogs have the 1711R set depicted and they certainly bear a striking resemblance to S-K wrenches--right down to the numbering system--even the roll number--I have a 1714 S-K roll (14 wrenches) and this 1711R has 11 wrenches. Without an early Lectrolite catalog--prior to the early 50s, I don't know of a way to date these before the S-K association.

After reading through this thread, and according to DadsTools, these may stem from the "that brief Post-R period just before the LC/SK era." This seems to jibe with what I found on AA.

I also noted up-thread many examples of this style combo with different number markings. Whereas mine are all marked C-**, others are marked 2X16 or have only the size. Can anyone say if this variation indicates an age progression in the "Post-R" period? If I had to guess, I would say (without proof of any kind) the C-** would be closest to the S-K association and may even indicate (again without proof) the earliest S-K association, but prior to labling the tools as S-K Lectrolite.

Thanks for any insight!

 

[DadsTools]

Initially posted on the Garage Sale thread, my estate sale find led me to this interesting thread. I found this Lectrolite 1711R roll, missing the four smallest combos C-12, 14, 16, & 18. This caused me to spend 30 minutes searching for them, but to no avail. Wrenches and roll are in great shape and cleaned up nicely.



My initial research found that AA proposes manufacture dates between the late 40s and very early 50s--just prior to the association with S-K. Several of the later S-K/Lectrolite catalogs have the 1711R set depicted and they certainly bear a striking resemblance to S-K wrenches--right down to the numbering system--even the roll number--I have a 1714 S-K roll (14 wrenches) and this 1711R has 11 wrenches. Without an early Lectrolite catalog--prior to the early 50s, I don't know of a way to date these before the S-K association.

After reading through this thread, and according to DadsTools, these may stem from the "that brief Post-R period just before the LC/SK era." This seems to jibe with what I found on AA.

I also noted up-thread many examples of this style combo with different number markings. Whereas mine are all marked C-**, others are marked 2X16 or have only the size. Can anyone say if this variation indicates an age progression in the "Post-R" period? If I had to guess, I would say (without proof of any kind) the C-** would be closest to the S-K association and may even indicate (again without proof) the earliest S-K association, but prior to labling the tools as S-K Lectrolite.

Thanks for any insight!

You are correct in that the shortage of catalogs makes it difficult to nail down certain details. LC had two tiers of quality: the Lectrolite premium brand and the TruFit budget line. The Post-R period saw the change to the Lectrolite model numbers given letter prefixes: C=combo, O=DOE, B=DBE, T=Tappet. This numbering system was maintained through the SK-Lectrolite collaboration. The TruFit had no letter prefixes. Prior to Post-R, the Lectrolite branded wrenches also did not have letter prefixes. I'm not familiar with a 2X16 format--as sizes changed, it was the last digit that typically changed, the first three digits would have stood for the particular wrench series.

As for the pouch, I have no evidence that LC adopted this diamond logo prior to the SK relationship. It seems that part of the agreement was for LC to switch over to SK's diamond logo format to make for a better uniformity in marketing. So the diamond logo indicates the period during the SK collaboration.

 

[Old Radar]

Thanks Dad! All your info tends to support that this set was made very early on in the LC/SK relationship. Since I am unfamiliar with any Lectrolite logo beyond their actual name, it seems reasonable they would be open to incorporating the S-K diamond into their name.


As for the 2X16 format, see Don's (d42jeep) photo in post #29 for examples of all three numbering formats--including three combos marked 2316, 2416 & 2616.

 

[d42jeep]

I have only a couple with no numbers. Old Radar, here is a spare C-12 if you want it.
-Don

 

[DadsTools]

Thanks Dad! All your info tends to support that this set was made very early on in the LC/SK relationship. Since I am unfamiliar with any Lectrolite logo beyond their actual name, it seems reasonable they would be open to incorporating the S-K diamond into their name.


As for the 2X16 format, see Don's (d42jeep) photo in post #29 for examples of all three numbering formats--including three combos marked 2316, 2416 & 2616.

Thanks for the reference to photo on post #29. I hadn't looked at the post-reformation style combo wrenches very closely because I assumed they were all the Cxx number format. I have a copy of an LC catalog that appears to be circa 1947 at the very beginning of the line re-design. The combo wrenches are the 4-digit as per some of d42jeep's wrenches. Apparently, d42's set was very early in the re-design period, as it has three diffeent numbering systems as you say. Actually two numbering systems and some with just the size markings. As I mentioned in my original post, LC was kind of scrambled eggs with their wrench designs and labelings until the post-R period when they finally stabilized. I can say for certain that the Cxx numbers are the later of the three. The 2x16 resembles the old numbering system, which leads me to suspect that the no-number wrenches were a transitional version between 2x16 and Cxx.

 

[Old Radar]

Thanks again Dad!!

 

[RyanE]

I've got a (full?) set of Lectrolite combos from 3/8 to 1 1/4" that I picked up really cheap since they were spray bombed red, no doubt by a company or fleet. Probably originated as a tool crib set. The ad was terrible and the seller thought they were just cheap junk, akin to the typical jobsite import "Jet" or "Westward" raised panels (which are totally functional and pretty good quality TBH).

These adorn my shop wall above one of the workbenches and are my "go to" wrenches when I'm too lazy to walk to the tool cabinet. I thought about stripping the red paint off them as they are in excellent condition, but they are daily users.

I believe the set originated as full Lectrolite, but there are 2 SK-Lectrolites and 1 SK-Wayne that were probably replacements for the originals that went missing or got stolen along the way.

I really like the larger sizes (3/4" and up). They have a great feel/weight in the hand and the beams are really beefy - great for pulling/reefing hard on **** without cutting into the hands. Due to their bulk, probably better suited to dirty/rough tasks found in industrial settings.

I like em!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Very nice
I would clean paint off!

 

[d42jeep]

I’m with OTG on the red paint. They are top quality, attractive wrenches and losing the red paint would really make them stand out on your wall display. Here is my S-K Lectrolite roll.
-Don

 

[Shelbylex]

Got one more for my set: 3006
Now I am up to 3001, 3002, 3003, 3005, 3006 (the rest are posted above). I suspect 3007 would be harder to find (a lot of others, but few of those on e-bay suggests they were not as common...

 

[Fred Knox]

Picked up this Lectrolite needle-nose pliers (6 1/2" length) recently. No other markings on either side. Based on DadsTools' comments above, I would assume that these are pre-1953. Its logo is diamond shaped, if that helps date it some more. Really in excellent shape for the vintage.

 

[d42jeep]

Fred,
Nice pliers. Thanks for bumping this thread. I forgot to post the #3004 cad plated DBE wrench I picked up at an estate sale last Wednesday. It looks better post evaporust but I need to take a picture.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is the cleaned up DBE plus two more combos I found at a garage sale today.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Lectromium?

 

[four.cycle]

!