Plomb tool picture thread - show your stuff!

[MR.X]

this post has no references to green tool boxes.........oh wait......doh!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That is a cool pic

 

[Smokeshow69]

this post has no references to green tool boxes.........oh wait......doh!!

Any more info on this picture? Also any background on how you acquired it / history on it . This is a fantastic photo that I can almost guarantee no one else has .


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[MR.X]

well, it's in Thailand, circa 48 I think. It's Bangkok, pretty sure the West side of the river. The sign in Thai script says Plomb on the top and then (khreuuang meuu) "tool hand" - (chang gohn) "mechanic" below. (it does not say "streamlined") I saved this on my computer a long time ago but if you google plomb thailand there'll be an image you can follow to something about a S.E Asia photo collection taken by Robert Pendleton ( Morris's brother it turns out). Something like that.

 

[d42jeep]

Great picture. Thanks for posting it!
-Don
The one online isn’t nearly as clear as yours.

 

[Rileysan]

well, it's in Thailand, circa 48 I think. It's Bangkok, pretty sure the West side of the river. The sign in Thai script says Plomb on the top and then (khreuuang meuu) "tool hand" - (chang gohn) "mechanic" below. (it does not say "streamlined") I saved this on my computer a long time ago but if you google plomb thailand there'll be an image you can follow to something about a S.E Asia photo collection taken by Robert Pendleton ( Morris's brother it turns out). Something like that.

Mr. X is the "Banksy" of the tool world. This is the only known photo of him!

 

[3baygarage]

This is right up there in cool with that Plomb blacksmith piece. Thanks for sharing.

Nice box btw.

 

[MR.X]

We now return control of your green Plomb tool box thread to you.

 

[Smokeshow69]

We now return control of your green Plomb tool box thread to you.

We can make this a red tool box thread as well ! Any more pictures of that beauty? It looks mint. Has it been repainted or is it original?


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[MR.X]

Hey Smoke. I bought that red one years ago and it had some rust around the very bottom so I sanded it up a little and put a black stripe around the base ( which I messed up) of some brand of rust seal paint as a temporary measure and then never got around to doing a more professional job. The red paint is original. It's full of every kind of tool except Plomb as I recall.

 

[MR.X]

Mr. X is the "Banksy" of the tool world. This is the only known photo of him!

I thought he'd be taller.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Hey Smoke. I bought that red one years ago and it had some rust around the very bottom so I sanded it up a little and put a black stripe around the base ( which I messed up) of some brand of rust seal paint as a temporary measure and then never got around to doing a more professional job. The red paint is original. It's full of every kind of tool except Plomb as I recall.

You know what would be really cool is to paint a grey stripe on the bottom like the tool mobiles ! Of course, if you are not very attached to it I could probably help you with that [emoji41][emoji6]


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[Rileysan]

We can make this a red tool box thread as well ! Any more pictures of that beauty? It looks mint. Has it been repainted or is it original?


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Hook, line, and sinker!

 

[Rileysan]

I thought he'd be taller.

Photoshopped?

 

[Smokeshow69]

Hook, line, and sinker!

I fell for the trolling [emoji16][emoji41]


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[Ole Slewfoot]

When trollin,I hear it's best to use a copper clad lure.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

When trollin,I hear it's best to use a copper clad lure.

You got it!

Is it, indeed, copper plated and not BeCu, compositionally? (I'd be tempted to notch it somewhere inconspicuous with a serious edged tool...) Is the finish thick, solid, and heavy or does it look like it was washed on like some of my older copper oxide tools?

You may be in a club of one with that thing.

 

[Smokeshow69]

You got it!

Is it, indeed, copper plated and not BeCu, compositionally? (I'd be tempted to notch it somewhere inconspicuous with a serious edged tool...) Is the finish thick, solid, and heavy or does it look like it was washed on like some of my older copper oxide tools?

You may be in a club of one with that thing.

I have one plated early doe that is plated and that’s it...plated tools are fairly rare in these parts


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[MR.X]

You got it!

Is it, indeed, copper plated and not BeCu, compositionally? (I'd be tempted to notch it somewhere inconspicuous with a serious edged tool...) Is the finish thick, solid, and heavy or does it look like it was washed on like some of my older copper oxide tools?

You may be in a club of one with that thing.

Magnet.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have one plated early doe that is plated and that’s it...plated tools are fairly rare in these parts

Please post a photo when you get around to it.

Magnet.

That would certainly spare the knife! I'm still curious about how thick the "plating" is.

 

[MR.X]

OK, I literally had to move 1,000 lbs. of **** to pull these out...top to bottom the usual BECu suspects Berylco and Ampco, then a Diamond Tool & Horseshoe co., 34 ish Stanley beryllium, mid 30's Williams beryllium, Hinsdale marked BC on opposite side. All of the above are non magnetic. Then the two non proto marked small pebble field transition Plomb wrenches one of which has a copper plating. You can see where it's been worn away.

 

[MR.X]

Close ups of Plomb and others.

 

[MR.X]

c'mon..........dang!....nothing.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

OK, I literally had to move 1,000 lbs. of **** to pull these out...

Sorry about that. I have BeCu tools and I have copper-plated tools. The latter was the subject of some debate here on GJ last year (not specifically here on the Plomb thread) in which some participants, misinformed by AA, if I had to guess, argued that vintage tools with a coppery finish were either misidentified BeCu tools or chrome- or nickel-plated tools where the plating was badly worn and the copper undercoat commonly applied to chrome- and nickel-plated tools in the pre-war years was simply showing. The discussions/debates prompted a re-visit on the Plomb KOP-R-KLAD line of tools in the very late 30's, and spawned two threads, one on Bethlehem Spark Plug drive tools, linked here, and another on tools with copper-coatings or -plating as an intentional final finish, in general, linked here, for which your Plomb pebble field DOE wrench is another great example. (I suspect Smoke has a similar example. Perhaps we shall see.)

I should've been more explicit, or explained that my query wasn't ignorant of the differences. Didn’t mean to make you do extra work! But I do appreciate it.

However, I don't believe I have seen a copper-coated (or -plated, still remains to be seen) Plomb drive tool before, let alone a copper-coated/plated WF drive tool! Hence, my 'perhaps a club of one' reference to Slew.

 

[3baygarage]

c'mon..........dang!....nothing.

Got one here. Nice Williams. Didn’t expect to see a Stanley or Hinsdale either. Nice collection.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Indeed. That Hinsdale is an oldie with the U.S.S. bolt size markings. Nice.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Pictures of my only said plated tool! Dated 7c, 3030 plvmb Los Angeles. I got it years ago in a trade. I have no clue on its rarity or worth ?




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[MR.X]

I should've been more explicit, or explained that my query wasn't ignorant of the differences. Didn’t mean to make you do extra work! But I do appreciate it.

However, I don't believe I have seen a copper-coated (or -plated, still remains to be seen) Plomb drive tool before, let alone a copper-coated/plated WF drive tool! Hence, my 'perhaps a club of one' reference to Slew.

Hey Lugz, I didn't think for a minute you weren't reasonably well versed on the issue. I was just doing the old show and tell, there was no real reason to add the non plomb stuff other than the thread motivated me to do some 'organizizin' and I thought maybe some people might be interested seeing various companies' efforts. I have never seen a copper plated or whatever plomb drive tool either. I can't tell anything from that photo.
BTW, I THINK that Hinsdale double box is WW2 era. I'm guessing the "USS" sizings goes with the same convention for structural and industrial usage wrenches that Plomb for example used on their heavy duty stuff well after the late 20's switch to AF sizes. I should probably throw it up on the Hinsdale board if there is one and see if anyone has some info ref. production year and how Hinsdale was marketing it.

 

[MR.X]

Got one here. Nice Williams. Didn’t expect to see a Stanley or Hinsdale either. Nice collection.

Thanks. I have 2 of the Williams wrenches same size with minor production differences. One is painted green but a little brighter than olive drab. I saw an ad for it (which I saved and lost) from a 1934? magazine.

 

[r_olson_06]

Added a spot for the oddities. One wrench is a short 9/16" LA and has a USN on the backside. Are LA combos shorter than their prediseator or is this a special wrench?

Also 5 Big Bertha's Sockets.

Looking for the following Plomb Pebbles Wrenches
1164, 3732, 3032, 3055, 3060, 3061, 3062, 3070

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Pictures of my only said plated tool! Dated 7c, 3030 plvmb Los Angeles. I got it years ago in a trade. I have no clue on its rarity or worth ]

Maybe it's just the photo, or just me, but I'm not seeing copper-plating on that one.

I have never seen a copper plated or whatever plomb drive tool either. I can't tell anything from that photo.

That's saying a lot more than me saying I have never seen one!

BTW, I THINK that Hinsdale double box is WW2 era. I'm guessing the "USS" sizings goes with the same convention for structural and industrial usage wrenches that Plomb for example used on their heavy duty stuff well after the late 20's switch to AF sizes.

You mean like this Plomb spud wrench with a "1/2AM (13/16)" size marking?

That reference to American Standard nuts and bolts followed by the actual milled opening in parentheses has furrowed many collectors brows!! Interesting theory on the BeCu Hinsdale, but I can't recall other mfgrs being nearly as tyrannical as Plomb about that as late as the 40's.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Maybe it's just the photo, or just me, but I'm not seeing copper-plating on that one.


That's saying a lot more than me saying I have never seen one!


You mean like this Plomb spud wrench with a "1/2AM (13/16)" size marking?

That reference to American Standard nuts and bolts followed by the actual milled opening in parentheses has furrowed many collectors brows!! Interesting theory on the BeCu Hinsdale, but I can't recall other mfgrs being nearly as tyrannical as Plomb about that as late as the 40's.

You are correct on the wrench... it is not copper plated but I believe it is beryllium plated? Whatever it is, I believe it is anti sparking ?


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[MR.X]

That reference to American Standard nuts and bolts followed by the actual milled opening in parentheses has furrowed many collectors brows!! Interesting theory on the BeCu Hinsdale, but I can't recall other mfgrs being nearly as tyrannical as Plomb about that as late as the 40's.

yeah other than Plomb with their spuds AND industrial offset double boxes and some spud / erection wrench makers like Woodings Verona I'm a little thin on examples..I've got some American Bridge ones too but i don't know how to put a date on those, and I think Klein did that too.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Im not smart enough to distinguish copper alloys by eye. After a l9ng oil bath and some scrubbing, I can say that this one is thinly plated. Its steel ubderneath. The spatters are solid copper. The rusty seems to be coming from underneath. Half the ball and the hinge pin are plated with no sign of having been driven out or in. Wear is consistent with mostly happing moving a box around. Good finish work and lack of any letter codes suggest earlier WF production to me. It looks like Mr.X DOE may have a better plate job, but that might be a benefit of being a few years newer.
Shown with a bare steel universal, and a faintly Cad plated WF socket.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Wow. That is flippin' cool, Slew - and I agree with your assessment. Thinly copper coated. Just like an oxide or a phosphate. Very nice bragworthy Plomb tool to own! Congrats.

 

[Provincial]

The military used massive amounts of gasoline in WWII. Aviation was probably the largest user overall due to the size of the bomber offensive. A B-17 burned about 200 gallons of Avgas per hour in cruise. A B-29 burned over 300 gallons in cruise. and about 800 gallons an hour at takeoff power.

Add all the ground equipment (including most Sherman tanks) and you can see where the military needed non-sparking tools to work on flammable fuel transport, storage, and delivery equipment.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Clearly the application Provincial. And yet we just don't see too many, proportionally, compared to steel tools, from the major mfgrs. When you consider that Plomb's largest contracts, by far, were with the US Army Air Corps, one would think we might see more of it, and yet this is the first spark-reducing copper-plated WF drive tool we've seen.

 

[drivesitfar]

Ole: once I get all my Plvmb tools pulled out of buckets and old toolboxes maybe i'll find some that i thought were rusty to be maybe copper (dare to dream). anyway thanks again for sharing.

Provi: I always love the back stories and history and GEESH that's a lot of gas.

thanks for sharing!!

 

[DD T/A]

Posted for r_olson

 

[DD T/A]

Posted for r_olson for 1164