Old Walden Worcester

[four.cycle]

Private Lugnutz -

The 39120-20 sets are on the way as of a couple hours ago, along with Don's spinner and 5/16" combo wrench.

Waiting for me at the post office were a couple packages. One of them contained a 1/2" x 9/16" "ell" socket wrench I ordered about a week ago, simply because it looked rather interesting.
The seller had no idea who made it. There are no marks on it anywhere that might indicate manufacturer or vintage.
I dug around and the closest thing I could find was a model 395 Walden Worcester listed a 1920 hardware catalog. I shot the photo image to the seller and he came right back with "Nope! It can't be a 395 Walden, because I own one of those and they're way different!"

According to one of his most recent communications, his wife told him he had too many tools, so along with the unit I purchased from him, he tossed in the 395 Walden at no charge.

My questions to you, then, are "Who made this?" and "Is your Walden board short the model 395?"

 

[d42jeep]

Where's the lightbulb emoji?! It has the exact same contents (quantity of sockets, sizes, and number of points, quantity and type of handles) as the 1108-1 sets. The 39120-20 sets might be the pre-war version. Or it might be contemporary to the 1108-1 sets but not Aviation Bureau. Could be Ships. Or Dockyards. US Navy Bureaus were just as parochial as Army Signal Corps vs Army Corps of Engineers about things like that.


Just to clarify, I'm not saying it doesn't look military. I was saying that I never considered it to be military because it's just not known as military in the wartime military tools world, so I just always assumed it was some weird commercial set. Now that you've made the connection, its appearance is not un-military at all. Plain tools, green box, etc.

EDIT: By the way, the sockets in the set look less unlike wartime Walden than I first thought. They're not the same. But they're not different enough to think it improbable. The two bands of ribbed knurling looks similar to the two bands of ribbed knurling on the early war sockets. I'll have to dig out some prewar Walden. The tapering on them smacks of earlier.

There was a socket similarly marked in my new RTEC set. I need to check to see if it’s 1/4” drive.
-Don

I checked my 3/8” socket today. It is 9/32” drive and looks just like BK’s 9/32” 12 point set. It even has traces of the cad plating left. I haven’t seen any 9/32” drive tools in the Navy NAF 1944 catalog, all the midget listings are 1/4” but there were plenty of other agencies still using 9/32” drive.
-Do

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A stowaway! Haha.

 

[Southern83]

Picked this wrench up at a pawn shop this weekend.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

My questions to you, then, are "Who made this?" and "Is your Walden board short the model 395?"

My answers are, "I don't know - but, the number of possibilities are fairly small if we really wanted to explore it," and "I don't have a Walden board." The hardware store display boards I have are Mossberg, Bonney, Billings, and Billings.

EDIT: Thanks for the PM ping, and sorry for missing this the first time around, but I stopped reading after, "The 39120-20 sets are on the way..."

 

[four.cycle]

Ah! For some reason I thought you had a Walden board too!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Ah! For some reason I thought you had a Walden board too!

Perhaps because of post #124 on page 7. But that's just a display I made with a pegboard, one of my favorite Walden ads from your Walden ad stash for color, qty four (4) 25xx Offset Wrenches and qty four (4) 26xx Tee Wrenches.

 

[four.cycle]

yes.. the Walden "postage stamp" ads!

well... I have a model 395 Walden "ell" wrench that's an orphan here.

 

[Ticotiger14]

Pick up this 4-way socket wrench
Model 1452 Walden Worcester
Sockets are not size marked but AA says they are 5/8,11/16,3/4 & 7/8”
Patent date oct. 22, 1918

 

[four.cycle]

Very interesting find.

The patent number is 1282028 issued Oct. 22 1918 to Warren S. Bellows, who was running things at Walden Worcester at that time. The patent actually applies to the manner in which the sockets are attached to the shaft, not the design of that particular unit.
(see https://datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?number=1282028&typeCode=0 )

The earliest catalog listings I have for the model 1452 Walden Worcester Four Way Rim Wrench are in the 1927 Belknap and 1927 Wyeth hardware catalogs.
Both catalogs show the unit as having 5/8", 11/16", 3/4", and 7/8" socket openings. The Wyeth catalog notes that "individual sockets may be replaced."



I have nothing showing the model 1452 after 1927.

The 1927 Honeyman catalog shows a model 1453 Four Way Rim Wrench, having the same size socket openings, but this model has a "steel grip in center", presumably freely rotating on the shaft if I am interpreting the illustration correctly.



The 1929 Farwell Ozmun Kirk & Co. catalog shows the model 1453, and notes that "individual sockets can easily be replaced".



The 1932 and 1935 Farwell Ozmun Kirk & Co. catalogs both list the model 1453, giving it much less page space than in the 1929 issue.
Of note is the wholesale price of the unit dropping $1.00 between 1932 and 1935. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that by 1935 the handwriting was on the wall for the "Four Way Rim Wrench". Marketing managers probably figured out it was going the way of the wagon wheel. Perhaps it had something to do with the weight of the unit more than doubling over the course of 8 years.



This post would not be complete without a contemporaneous image of repairs from the same era being effected. This one seemed appropriate, even if it doesn't appear to involve changing wheels:



Based on only the scant catalog coverage that I have, I'd posit that your most recent acquisition was made no later than 1927. Of course, that's just wild speculation on my part.

As an aside: the 1929 Shapleigh Hardware Co. catalog shows similar models manufactured by "Copperhead" (model 4100) and "Blackhawk" (model 5104), both having the same size sockets as the Walden Worcester models 1452 and 1453.

 

[Ticotiger14]

Great info, thanks

 

[bmwrd0]

4C, where did you find that last picture? I wouldn't mind blowing it up to make a poster out of. It would look very nice in my shop.

 

[four.cycle]

Could not even guess... probably lifted it from an ebay listing.
send me a good email addy via P/M. I have a few 'Judge' cover images. great artwork. I have an affinity for flappers. Maybe because my grandmother was one.

 

[c1504]

I picked up this sweet box at a swap meet last weekend for free. Walden stuff isn’t that common in my neck of the woods so I was kind of excited to find it

 

[MR.X]

MR.X
Please check out my questions to you on the 'small but growing DBE collection' thread.

Here's a Plomb 4 point 5422-S, 39 date code with a similar numbering system as the Walden set in question.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks for that, X. Given that the 39XXX-** system spanned 9/32-inch drive, 1/2-inch drive, and DBE wrenches, at least, it was obviously a wider agency-level prewar system. Just still so curious that it has stayed so unknown for so long.

 

[MR.X]

Thanks for that, X. Given that the 39XXX-** system spanned 9/32-inch drive, 1/2-inch drive, and DBE wrenches, at least, it was obviously a wider agency-level prewar system. Just still so curious that it has stayed so unknown for so long.

Happy to help.

 

[MR.X]

ref. the 39XXX-** Walden set here's a vintage single open end Williams with same numbering format.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Wow. Cool. Is that yours? I'm trying to think of what the "Hornet" could signify. The Navy did not have a Hornet airplane prewar or in WWII. They had a USS Hornet aircraft carrier that was sunk in 1943, and they renamed another one USS Hornet later. The serifs on that rather outlandish marking smack of prewar to me. But I'm just spitballin'.

 

[MR.X]

yes. I'm no expert but there was a B.G. Corporation that made "Hornet" aviation spark plugs back in the day.

 

[MR.X]

OK, I looked it up and at bgservice.com/history there's a brief history including the WW2 "major supplier of spark plugs to the U.S. miliary" bit.

 

[MR.X]

I agree it was probably issued a little bit prewar.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks. I wasn't sure what that B.G. was. Cool wrench.

 

[Provincial]

An Pratt & Whitney made the "Hornet" aircraft engine, which was bigger than the "Wasp."

I thought Hornet wrenches were made by Williams. I have a yellow/black socket box that people tell me was Hornet.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It is a Williams. He posted here because of the Walden 39120-20 midget socket set discussion.

 

[MR.X]

I'm vaguely familiar with William's Hornet (line/brand) socket set but I don't think there's any reason to believe that has anything to do with the B.G. Hornet spark plug marking stamped on this Williams wrench. There are also B.G. Hornet offset box end spark plug wrenches that pop up on ebay from time to time.

 

[Provincial]

BG had many spark plug designs during that era. Basically, up until the late 1920's spark plugs went from larger to smaller in overall size. The base hex size also became smaller, and the mounting thread standardized at 18MM. After 1930, the smaller 14MM thread showed up in smaller engines, especially those made by Franklin.

During WWII, most base hex sizes were 7/8". This continued on after the war.

Shielded ignition became more common in the 1920's, especially in military aircraft. This limited interference with radio navigation and communications. Shielded plugs often had hex sizes different from unshielded plugs.

BG used wafers of mica for insulation, rather than porcelain. Their plugs were made in three main components, a base (which included the mounting threads, hex body, and the ground electrodes, which were a separate piece swedged into the base), an insulated electrode, and a retaining nut to hold the electrode into the base. Copper gaskets sealed the parts.

BG plugs could be overhauled many times. They even replaced the ground electrodes at "factory" overhauls! Being able to disassemble the plug was a big factor. In those days (mid-1920's until after WWII) almost all plugs had four ground electrodes, so getting into the center electrode area to clean out deposits was extremely difficult without disassembling the plug. High-octane (highly leaded) gasoline caused major lead deposits that shorted out plugs, and octane ratings rose from about 65 to 145 during that time.

All this is to explain why BG wrenches have many opening sizes. There were several base hex sizes, several insulator nut hex sizes, and several hex sizes for the shielded ignition nuts.

 

[MR.X]

If anyone decides they want to research the military angle of that Walden socket set I've dug up a few more examples of 39XXX tools if anyone wants to PM me or start a new thread.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Done!.

 

[leg17]

I realize this is somewhat out of place, but to continue the BG wrench comments.......
Both wrenches have the O forge mark.

 

[MR.X]

I realize this is somewhat out of place, but to continue the BG wrench comments.......
Both wrenches have the O forge mark.

I saw that too....didn't want to drag this thread farther down the hole but....good eye.

 

[Provincial]

I picked up a T-handle 1/2 drive at the flea yesterday. It is completely unmarked. The handle bends are identical to the many early Walden T-handles I own, but they all have integral sockets.

The drive end of this one seems to be like the late Stevens-Walden T-handle shown in the 1954 catalog, except that one has a rotating handle on the shaft. Perhaps this one is from the 1930-1940 era?

The swedge for the retaining ball is very distinctive, perhaps that will help identify it.

 

[Provincial]

Yesterday, I came across an early wrench of the type made popular by Walden Worcester, however, it is not marked Walden. It is marked "Stevens New York. The round shank connects two back-to-back sockets, giving the wrench four openings, which measure 1/2, 19/32, 5/8, and 11/16. This is unusual for Walden designs, but they did list one with larger openings.

It is known that Stevens Company bought out (merged with) Walden in 1926. Prior to that, Stevens, under the "Speed-Up" trademark, sold a great variety of specialty tools for maintaining and repairing Ford Model T cars and TT trucks. The Stevens logo was an S in a triangle, surrounded by an outer ring containing the words "Stevens New York". The trademark showed the words "Speed-Up" being emitted from this logo.

The Stevens Speed-Up catalog T-106 (available on Internet Archive), dated 1923, contains "Spintite" nutdrivers, apparently obtained from Walden. It is possible (and due to the later takeover, likely) that Stevens obtained a certain access to Walden products during the 1920-21 bankruptcy proceedings.

The T-106 catalog also lists a four-way wrench (T-460) of similar design on catalog page 13. This wrench is slightly different in that the outer surfaces of the sockets are hexagon, perhaps stamped steel, like early Mossberg sockets. No opening sizes are listed, but it brags of fitting the common bolts on Model T Fords.

My wrench has what appears to be Walden-design forged sockets. I did find a later Stevens-Walden catalog on Ebay that shows a wrench (T-460) like mine for Model A Fords, which would make it no earlier than 1928, and since there are no listing for V8 tools, probably earlier than 1932. It is listed under "Walden-Worcester Wrenches." It lists the openings as 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, and 11/16.

My wrench is probably the same as the Ebay listing, and the 9/16 opening is either stretched out or was made sloppy.

The interesting thing about this wrench is the markings. There is a box outline that contains the logo, which is a tall S bracketing the "TEVEN" and "NEW YORK" lettering on each side.

The photos show the tale:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Neat find.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

That’s a cool wrench.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[Targa68]

Have this cadmium plated Walden-Worcester "Boxtite" I believe started it's life as a No. 2122, 11/16''.

However this has been grinded off and it has been re-struck with 18mm and No. 8218. I looks factory as the areas grinded is plated.
Was this common practice?






Thank you!

​

 

[BobbyP413]

I've had a 1" hex drive socket set sitting in my garage for a while, just waiting for when I find a good deal on a ratchet for it

 

[MisterEd]

Where does this fit in the Walden Worcester chronology. The knurled twisty knob seems like a step backward.

 

[saukit]

Ok I just stumbled across this thread, found a couple Steven’s spintite drivers yesterday. Is this thread where they belong?

 

[Provincial]

Yes!