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

[Provincial]

While I don't know anything specific about Allison Engine tools, I do know that aircraft engine designers of that era were known for including custom fasteners and adjusting mechanisms in their engines that required special tools.

One theory is that the engineers were stretching their capacities to get the desired performance. Another is that they wanted to make their designs unique ("cool") so they embellished them with these details.

Then again, perhaps the special tool requirement was to keep unauthorized persons from tinkering with things they had no business touching.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Could that odd Mickey Mouse eared Plomb piece be some kind of adjustment tool using the 1/4" drive end as the drive end? Something that wouldn't require a lot of torque such as adjusting a carburetor?

Nice Williams set ssdave!

Still ignoring Lugz and his Firesticks.

 

[Provincial]

I would like to see a photo of the valve adjusting screws on an Allison. If they had 1/4" square male heads, that tool is likely for that purpose.

Edit: I looked online and found several photos of Allison valve trains. All have slotted adjusters that would use a straight-bladed screwdriver, so no joy on this.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I wondered that myself

 

[Provincial]

According to wikipedia, a number of allison w1710 powered p51 fighters were given to England around 1940, which may explain why it came from there.

England got some Allison-powered P-40's, too. Allison-powered P-38's were common in England all through the US participaton, with two engines per aircraft!

Allison V-1710's were obsolete by the end of WWII and it is likely that all spares and tools were surplused/scrapped where they were last used.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

I forgot to post this along with the rest of my Craftsman 1/4". The rat fits in the box but I'm not sure if it came in the set. The Deluxe Set in the 42 catalog shows a regular rat with the 1/4" drive stuff. I've also seen an amber handled 1/4" drive speeder which isn't in the Deluxe Set. Leads me to believe the amber handles were possibly available individually in retail stores.

 

[CRTDI]

Not much info on this plomb set. Looks like ae contract kit of some sort.

Nice....all sorts of cool stuff in this set....

X-posting this Firestone set (my first ever!) from the Plomb thread...

This is worth repeating....And for those you that have a 1/4" Firestone set.....Y'all just ****....

I forgot to post this along with the rest of my Craftsman 1/4". The rat fits in the box but I'm not sure if it came in the set. The Deluxe Set in the 42 catalog shows a regular rat with the 1/4" drive stuff. I've also seen an amber handled 1/4" drive speeder which isn't in the Deluxe Set. Leads me to believe the amber handles were possibly available individually in retail stores.

Mmmmm....amber handles.. I have to agree with your thinking. Looks like the wide head ratchet will fit, but not together with the breaker bar.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I forgot to post this along with the rest of my Craftsman 1/4". The rat fits in the box but I'm not sure if it came in the set. The Deluxe Set in the 42 catalog shows a regular rat with the 1/4" drive stuff. I've also seen an amber handled 1/4" drive speeder which isn't in the Deluxe Set. Leads me to believe the amber handles were possibly available individually in retail stores.

Or added to the set later. There's more going on here comparing your set to the 1942 catalog than the amber handle on the ratchet. The standard midget ratchet in the 1941 and 1942 catalogs was open gear. The ratchet in your set is the Costello patent, the same pattern as its bigger 3/8- and 1/2-inch drive brothers. There are sets out there with that ratchet and no amber handle. My hunch is that in 1943 or 1944 etc, you would see your ratchet as the 1/4-inch drive ratchet, without an amber handle, in the standard sets, and you would see it on the back page, with an amber handle, in the DeLuxe set. Just like you see the Costello pattern 3/8- and 1/2-inch drive ratchets without amber handles in the standards sets, and with the amber handles in the DeLuxe set in the 1942 catalog. I would find someone with the Craftsman Catalogs CD and ask them to check this out in one of the wartime or immediate postwar seasonal catalogs.

Long story short, the real question is, when did Sears Roebuck finally go to the Costello pattern ratchet in the midget set? This - along with why they didn't do it to begin with, has been a question a few of us have wondered before.

 

[gpw_42]

My collection....6 weeks ago, I didn't own a single vintage Snap/On tool!

From top:
Plvmb - Made (see next post)
Craftsman (see next post)
Craftsman (see next post)
Snap/On 1/4"
Snap/On 9/32"
Snap/On 1/4" extras with Walden and STW
Stevens-Walden

 

[gpw_42]

The rest:

Craftsman (H) - 2 sets
Plvmb - Made
Duro-Indestro (which is the cleanest set I own, minus the PO paint job...which I kinda like). Edit: D-I set was omitted from the overview shot.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice! Your Plomb set looks like Username’s postwar set right down to the box. By the way, that pebble flex handle is rare and valuable.
-Don

 

[gpw_42]

That Plvmb set was an estate sale pickup from a couple years ago, before I had an interest in Plvmb, which was before I had a rudimentary understanding of the brand I added the spinner and a couple of the sockets which were missing, to complete its contents.

One of these days, I'll pick up a wartime Plvmb set! First, to complete the 1/4" and 9/32" dr. S/O sets above. Neither should take much, but some attention to detail goes a long way, and the S/O stuff has LOTS of details.

 

[d42jeep]

I did some upgrades and ratchet maintenance to our household postwar Walden sets today so I took a few pictures.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

My collection....6 weeks ago, I didn't own a single vintage Snap/On tool!

From top:
Plvmb - Made (see next post)
Craftsman (see next post)
Craftsman (see next post)
Snap/On 1/4"
Snap/On 9/32"
Snap/On 1/4" extras with Walden and STW
Stevens-Walden

Sounds like you caught the bug!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I did some upgrades and ratchet maintenance to our household postwar Walden sets today so I took a few pictures.
-Don

Looks good!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Picked up another williams husky electrical set, apparently still with the box liner socks.

 

[3baygarage]

Litton Pocket Socket. Only two original sockets in there though.

Circa 1980 ad.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I like how the ratchet head pops out so you can use it as a little finger ratchet

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Wardmaster set of duro/indestro manufacture

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some crescent 1/4 stuff

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Well used Proto los Angeles set. The owner rather stylishly signed the spinner...

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some craftsman circle u goodies

 

[CRTDI]

Otg,

You're on quite a roll. Some very nice additions...

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Damn OTG, the 1/4" socket set fairy is being very kind to you as of late. Nice stuff!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

You can never have too many

 

[Catfishdan]

Time to bump my favorite thread with a new set I put together. I bought the box on eBay and filled it with all the Williams I could gather together. It’s a little mismatched, and the ignition wrenches need some help, but it is full to the gills.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice job, Dan.

Those are cool-looking but very unusual midget pliers. Not the typical Superpliers. The shoulder is very high and the jaws are stepped way down. I like them. I don't believe I have seen them before. What is the model number?

 

[Catfishdan]

Nice job, Dan.

Those are cool-looking but very unusual midget pliers. Not the typical Superpliers. The shoulder is very high and the jaws are stepped way down. I like them. I don't believe I have seen them before. What is the model number?

1519a. I think they’re more modern than the other tools in the set. Much beefier than the average set of ignition pliers as well.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

1519a. I think they’re more modern than the other tools in the set. Much beefier than the average set of ignition pliers as well.

The 30's and 40's pliers were 1519, no "A" suffix, so that makes sense. I really like them.

 

[E430Driver]

Some really nice (and really vintage) stuff in here. Some of you go way out there to find the rare stuff. I just have what I've collected through the years.

Here' s my first 1/4" Drive S-K set from the early '80's. "twertsy" has the same one in his 6+ box pic (post #198) and SevenHills1952 does as well as a "Junior Johnson" Edition. I'm missing one smaller SK short socket but substituted a Craftsman from the same era... Don't really work on much SAE stuff the past few decades. But its surrounded by more of my recent 1/4" metric Snap-On stuff (it'll be vintage someday...).

Everything is all Jap motorcycles these days vs 60-70's Chevy Camaros, Chevelles and Novas so my tools have headed that direction.

And YES, you are seeing FOUR 10mm sockets in this pic: LoL....

Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[oak_park]

"Good Tools make the hands stronger"

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Beautiful set there oak park

 

[d42jeep]

Some really nice (and really vintage) stuff in here. Some of you go way out there to find the rare stuff. I just have what I've collected through the years.

Here' s my first 1/4" Drive S-K set from the early '80's. "twertsy" has the same one in his 6+ box pic (post #198) and SevenHills1952 does as well as a "Junior Johnson" Edition. I'm missing one smaller SK short socket but substituted a Craftsman from the same era... Don't really work on much SAE stuff the past few decades. But its surrounded by more of my recent 1/4" metric Snap-On stuff (it'll be vintage someday...).

Everything is all Jap motorcycles these days vs 60-70's Chevy Camaros, Chevelles and Novas so my tools have headed that direction.

Here is a little earlier but similar S-K 1/4” drive set.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

We were just discussing those pennens related plastic box sets over on the p&c thread. This is my fleet set.

 

[bmwrd0]

Here's the Krauter version of that SK set.

I know the universal doesn't match, but I think the rest is kosher.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice. Looks like it's in great shape.

 

[d42jeep]

Here's the Krauter version of that SK set.

I know the universal doesn't match, but I think the rest is kosher.

Cool set. That’s the first one of that style ratchet I’ve seen in 1/4” drive. I’ll be on the lookout for one of those sets.
-Don

 

[twertsy]

Picked up another williams husky electrical set, apparently still with the box liner socks.

Seriously envious of that set.......I'd love to own one.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Well I have 2 of the williams husky sets if you are looking to wrangle one. Here are some 5/16, 9/32 and a 1/4 set.

 

[twertsy]

Well I have 2 of the williams husky sets if you are looking to wrangle one. Here are some 5/16, 9/32 and a 1/4 set.

I would in fact be interested in a marked Williams-Husky set with the wide-band knurled sockets. Let the proposals fly! [email protected]