Mystery Vice Grips

[AntiqueBen]

Yeah, seems like a stretch on that theory. Why change tooling? Doesn't make a lot of sense. There's got to be a reason. Who knows, you could be right? Here's my Patent Pending no 9's.

 

[4xdog]

Any of the patents I have were called "patent pending" by my companies at every stage of the process before the patent issued (if they were talked about at all). None of my stuff was ever called "patent applied for" by my employers.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Datamp seems to think the no 9's should be marked with the patent #2,388,580 & the no 7's marked Patent Pending. But my no 9's say Patent Pending?
See patent HERE
See Datamp info HERE on no 9's

 

[AntiqueBen]

Anyone know anything about these Reinhard McCabe Co lever wrench/pliers?? I can't find anything on Datamp about these. I found a few things about Reinhard McCabe on Google Books but nothing specific about tools. Not seeing much anywhere online either. The construction of these are unique. Would like to know more about when they were made.
Anyone seen these before?

 

[SiteReader]

My father had a pair of those in the toolbox in the 1950s. (Wish I'd kept them.) There were a lot more square nuts around then, before almost everything became hex. I suspect that was the need for the parallel faces, to avoid rounding off.

 

[WisJim]

I found a pair of No 9 BMC pliers yesterday at a small town antique shop. Nice shape, the plastic is in better condition than my other pair.

 

[WisJim]

I found my other pair of BMC pliers--they are not marked with a size or model number but are about 7" long. The larger one is marked "No.9". With them side by side, there are noticeable differences between them and how they are made, probably variations in the patents they are based on. One of mine is marked "patent applied for" and the other "patent pending". I need to look at the patent drawings more.

 

[RTM]

I scored a pair of these last weekend, not noticing that the screw was frozen in the knurled nut. Anyone know of a way to look inside see what’s going on? Not looking into cutting out rivets, or removing the plastic, yet. Have not started spraying Kroil etc yet into it. The Boos is getting the treatment now.



Oops, just found this link, with a cutaway view. Looks like tapping the back end may not work. What is supposed to keep the threaded rod s from rotating? Does it attach to the cross bar that marks the sizes?

looking for info on an older tool

got this from my grandfathers collection after he passed. just kinda curious if anyone knew much about it and could share some info about who made it and maybe about how old it might be. i think its pretty cool looking and one of the few things i grabbed when they were sorting things out. thanks

www.garagejournal.com

@Mark Stansbury , can you grab a copy of that literature for the ITCL?

Mine are 7”, Patent Appld For

 

[LesserSon]

@RTM
I bought one in 2021 (post 57) that was jammed. I think there was twine or something similar wrapped around the screw. and inside the nut or whatever. I did eventually get it picked out, I think through the top opening.
I haven’t handled them in a while, but that post mentions a weld or braze, that may bear on what you’re asking about the indicator and knob.

 

[RTM]

@RTM
I bought one in 2021 (post 57) that was jammed. I think there was twine or something similar wrapped around the screw. and inside the nut or whatever. I did eventually get it picked out, I think through the top opening.
I haven’t handled them in a while, but that post mentions a weld or braze, that may bear on what you’re asking about the indicator and knob.

Thanks, I looked at the former joint between the screw and the rod, not much signs of a weld or other attachment point. I think my first goal will be to try to break the screw loose, then worry about the connection point. Almost looks like it may have been a crimp or something that spun out when the screw froze.

 

[Mark Stansbury]

I have scanned a BMC brochure, which came from Petersen Manufacturing Co. competitor research files.
BMC Precision Pressure Lock Wrench
Also have a scan of Botnick Motor Corp. brochure

 

[LesserSon]

I finally found a No9, and cleaned it up. Sadly, it’s a bit snaggletoothed, but still useable.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was planning to eventually "fake" the BMC offset screwdriver boxes that @Oldtuleguy and @LesserSon have (see posts #52 and #59 on page 2) by finding a suitable cardboard box, printing the labels, pasting them on, and distressing the edges, a la this convincing Pexto Radio Socket Wrench Set No. 2 box simulacrum. But I found one cheap!

As Murphy's Luck would have it, it's for Phillip bits. I have collected six (6) of the seemingly much more common BMC offset screwdrivers with regular bits, but I don't have any with Phillips bits and I have never seen one in the wild. (I'm considering this a small and easy enough detail to overlook in the grander scheme of things). It's missing the insert to hold a set of three (3), for three different size bits, just like the regular types, which also came in three different sizes, and in sets of three in the same boxes, but we're just going to use it for bulk storage.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...but I don't have any with Phillips bits and I have never seen one in the wild.

Almost as if I conjured one into existence and placed it in my future path, the ol' GJ talk-about-it-and-it-will-come magic was in play this morning at my flea market, where I found this B.M.C. offset screwdriver with a Phillips bit! Looks like a #2.

 

[LesserSon]

Yay! Now you can rekindle the search for a straight bit box.
Or photoshop images of the one you have, deleting “Phillips.”

 

[LesserSon]

Last weekend, I was delighted to acquire a No11 for $5 from a flea vendor who generally prices things a bit high for me. It had some black crusty blotches that looked like expanding rust but wasn’t, and they were sticking closed (spring wasn’t pulling jaw open), so maybe that was the reason. Today I massaged and jiggled them with solvent until they loosened up, and got the goo off the surface. The three sizes shown all have the patent number (2388580) and a model number. Like the No9, the No11 states “other patents pending” with a modified linkage, but also also bears a stamped “BMC” logo and an additional rivet, to which the spring is attached. In the No7, the spring passes through a shaft in the plastic spacer, and in the No9, the spring attaches to a tab on the spacer itself. That’s three different types of spacers.
My other four grips are all 7”, but none bear the model number or patent number - all have “patent pending”.

Maybe someone else has previously pointed this out, but the other thing the No11 allowed me to see is that the two outer steel plates are identical, not just in profile, but completely identical, right down to being stamped on the same side. This is only visible because of where the stamps are located - the red plastic handle spacer and the adjustment screw obscure view of the other stamps.
I would guess the other sizes are the same way, though maybe the earlier “patent applied for” ones could have been made with stamped and nonstamped halves, before someone decided it would be more cost effective to produce all identical pieces.