A terrific line-up, by the way!
If you mean the codes, the system proposes that the first letter is the month, and that the second letter is the year. The study was done exclusively with wrenches, hundreds of examples. It was discovered that none of them bear any first letters except A through L, or any second letters other than B, C, D, or E. 12 first letters, 4 second letters. Since there is already a known Plomb numerical date code that ended in 1941, it was a perfect fit for a date code from 1942 to 1945. Adding Paschall hammers to the study corpus has been very interesting, and thus far, they're falling into the parameters of the same letter combinations.
It could be my eyes, or the light, or the fact that there is no paint left, but it doesn't look hexagonal. My understanding is they were all originally hexagonal grip. If that's true, it's probably been replaced once. If it is hexagonal and worn or I'm just not seeing it, I would be tempted to try to restore it. Lightly sand with a block along the flats to try to sharpen the hex edges. And I might even be tempted to dip it in some green paint up to the shoulder. Then because I am kooky that way, I'd probably distress it a little to age it. But these are all subjective decisions. Nobody here will judge you for what you do.
Nice haul! I wonder when all those wrenches were made? They don’t seem to have any alleged date codes.Here is all the Plomb from the latest find.
1370 plastic hammer
1150 DBE 1-1/16 x 1-1/8
1145 DBE 15/16 x 1
1230 combo 15/16
1228 combo 7/8
1214 combo 7/16
3425 Tappet 7/16 x 1/2
3047 DOE 15/16 x 1-1/16
3040 DOE 13/16 x 7/8
3034 DOE 5/8 x 11/16
47 3/8 x 3/16 pin punch
47 1/2 x 1/4 pin punch AD date code
5344 1/2 dr. 12-pt. 11/16 deep
5345 1/2 dr. 12-pt. 3/4 deep
5425 1/2 dr. 12-pt. 25/32
5424 1/2 dr. 12-pt. 3/4
5419 1/2 dr. 12-pt. 19/32
5416 1/2 dr. 12-pt. 1/2
5444 1/2 dr. Drag Link
I missed that.
Go for it! The neat thing about the vintage mechanics tools "community", or the one that sort of informally drifts between GJ and eBay and Tool Talk and some FB groups, etc, is that you won't find much of the puritanical, judgmental "standards" of the more formal clubs that grew out of Early American tool collecting. Not that everyone has the same aesthetics and opinions on restoration or presentation etc. Far from it. But everyone cheers everyone else on or at least maintains an indifferent respectful distance.
Here are the rest of my pebble flare nut wrenches. I still need a 5/8” and 11/16” example. I have my eye on some on eBay.
Thanks for the welcome. Been just browsing on here for a while. That's my first comment. I specialize in nailheads. Built well over 200 of them. It's all I work on. We also sell every part. www.nailheadbuick.com is my website. My extensive blog on that website is titled "Matt's corner" with loads of free information. I'd have no problem posting that stuff on a more appropriate thread if there is one. Right now my current plomb box project is the bare metal 40s 9998 I posted before and after pics, below. That one's been a challenge. I'll post another pic of it when it's done, soon. It's going to stay bare metal. Inside of drawers and box is going to be bright red. Still have to get the new lock arm working, waiting on paint and speed wrench clips for lid that were busted off, and the decal for it. Still not sure if I'm even going to put the speed wrench clips on. We will see...... wonder how long before we get to see pics of the nailhead?
