Montgomery Ward speed master

[Oldtuleguy]

That looks like an early riverside set don. Very nice shape. Sockets and drive tools in those were typically unmarked.

 

[Rileysan]

Sears makes my brain hurt with some of the wazzoo stuff they did so I'm glad I'm not trying to track what Wards was doing!

That is a rabbit hole no one should attempt - but I'm up to 8 catalogs!

 

[d42jeep]

I found a very cool early Wards complete Chevy valve seat cutting set at a Nevada estate sale on Sunday. The two cutter are marked Wards Supreme Quality inside the MW logo.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here is a wright made 1/4 drive speedmaster set

 

[d42jeep]

That reminds me that this Wards Master Quality 1/2” drive u-joint came as an extra in a recent eBay lot.
-Don

 

[outofbounds]

Was out to pick up a bright green era SK tool box, and after taking an optional detour to avoid waiting on a train on the way home spotted a garage sale sign, and chose to stop by even though I was on a time crunch. Walking up, there were no tools to be seen, but I asked the question nonetheless, the recently widowed woman walked to the back of her garage and produced this cutie. A nice lady, her husband was a local police officer, and she remarked that she bought the box new for him 60 years ago. Not sure of the timeline there, but a delight to have her share her love for her man, and I appreciated the very reasonable price that she offered. I separated out all the "non" Wardmastr stuff and that is pictured separately. Mostly all are older USA tools of merit. What was left is a nearly complete 1/2 drive socket set from 7/16" through 1-1/4" Maybe a Tee handle, universal, and a shorter extension, and and perhaps an original ratchet. (I'll surmise that the P.O. warrantied the original and ended up with the dual marked Thorsen / PowrKraft ratchet that was found as part of the set.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice set. I like it when they come with a personal touch. What is the part number on the ratchet? It may be Wright supplied but I can’t really tell.
-Don

 

[outofbounds]

Nice set. I like it when they come with a personal touch. What is the part number on the ratchet? It may be Wright supplied but I can’t really tell.
-Don

Well, Don,
The ratchet in the posted pics is/was a PowerKraft 4830 00 which also sports a Thorsen 77C selector in the head. I really believe this would have been the way it was supplied. I surmised that it may have been a warranty replacement for the original Wardmastr.

As of today I'm the proud new owner of this Indestro built Wardmastr 52 gear ratchet courtesy a motivated seller on Ebay. Tickled to death for the condition of this beaut.

 

[No Garage]

I have a bunch of my dad's tools since he passed. They've been in the closet of my apartment (no garage) for years. Finally time to divest.

I updated the pics. Not shown 1/2" and 1/4" ratchets, 1/4" socket set, 1/4" sliding t bar, 1/2" speed driver, couple of Wards adjustable and open end wrenches, also Wards chisel and punch. It should all be 1960's-ish.

Reading the rules for the classifieds here caused me to reflect that I'm mostly hoping these find a good home (also too new here to post to classifieds). Lots of people on craigslist seem to be looking for stuff to flip. I haven't delved into ebay yet.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Maybe use the classifieds section or even ebay.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I have this Montgomery Wards Speed Master socket set. Obviously not complete, I'm not sure the 1/4" stuff even came in this tool box.



I have a bunch of my dad's tools since he passed. They've been in the closet of my apartment (no garage) for years. Finally time to divest.



Thought I'd get your comments or opinions on best way to find them a new home and value. The 1/4" ratchet is missing the direction lever.



Too new here to post pic links...trying attachments

Pm sent to you about this box. Thanks


Looking for the following PLVMB/PROTO dual marked combo wrenches- 1208, 1210, 1212, 1224, 1228, 1230, 1240, 1242, 1244, 1246, 1248, 1252

 

[d42jeep]

I have narrowed it down a bit. Late twenties to late 30s wards sold duro indestro sets under the names wards chromium vanadium, wards riverside, wards master quality, master. Late 30s to late 40s saw mostly wright sets, branded speedmaster. Somewhere in there truth pops up under the master brand.. Then the penens made speedmaster. At the same time some wardmaster fors patent ratchets (new britain)pop up. Wright and thorsen emerge supplying powrkraft, but some duro indestro persists under the brand wardmaster. Wards started including a letter code on the ratchets, I for indestro, w for wright and t for thorsen.

Great rundown. A few inconsistencies are that occasionally an Indestro supplied Powr-Kraft socket shows up and some Thorsen supplied drive tools have an H or an N included in the part number. I don’t know why. There isn’t much doubt that Penens supplied this Speedmaster.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

Picked this up a couple of weeks ago as I couldn't resist the logo. Found a slide bar handle for it at a yard sale today.

Speaking of this set. Joco was nice enough to send me this in a trade. I am very excited about it...i have never seen this carry box with this logo before. It is identical in dimenions and construction to my craftsman heritage carry box so I believe it was made by the same manufacturer... the colors are different. I did completely degrease it, remove and fill the rivet hole that is shown on the lower right hand corner and have repainted the outside. I wouldnt have repainted it but it was spray bombed and there wasnt much left of the exterior paint. Plus i dont think this one is a common box. I still need to find a suitable handle because this one is missing. I will give this one the Lugz barn find look to match the original interior paint. I am not entirely satisfied with the wrinkle paint. Those of you guys that can get that wrinkle finish like D42 really have something to be proud of ! Here is how the box looks tonight. paint is still curing but i am going to be doing more to it once dried.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I do need some things still for this 1/2 drive set...it is mostly complete but not totally. Let me know please if you have any of these!

Tools i need to complete the set-
Sockets-1/2, 19/32, 3/4, 25/32, 1-1/16
T bar-(the one pictured is made by wright..maybe someone wants to trade this for their wright made set ?)
extensions-short and long
Hinge handle
Universal joint

Here are the tools after I cleaned them up. They were dirty

 

[Smokeshow69]

I am also working on a 1/4 drive set- I need the following tools as well. I really need the correct box with the embossed lid if someone has one ?? Regardless of condition here is what i need

Sockets-3/16, 7/32, 1/4,3/8,7/16
T handle
Extensions (if these exist ? The catalog i saw didnt show them)
Box with correct embossed logo
Hinge handle (does this exist?)
U joint (does this exist?)

Attached picture of what I have so far

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Looking good Smokes! The wrinkle paint baffles me. There seems (to me at least) to be a lot of variance in "wrinkling" from can to can. It's hit or miss for me.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Very nice. The wards version of the firestone set.

 

[d42jeep]

Speaking of this set. Joco was nice enough to send me this in a trade. I am very excited about it...i have never seen this carry box with this logo before. It is identical in dimenions and construction to my craftsman heritage carry box so I believe it was made by the same manufacturer... the colors are different. I did completely degrease it, remove and fill the rivet hole that is shown on the lower right hand corner and have repainted the outside. I wouldnt have repainted it but it was spray bombed and there wasnt much left of the exterior paint. Plus i dont think this one is a common box. I still need to find a suitable handle because this one is missing. I will give this one the Lugz barn find look to match the original interior paint. I am not entirely satisfied with the wrinkle paint. Those of you guys that can get that wrinkle finish like D42 really have something to be proud of ! Here is how the box looks tonight. paint is still curing but i am going to be doing more to it once dried.

I have had quite a few wrinkle finish attempts fail, especially in cooler weather. I have a couple of sockets. I’ll check the sizes tomorrow.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I have had good luck with a nice thick coat above 80 degrees out. Cooler weather seems to slow the wrinkling.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I have had quite a few wrinkle finish attempts fail, especially in cooler weather. I have a couple of sockets. I’ll check the sizes tomorrow.

-Don

Don and OTG- what is your process? It was 60 degrees here so I would paint outside and then bring the box inside my garage which I heated to 70 degrees. Mine was

Apply the paint about 8-10” from the box
Wait 5 minutes
Use my heat gun on low or high depending on discretion
Wait another 5 minutes and the. Apply another coat.
I did 3 total coats


Looking for the following PLVMB/PROTO dual marked combo wrenches- 1208, 1210, 1212, 1224, 1228, 1230, 1240, 1242, 1244, 1246, 1248, 1252

 

[Smokeshow69]

Very nice. The wards version of the firestone set.

That Firestone set is nice!


Looking for the following PLVMB/PROTO dual marked combo wrenches- 1208, 1210, 1212, 1224, 1228, 1230, 1240, 1242, 1244, 1246, 1248, 1252

 

[Smokeshow69]

Looking good Smokes! The wrinkle paint baffles me. There seems (to me at least) to be a lot of variance in "wrinkling" from can to can. It's hit or miss for me.

Thanks! I have a few upcoming 1/4 drive box restoration attempts to continue to try to hone my wrinkle craft


Looking for the following PLVMB/PROTO dual marked combo wrenches- 1208, 1210, 1212, 1224, 1228, 1230, 1240, 1242, 1244, 1246, 1248, 1252

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I just do one thick coat. 80 degrees + seems best.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I just do one thick coat. 80 degrees + seems best.

I will have to try that next time


Looking for the following PLVMB/PROTO dual marked combo wrenches- 1208, 1210, 1212, 1224, 1228, 1230, 1240, 1242, 1244, 1246, 1248, 1252

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I have had good results with that method. Here's some wards master quality stuff I have been collecting

 

[Smokeshow69]

I am still working on finishing the carry box restoration and barn find look... i will most certainly post photos in the barn find thread...did anyone have a chance to look at my list to see if they have any of the missing tools ? I also would be interested in a carry handle as well if someone had one ?

 

[d42jeep]

I am still working on finishing the carry box restoration and barn find look... i will most certainly post photos in the barn find thread...did anyone have a chance to look at my list to see if they have any of the missing tools ? I also would be interested in a carry handle as well if someone had one ?

Smoke,
Here are my spares. They all have previous owners marks but not too bad. Net me know if you want any of them.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

Well i have added a 1/2 socket to my 1/2 drive set and I have also located a donor handle as well (thanks to Jocosawdust and btrnthatch)... i do need a hinge handle, extensions and a few other things listed ? Anyone have them ?

Tools i need to complete the set-
Sockets- 19/32, 3/4, 25/32, 1-1/16
T bar-(the one pictured is made by wright..maybe someone wants to trade this for their wright made set ?)
extensions-short and long
Hinge handle
Universal joint

 

[Username already in use]

Which of those sets is supposed to include the 1/2" drive drag link bit?

 

[Smokeshow69]

Which of those sets is supposed to include the 1/2" drive drag link bit?

Good question....i dont know...I dont have any catalogs to reference and i have to rely on others...

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I think there was a set of draglink bits, maybe three sizes. Not sure if any came in a socket set.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Well, I have made a bit of progress on the speedmaster carry box I got from Joco...It isnt completley finished as i need to replace the latches from the parts box but I have swapped the handle over.... still need some pieces to complete it but it is looking alot better for the wear. I aged it per Lugz barn find tool box techniques

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Looks great Smokes! I would never peg that as a repaint.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Wait, is that the set from post #32 on page 2?!

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Yup, same set. Big difference!

 

[Smokeshow69]

Wait, is that the set from post #32 on page 2?!

I just posted more pictures in your most helpful thread

 

[Smokeshow69]

Yup, same set. Big difference!

Thanks ! I had fun working on it. Still need to weld on the hasps but it is much more presentable now. These sets are not exactly falling off trees.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Totally convincing. Nice work, Smoke.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Totally convincing. Nice work, Smoke.

Thanks! I find the barn find look to work on boxes that are too far gone to fully retain original paint and also for boxes that have too many dings and dents to be fully restored within my abilities. I like to retain as much of the original paint as I can.

 

[No Garage]

Well i have added a 1/2 socket to my 1/2 drive set and I have also located a donor handle as well (thanks to Jocosawdust and btrnthatch)... i do need a hinge handle, extensions and a few other things listed ? Anyone have them ?

Tools i need to complete the set-
Sockets- 19/32, 3/4, 25/32, 1-1/16
T bar-(the one pictured is made by wright..maybe someone wants to trade this for their wright made set ?)
extensions-short and long
Hinge handle
Universal joint

I may have some of these things. I had a couple of DM's I couldn't reply to yet for lack of meeting the minimum number of posts. I keep finding a few more Wards and Speed Master pieces as I look through boxes. Should have a comprehensive list now, and after posting those in the classifieds will hopefully be able to reply to DM's. Preparing to move so have had some distractions.