Plomb tool picture thread - show your stuff!

[Private Lugnutz]

It's the kind of box that is just a little worn, just a little beat up and has just enough red paint left where the aged look becomes character instead of flaw.

In fact, it's such a nice day and I was so impressed I loaded it up with all the Plomb Family 3/8-inch drive orphans I've been alluding to. I can go pebbled on the rat and hinge handle (see Pic 1), or I can go round and knurled (see Pic 2). The speeder will not fit with the swing in the proper place, but if I set it just right, I can actually get the lid closed (see Pics 3 & 4). Not yet sure of its final retirement home, but for now, I put it all inside (see Pic 5) and up on the Plomb Family Shelf in the Lugzsonian (see Pic 6)!

 

[d42jeep]

That cleaned up really well.
-Don

 

[3baygarage]

Looking good all in the box there.

A recent purchase involved a bunch of Plomb pieces. These are the more interesting ones. The large knock off wheel puller is cool. Also, a long 1/2” slide bar, and 6 pt socket.

I didn’t realize Plomb used an asterisk at the detent, as we see elsewhere. Has this come up before? Did it have to do with coming from a specific factory?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I have noticed the asterisk on a number of my postwar pennens related stuff.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I didn’t realize Plomb used an asterisk at the detent, as we see elsewhere.

Hmm. More like elsewhen. FOAK? You might be right. You might have the forerunner there for what would become quite commonplace on the tools the Plomb Tool Co/PTTI made later under other names (Proto, PENENS, Fleet, etc)! I don't recall seeing one on a Plomb branded tool before.

 

[d42jeep]

I received this 5028 7/8” deep 3/8” drive socket today. I overpaid for it because I couldn’t find it in the catalogs. Didn’t see any asterisk though. I added it to my red box set.
-Don

 

[DD T/A]

^^^That is a wonderful set, Don. You should be very proud.

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks, it’s coming along. I was happy to have found a box in such good condition.
-Don

 

[Outlawmws]

Both nice boxes!

 

[c1504]

I’ve got this thing someone modified that’s got the asterisk. I always just assumed that it started out as a drag link socket, but I decided to check just now to be sure. A google search turned up one or two examples of oil pan screwdrivers, but I looked through several catalogs and can’t find it. Would it have been a special order tool?

 

[d42jeep]

Hmm. More like elsewhen. FOAK? You might be right. You might have the forerunner there for what would become quite commonplace on the tools the Plomb Tool Co/PTTI made later under other names (Proto, PENENS, Fleet, etc)! I don't recall seeing one on a Plomb branded tool before.

I didn’t either. I searched through my Plomb pictures and think I found one. I’ll have to check the Plomb box tomorrow to confirm.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well, that makes three (3) now and we're only an hour in! HAHA.

What's the part number on that 'thing', C1504? 4744? 5244? It could have been a screwdriver bit with a long shank that a PO made into a drag link bit.

 

[c1504]

5244. I guess I cut it off in the picture

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hmm. That's interesting in its own right, regardless of the asterisk. 5241 through 5243 were 3/8- drive Phillips bits. 5246 was a 3/8-drive regular flat tip screwdriver bit. I can't find a 5244. 4744 was a 1/4- drive regular flat tip screwdriver bit. 5444 (and 5445 and 5446) were 1/2-drive screwdriver/drag link bits. It stands to reason that 5244 was also a regular flat tip or drag link type screwdriver bit, but I can't find one in a catalog.

Maybe it was added in the very late 40's, when the asterisks start showing up instead of holes or dimples. I wonder when 3bays was made. And Don's. It might be a late 40's only thing.

 

[c1504]

Yeah. It’s kind of weird. And I thought the same thing about it being a very late 40s thing. Do the dual marked sockets have an asterisk or a dimple? I don’t have any to check.

 

[d42jeep]

Yeah. It’s kind of weird. And I thought the same thing about it being a very late 40s thing. Do the dual marked sockets have an asterisk or a dimple? I don’t have any to check.

Here is a 5244 Pontiac oil pan screwdriver in the 1938 catalog. Yours is obviously newer.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Yes someone cut that down. Here is a 5244. Pardon the oily end i have used a few times.

 

[3baygarage]

That's a heck of a lot of work to make a uniform drag link type socket.

 

[3baygarage]

When I look up the asterisk socket I posted, 6522, I'm seeing at least 4 results including Alloy Artifacts' example, of a deep or short deep style 7/16 socket for Cadillac connecting rod bolts. This one I posted is standard size.

I'll have to check some catalogs as well.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here is a 5244 Pontiac oil pan screwdriver in the 1938 catalog.

Thanks, Don. I didn't go back far enough. I do agree his seems later, so it's weird they stopped listing them. Unless I just missed it.

 

[Catfishdan]

Here’s an * marked number 1 philips socket that happens to be in reach from my morning coffee chair.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Plated and postwar, Dan?

It's starting to look like we may have just not noticed before. And less safely, perhaps seen more on specials and bits. But just 1 cup of coffee spitballin'.

 

[Catfishdan]

Yup. Plates and post war. I got out of my coffee chair and went out to the shed in the name of science. A quick survey shows about 10% of my 3/8” sockets have the * mark- all chrome. Couldn’t find any 1/2” sockets with that mark. Here’s a set of chrome 3/8” sockets that I always assumed came together as a set. 4 different markings if you count the different styles of *.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I did the same thing - and I have a grand total of zero (0) Plomb asterisks!

I did notice the detent dimples (such as the two on the far right in your photo) in the process, though, which I admit to never noticing before. They are far too common among my sockets to be a shallow, mis-drilled detent hole.

EDIT: Other than the late 40's production timeframe hunch I made, I am starting to think 3bay may be onto something with the factory speculation. It seems there were detent holes (most common), detent dimples (next most common), and detent asterisks (least common) in the late 40's timeframe. Adding that to the well-established observation that nearly ALL very late 40's and 50's era sockets branded Proto, PENENS, Challenger, etc have the asterisks, it kinda sorta might suggest that the practice may have indeed been coming from one factory (perhaps in the FLEET/PENENS midwest region of the country) at first, and then adopted nationwide across the entire Plomb/PTTI enterprise as the tooling spread.

Again, just spitballin' way too soon.

 

[3baygarage]

Thanks for the input and contributions fellas. I don’t know why it just looked so odd to me on this socket.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

You spawned a mini deep dive, 3eeb. People all over the country are checking their Plomb sockets for asterisks all because of you. Procrastinating on projects. Disappointing their kids. ******* their wives off.

 

[Macduf]

it's marked cc and looks chromed. shouldn't it be bare metal?

 

[d42jeep]

A very good question that I posed upthread as well.
I found a 3/8” drive socket with the asterisk to add to the total. All of my dual marked examples have the asterisk.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the brand new, natural wood appearance of my boards. I had originally just covered the cabinet grade ply wood with clear but it was too new looking and I wanted something closer to the original. I ended up using some of the water based deck stain I made for my original tool boards at my old house. It isn’t an exact match with my original but it is much closer! I will post more photos once I get all 6 of them coated. It only requires a light sanding with 220 and then it painted in with a brush. I will also age the boards a bit as well to make them more convincing.




Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[c1504]

Here is a 5244 Pontiac oil pan screwdriver in the 1938 catalog. Yours is obviously newer.

-Don

Thanks. Knowing it was newer I didnt really think of looking at any catalogs older than the 40’s.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are two more chrome sockets with the asterisk. These are 1/4” drive.
-Don

 

[RTM]

Interesting on the 5244. I found a worthpoint set showing it, without a name, and looking like the oil pan tool posted up thread.

But I also found this, a year and a half upthread, claiming a Phillips #4
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7889574&postcount=6475

 

[d42jeep]

Interesting on the 5244. I found a worthpoint set showing it, without a name, and looking like the oil pan tool posted up thread.

But I also found this, a year and a half upthread, claiming a Phillips #4
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7889574&postcount=6475

I think that was a typo. The #4 Phillips is 5243.
-Don

 

[Catfishdan]

My plomb finds from today:

-5426, wf-30, and 4712 sockets.
-1928 plomb LA 5428.
-1218 pebble combo
-9642 round shank screwdriver
- and the best find, a 1766 PWA spark plug socket. The first PWA tool I’ve found.

 

[outofbounds]

Turned up this 9633 Awl Punch this morning

 

[RubiconJK]

You spawned a mini deep dive, 3eeb. People all over the country are checking their Plomb sockets for asterisks all because of you. Procrastinating on projects. Disappointing their kids. ******* their wives off.

Finally got some time to go dig around a bit. I have found the following with the asterisks:
1 - 5246 slotted 3/8 drive socket
1 - 5216 3/8 drive 12 pt socket
1 - 5418-S 1/2 drive 8 pt socket
1 - 5426 1/2 drive 12 pt socket
1 - 5436 1/2 drive 12 pt socket
1 - 4761 1/4 drive 6" extension

I didn't pay as much attention to age as I should have, but seem to recall that most looked later.

 

[RubiconJK]

Plomb Pickins for the last few days!
1036 copper plated DBE

I think this might be a Plomb KOP-R-KLAD Safety Wrench, the first I have ever seen. According to Plomb catalog No. 18-A (which I date to 1940 through at least October 1941), a KK1036 should have 11/16" and 7/8" openings. That "3/8 U.S.S." marking refers to the U.S. Standard nut and bolt size that the milled opening size (11/16") would fit. How is it marked on the flip side?

Yup. Same deal with the "1/2 USS" marking referring to a 1/2" U.S.S. nut, which has a head with a 7/8" Across-the-Flats diameter size. It's a KOP-R-KLAD 1036 safety wrench for sure. Post #18 in my Curious Copper Caper thread has the full KOP-R-KLAD page from the Plomb cat No 18-A posted in it if you’re interested in seeing it. Link here.

It seems I've found the twin brother of Ragz 1036 copper coated KOP-R-KLAD DBE. This one came to me via Florida. First one of these I have found.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice!

 

[r_olson_06]

Haven't been on much lately. Have to focus on a few quality of life things but hope to check in from time to time. Looks like some good Plomb Picks and conversations going.

I never considered myself a hat guy but I thought some color besides chrome and steel on the Plomb wall could help liven the place up. This one relatively local only about 4 hours away!View attachment 1075760

Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench

 

[r_olson_06]

Attachment broke

Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench