Old Walden Worcester

[RTM]

There is no H in Worcester guys! It is pronounce Woosta around here.

My daughter lives in Wooster, and when I use voice typing it auto corrects to Worcester. I had to fix that

 

[Oldsoul]

Is this just a 5/8 socket?

 

[humber2]

Have been presented with a #450 Stevens Walden Worcester today.

Have found similar on AA

Patent shows a fixed socket on the swivelling end, mine is a one piece crowfoot style forging and ,edit, 5/8' stamped on the handle. Not 11/16".

This seems small for head bolts or lug nuts, anyone know the target application?

My version has just the handle nickel plated.

Image possible if you PM me an email address.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This period ad (c/o four.cycle's ad compilations work...) mentions several applications, but all 5/8", humber.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice find, by the way!

The No. 450 offset swivel wrench is one of the three Walden 'Holy Trinity' wrenches for me - and I have never seen any of them in the wild. The other two are the rim wrench with the socket tray box attached to it like a circular tommy gun ammo clip (No. 1451), and the speeder with the hack saw frame like extension with the nut or bolt holder on the end - No. 6316 (1/2") & 6318 (9/16"). Both have the big round ball knob.

 

[humber2]

This period ad (c/o four.cycle's ad compilations work...) mentions several applications, but all 5/8", humber.

That's exactly what I have, thank-you for the imaged ad which has a wide application list.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Glad to help.

 

[d42jeep]

A tool buddy from Tennessee alerted me to another FSN marked Walden 1/4” drive set on eBay. The box is otherwise unpainted with some sort of anti rust finish. It came with a nice black oxide socket set missing only the 7/16” and a matching flex handle.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Your on a roll!

 

[d42jeep]

After searching for the FSN marked sets for so long, it really does feel that way. Both of my recent finds have the earlier 5 hinge elements.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here is an old walden suitcase set no. 28.

 

[3baygarage]

That’s a cool set. It has to be hard to find complete.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I think it is missing the square sockets.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Spotted this ad posted by fourcycle on another thread. It is from circa 1928 and apparently is complete.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Spotted this ad posted by fourcycle on another thread. It is from circa 1928 and apparently is complete.

Great find and the fact it’s a complete set is even better


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[Private Lugnutz]

Here is an old walden suitcase set no. 28.

Very nice, Otg.

I've said this before, but seeing another example prods me to repeat myself. It's interesting, historically, how Mossberg and Walden paced each other in design and innovation and style for so many years like two 600-lb gorillas with very little competition (eventually Blackhawk, and then Snap-on, but not in major way until after the Depression...). For example, here is a link to my VERY similar Mossberg No. 82 suitcase set from the same era (1927, to be exact).

Walden almost made the leap to the other side of the heavy, hot-forged, cold-broached interchangeable sockets gorge (carved by Blackhawk and Snap-on) too late.

Mossberg fell to its demise, forced to join forces with APCO, and never made it to the hot-forged hot-broached promised land.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Yes I think some guys from walden defected and started blackhawk. Walden then sued them claiming they copied their plans.

 

[NoahG]

Walden made the biggest nut drivers I’ve ever seen. Other brands go up to 5/8” but I have an 11/16” and 7/8” spintite. I missed out in a 3/4” a few years back. Haven’t seen a 13/16”.



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[bmwrd0]

Nice! I have a 3/4' wood handled one, but am still looking for an 11/16"s

 

[NoahG]

Most recent acquisitions. The spinner handle came with a 5/16” 8pt




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[d42jeep]

I really like the red spinners a lot. Here are my wife’s household sets.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I picked up this unusual Spintite spinner at a Stateline estate sale today. It’s handle is a slightly smaller diameter than usual and the large shaft tapers down quite a bit at the drive end.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

When I saw this 3/8” drive black oxide ratchet on eBay, I thought that it would be a nice addition to my wartime Walden tools.
-Don

 

[Username already in use]

Nice snag. That’s a nice one.

 

[outofbounds]

When I saw this 3/8” drive black oxide ratchet on eBay, I thought that it would be a nice addition to my wartime Walden tools.
-Don

Is that a New Britain manufactured item?

 

[d42jeep]

I think Walden made them but anything’s possible. Here is a similar one but not as dark. I don’t mind using AA’s photos because it’s the exact same ratchet.
-Don

 

[Provincial]

I have one in chrome, with no markings.

 

[d42jeep]

I did some organizing of Walden sets yesterday and took some pictures. Walden must have made quite a few of these combination 3/8” and 1/4” drive sets because I’ve found all of these in the wild. The last picture is of the Walden storage box which is actually a Craftsman heritage cantilever.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Since I had them out, I took some 1/4” drive set pictures. Others than the red postwar set on the upper right, these are all pretty complete wartime sets in either cad plating or black oxide finish. These wartime sets have the Federal Stock Number on the fronts of the boxes which are kind of rare.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Found this little 3150 at the flea this morning. I think I need it. And I may leave the 'heterochromatic' nuts.

 

[d42jeep]

I’m worried that Bubba may have drilled the threads out of the plate to install those oversized screws. It’s otherwise a nice unplated ratchet. I got one off of eBay recently that was missing one screw so I installed a replacement.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Definitely not original.

 

[Arne73]

I started my own thread on this but prefer to show items in their proper "show us your.." threads.
This set sees a lot of use out in my barn. It ws my mom's uncles set. I grew up in a house that reflected that my dad worked for Sears. I learned that Craftsman meant quality and I tended to think of other brands as inferior.
I've learned that nothing could be further from the truth and appreciate the wide variety of manufactures that are out there and the quality items they produce(d)

I added the 4060 ratchet because I didn't like the way the original 4501 is so easily reversed. I tend to choke up on the ratchet and that rotates the big dial on the back.
Other than a broken deep 9/16 socket, it's complete.

 

[Arne73]

Here are the remaining pictures of my set.

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[Oldtuleguy]

Just so you know, the stickie at the top has links to most of the major threads if you would like to check some of them out. Nice set!

 

[Arne73]

Thanks, I'm on the GJ app, but I'll go back to the ol' PC for advance searches.

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[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, I'm on the GJ app, but I'll go back to the ol' PC for advance searches.

Can users using the GJ mobile app not see the Sticky at the top of the forum? What else is different? I don't use it, so I'm just curious. While I'm at it, what is the supposed advantage of using the GJ mobile app over merely accessing the same website you see on your PC through the browser on your phone?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I don't use the app. Maybe I will try it. Seems to work fine without it.

 

[Arne73]

Can users using the GJ mobile app not see the Sticky at the top of the forum? What else is different? I don't use it, so I'm just curious. While I'm at it, what is the supposed advantage of using the GJ mobile app over merely accessing the same website you see on your PC through the browser on your phone?

After poking around I see where the stickies live, just as they do on the full site. I typically go to my subscribed threads or the unread list.
The GJ app is superior to the Taptalk app IMHO, it's cleaner and less buggy.
The full site is great but it seems to be optimized for the PC.

 

[Arne73]

Walden 4054 Starwheel hand ratchet. It's more gimmicky than useful, its sharp on the hands.

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