My Small But Growing 1/4" drive Socket Set Collection

[RTM]

Oops, this should be in General, will try to ask there.

 

[Dave455]

I was putting some things away that had been piling up. In one of the drawers were these three mid 40's sets. Craftsman had a volatile supplier list right around WWII. Husky circle H, Plomb circle U and early Moore Drop Forge beveled socket set.

I love the look of the Husky set far left.

You can see why folks got into Craftsman. Awesome to see the three together.

Some indestro select

I love the styling of these too.

So many modern sets seem to be designed with electronic assembly or somesuch in mind. Many of the handles are quite dainty, and the materials often seem suited to clean environments only.

The majority of these vintage U.S. made sets (that I’ve been enjoying looking at) seem to be aimed at proper mechanics!

 

[genog]

I bought this Stanley 1/4" set recently

Only because it's complete....
...made in the good ole USA....
...and the price was right

 

[Beerhippie]

Not sure just where this little find should go... it's a 1/4" socket set, it's a set of 1/4" hex drive bit drivers, it's a set of drill bits....



The sockets are All Trade. The bottom tier is metric, missing 4.5, 5 and 6mm. Second tier is SAE, missing 1/4, 11/32, and 1/2". Third tier is the driver bits, comprehensive (it even has a T27--I don't think I've seen that before), missing only the 9/32" standard bit. Top tier is fractional drill bits, missing... everything.

Amusing is the 1/4" hex socket on top--oh, yeah, I'm gonna use this thing as a screwdriver....

I think I'll top it up with various orphans and let it live on the benchtop for easy access... and 'cause it looks cool. The Tower o' Tools.

 

[four.cycle]

missing 4.5, 5 and 6mm. missing 1/4, 11/32, and 1/2"

^ I am assuming 1/4" square drive?

I have:

4 mm
4.5 mm
5 mm
6 mm
7 mm
8 mm
9 mm
10 mm
11 mm
12 mm x 2

3/16"
7/32"
1/4" x 2
9/32"
5/16" x 2
11/32"
3/8"

(all Asian imports) - yours for shipping.

I was selling "Alltrade" in early 1989. Mostly air-powered tools. Gave my "salesman samples" to a buddy who is still using a few.

 

[JonahBrown]

Craftsman 9/32" square drive SAE socket set

"C" series - manufactured by Snap-on, ca. 1932-1936

the set contains:

C7 - 7/32" 12-point
C8 - 1/4" 12-point
C10 5/16" 12-point
C11 11/32" 12-point
C12 3/8" 12-point
CM14 7/16" 12-point
C08 1/4" 8-point
C010 5/16" 8-point
V94 - sliding "T" handle
C95 - 6-inch extension

there is no 9/32" socket in this set. I do not know if the box is original to the set.

I have a transitional Handyset which has the midget set in that box. All tools are C-series.

 

[Tom "Python" Aycock]

I'm seeking a USA 1/4 drive Blackhawk socket box. Preferably the New Britain or Litton years. I've got sockets with no home and I haven't found any boxes in the wild! I'll post this on the tool wanted page if I can figure out that process again...

 

[Smokeshow69]

Neighbor knows I'm into old tools and recently gave me this 9/32nds Williams set. Ratchet is snap on midget.

 

[z28lsc]

These are some of my 1/4 sets.
P&C

plomb


None Better

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here's a parx set

 

[four.cycle]

^ I had one of those little "Par-X" ratchets and it had an amazingly smooth action. Opened it up to find it used a plastic pawl inside, which I thought rather interesting. Sent it down to @Chrome Vanadium Cody before he fell off the planet.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Hmmmm. Maybe I will take it apart. It is smooth.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Duro 1/4 set

 

[four.cycle]

^ I found it rather curious that the internal workings of the little "PAR-X" were almost identical to those of the 6072 Indestro (4582 Duro Chrome) with the exception of the pawl: Duro/Indestro's is metal, the PAR-X is plastic.

That's a really cherry Duro set there.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Loves me some nice duro. Most under rated tool company

 

[four.cycle]

^ I think a good deal of that has to do with perception (as opposed to reality.) Indestro/Duro supplied Montgomery Ward, J.C. Penney, and Western Auto - for decades. It is possible that "guilt by association" may be a factor: those retailers positioned themselves and were seen by the buying pubic as "the lower-priced alternative", which is generally associated (by the buying public) with "lower quality".
Very rarely is it noted that Duro/Indestro was quite possibly one of the largest - if not the largest - in terms of net volume - tool manufacturer on the planet for at least two decades.

 

[esben57]

I'm seeking a USA 1/4 drive Blackhawk socket box. Preferably the New Britain or Litton years. I've got sockets with no home and I haven't found any boxes in the wild! I'll post this on the tool wanted page if I can figure out that process again...

I have this New Britain box with sockets (mostly NB)
I am on the other side of the pond though.

 

[demiandvm]

I picked up this Fleet 1/4 " drive socket set at a Restore Store. Case and tools are in excellent shape for being used. I know its thought of as a budget brand, but it is USA made and perfectly functional and of course the presentation in that red case I couldn't pass up

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I think a good deal of that has to do with perception (as opposed to reality.) Indestro/Duro supplied Montgomery Ward, J.C. Penney, and Western Auto - for decades. It is possible that "guilt by association" may be a factor: those retailers positioned themselves and were seen by the buying pubic as "the lower-priced alternative", which is generally associated (by the buying public) with "lower quality".

I don't disagree with these points at all. To wit, I have directed you to this thread before...

Vintage Tool Brand Assessments

Getting right to the point, in the past few weeks here on GJ I have seen Bonney called "decent", Blackhawk given a “4” on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 was the best and 5 the worst, and Blackhawk and Bonney both relegated like a pair of winless English football teams to "second tier” behind Premier...

www.garagejournal.com

...in which I tallied the number of times the Ordnance Dept used a manufacturer's model number in lieu of a government specification for a type of tool, range of tools, or tool-set in their wartime ORD 5 - a sort of master catalog of hand tools.

Duro-Chrome fared very respectably well, right in the midst of a very small pack of the biggest names, which tails off very quickly into all other also-rans being cited maybe once or twice...

Mfgr (# of times they are cited as a spec source)
Williams (55)
Bonney (48, with 5 of those entries being for 15-, 16-, 20-, 23- and 30-pc wrench and socket sets)
Snap-On (48)
Herbrand (32)
Plomb (26)
Duro-Chrome (13)
Blackhawk (7, with 1 of those entries being a 100-pc wrench and socket set)
New Britain (5)

If you go into the thread and scroll down, I provide a chart that decomposed the numbers into the types of tools each mfgr was generally cited for. Completely unsurprisingly, and completely apropos of this subject popping up on this particualr thread, Duro-Chrome was cited for midget sockets drive tools!

I think NB suffers a similar fate as Sears, Roebuck & Co's CRAFTSMAN supplier in the 30's and 40's, and I think judging them on that is equally as misguided. BE and (H) were equivalent to the highest quality tools.

Very rarely is it noted that Duro/Indestro was quite possibly one of the largest - if not the largest - in terms of net volume - tool manufacturer on the planet for at least two decades.

I am not challenging you on this. You very well could be right. I am curious which two decades you are referring to, though.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked up this Fleet 1/4 " drive socket set at a Restore Store.

Nice find - especially because it was in the wild, as we like to say.

I know its thought of as a budget brand, but it is USA made and perfectly functional and of course the presentation in that red case I couldn't pass up

You didn't mention it's complete, with an intact near-minty decal, and an intact very good inner lid label. You will find no shortage of Fleet fans here with no caveats necessary. And that's a stunner!

 

[four.cycle]

which two decades

^ a very rough two decades: post-war to mid-60s. late 1940s (after the wartime metals restrictions were lifted and they really got full production cranked back up) to late 1960s (possibly even into very early 1970s, before we were flooded with offshore imports.)
That statement came from reading an article about Gertrude clipped from an old newspaper. I may well be reading too much into the statement in the article, but I don't think I am.

Absolutely spot-on comment regarding N/B. When I first received the 1/4" drive NB "Circle H" and "BE" sets, I was actually quite surprised by the fit and finish - really really nice stuff.

@Tom "Python" Aycock - I have huge cardboard boxes full of socket set boxes here. No idea what I was thinking. Shipping on them is nutty - I checked shipping costs on some for @Outlawmws - costs me almost $25 bucks to ship a large (20-inch) 1/2" drive box. Boxes for 1/4" drive stuff I can ship for $12 bucks. I have no "Blackhawk" boxes - only generic/no-name for 1/4" drive.

@demiandvm - I believe I have/had that same "Fleet" set in the red steel box. Actually pretty good tools.

 

[d42jeep]

I picked up this Fleet 1/4 " drive socket set at a Restore Store. Case and tools are in excellent shape for being used. I know its thought of as a budget brand, but it is USA made and perfectly functional and of course the presentation in that red case I couldn't pass up

I flipped this Fleet 3/8” drive set a few years back when I was selling on eBay. As I recall, it went for decent money.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a post Heritage =v= 1/4” drive set I found at Saturday’s estate sale. I cleaned it up and added a socket. It came with a crossbar.
-Don

 

[Stubby1743]

I bought this partial Craftsman BE 1/4" set this morning at my local car boot sale. The box in black crackle paint has the remains of a "Craftsman Tools" decal inside the lid. I doubt that I will find any of the missing pieces here in the UK.

 

[INSP380]

I’ve had this Stanley set for years on my bench. A neat lil set that hardly gets any use. Not the best, but certainly not the worst. Works great for traveling the house doing little assembly projects.

Steve

 

[d42jeep]

I’m not sure what Craftsman 1/4” drive set would have come with this short 1/4” drive spinner.
-Don

 

[Ayrhead]

I’m not sure what Craftsman 1/4” drive set would have come with this short 1/4” drive spinner.
-Don

That’s definitely different. I haven’t seen one that short. Kewl find!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here's a duro set, looked pretty old

 

[DAustin]

Found this set at an antique sale today. Any idea of the year?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Prewar to wartime 9/32-inch drive with that T-bar (last shown in 1942 catalog), which they started phasing out as they introduced 1/4-inch drive in 1943. The tools should have a date code, D.

 

[DAustin]

Prewar to wartime 9/32-inch drive with that T-bar, which they started phasing out as they introduced 1/4-inch drive in 1943. The tools should have a date code, D.

Thanks.

 

[Tom "Python" Aycock]

Anybody ever seen a 1/4 drive socket box like this one? It came with 1/4 drive Thorsen sockets, ratchet, extension but I've never seen a box like this. Its got actual glass in the upper top. Its slightly larger than a 1955 Thorsen No. 1416S box. Its a blue crinkle like a Kraeuter box.

Just curious.

 

[four.cycle]

YES I have - in an ebay listing. But it was so weird, and so long ago, I only vaguely remember it.
It was NOT shaped like yours. It was more.... flattish ... and had a bigger footprint .... like ... 7" x 9" maybe ... but flatter than a regular 1/4" drive set box. With a glass window on the top. Go figure, huh?

 

[Tom "Python" Aycock]

YES I have - in an ebay listing. But it was so weird, and so long ago, I only vaguely remember it.
It was NOT shaped like yours. It was more.... flattish ... and had a bigger footprint .... like ... 7" x 9" maybe ... but flatter than a regular 1/4" drive set box. With a glass window on the top. Go figure, huh?

Did it have sockets in it? I can't imagine a use for this heavy of metal type box except sockets and such but that glass in the top combined with sockets, yeesh. Thinking there must have been a pilfer proof plastic insert for it...wonders of wonders for sure. I didn't Google Lens it so I'll go try that.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

It was a display thing. Someone was trying to sell one on ebay for quite a bit

 

[four.cycle]

It was a Thorsen box, right?

Counter display would make sense.

Now you're making me wonder if I should have bought it when I saw it......





.... no... I should not have.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here's one on ebay now

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[RTM]

Here's one on ebay now

Pardon Our Interruption...

That even has the same poorly formed pop rivet as Tom’s.

 

[four.cycle]

That's the one. larger than I remembered.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Only a 100$!