Plomb tool picture thread - show your stuff!

[macgee]

Those must be 9/32” drive WF6 locking spinners. I don’t think Plomb made those in 1/4” drive but Walden and Williams did.
-Don

Interesting, thanks for that Jeep.

The Plomb do look almost identical to a Williams in your pic (MA-110) and in almost every way with same knurling, taper details and mark location, with the one caveat of being a 9/32.

 

[bmwrd0]

Interesting, thanks for that Jeep.

The Plomb do look almost identical to a Williams in your pic (MA-110) and in almost every way with same knurling, taper details and mark location, with the one caveat of being a 9/32.

Armstrong also had one in 9/32" also.

 

[z28lsc]

Re: ~ Plomb tool picture thread - show your stuff!

Some of my stuff -

Actually the box started it all

wow. Nice collection.

 

[SilverDeck]

It was pre 1928 for sure as I haven't seen one with a date code yet and that was the earliest date code I have found. I have a few items with that stamping that I have only found them in the No 5 catalog that doesn't have a copywrite date but most place it around 1925 plus or minus a year. I may have an example that will show how early they have went. Let me get some pictures this weekend.

Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench

Thanks Roy. My interest in these markings ties in with my J100 research project, so I will be extremely grateful for any and all info/images you can share related to the “L.A. CAL.” markings on 1920s Plomb tools.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Spotted this in Mesa on offerup. No affiliation.

Check out this item on OfferUp. https://offerup.co/jAtl2bUPDdb

 

[RubiconJK]

Rubicon,

Are those two Plomb labeled 1/4" speedy's spinners extensions or Williams M-110's in pic 4 of 4?

PS> I like the use of cork liners in your drawers, my large Huot cabinets came that way.

Interesting, thanks for that Jeep.

The Plomb do look almost identical to a Williams in your pic (MA-110) and in almost every way with same knurling, taper details and mark location, with the one caveat of being a 9/32.

They are indeed the 9/32" drive Plomb WF-6 pieces as Don mentioned. I do also have the Williams version somewhere around here that is very similar. Thanks for the comment about the drawer liners.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Spotted this in Mesa on offerup. No affiliation.

Check out this item on OfferUp. https://offerup.co/jAtl2bUPDdb

Great shape, including the decal.

 

[macgee]

Those must be 9/32” drive WF6 locking spinners. I don’t think Plomb made those in 1/4” drive but Walden and Williams did.
-Don

Armstrong also had one in 9/32" also.

They are indeed the 9/32" drive Plomb WF-6 pieces as Don mentioned. I do also have the Williams version somewhere around here that is very similar. Thanks for the comment about the drawer liners.

Thanks guys,

Question and opinion, I have the Williams M-110 1/4" spinner that looks just like the Plomb and I'm having issues with it, does the plomb spinner when in free spinning mode rub against the bottom of the ratchet? Does your Williams do that?

Mine does this whether its being used with my Plomb, Proto, Felo or Snap-On ratchets. To go to from locking spinner handle mode (in down position) to free spinning mode (up position), the knurled portion has to lift up to disengage from the lock pin and spin freely above the springed ball bearing. With all my ratchets the knurling hits the body of the ratchet causing drag/friction. Does this happen your 9/32" Plomb.

Mine works really well/spins freely if I use a short extension between the spinner and ratchet when in the up position. I'm thinking of putting the spinner on my lathe and turning down the top knurled portion about 1/8" to prevent hitting the ratchet body? I hate altering a collectable tool but its not functioning as it should or am I missing something? Sorry in advance if I'm getting to off topic and for all the photos but asking here as a lot of you are way more knowledgeable than I and many of you have these Plomb and Williams spinners in your collection. Thanks

Pic in free spinning mode, handle up:

In free spinning handle mode shows it hitting and rubbing hard on ratchet heads, you can still see the locking pin and ball bearing partially, not fully free above it:

In locked position, handle down, no issue in this mode:

Pic in free spinning mode in fully up position while using an extender in female socket that does not interfere with knurling handle:

 

[RubiconJK]

Thanks guys,

Question and opinion, I have the Williams M-110 1/4" spinner that looks just like the Plomb and I'm having issues with it, does the plomb spinner when in free spinning mode rub against the bottom of the ratchet? Does your Williams do that?

Mine does this whether its being used with my Plomb, Proto, Felo or Snap-On ratchets. To go to from locking spinner handle mode (in down position) to free spinning mode (up position), the knurled portion has to lift up to disengage from the lock pin and spin freely above the springed ball bearing. With all my ratchets the knurling hits the body of the ratchet causing drag/friction. Does this happen your 9/32" Plomb.

Mine works really well/spins freely if I use a short extension between the spinner and ratchet when in the up position. I'm thinking of putting the spinner on my lathe and turning down the top knurled portion about 1/8" to prevent hitting the ratchet body? I hate altering a collectable tool but its not functioning as it should or am I missing something? Sorry in advance if I'm getting to off topic and for all the photos but asking here as a lot of you are way more knowledgeable than I and many of you have these Plomb and Williams spinners in your collection. Thanks

While I use my Williams spinner occasionally, I have to say that I've never used the WF-6's, and I've never used the Williams together with a ratchet, but here is a WF-6 and a WF-8 ratchet together and yes the knurled handle does rub the ratchet face plate when in the free spinning position, but I guess I don't see a major issue with that. Perhaps the rub or friction as you mention is more significant with the Williams? My Williams is in my tool kit in our fifth wheel but I'll grab it next time I'm out there and check it with one of my 4749's.

 

[macgee]

WF-6 and a WF-8 ratchet together and yes the knurled handle does rub the ratchet face plate when in the free spinning position, but I guess I don't see a major issue with that. Perhaps the rub or friction as you mention is more significant with the Williams?
I'll grab it next time I'm out there and check it with one of my 4749's.

Thanks Rubicon,

Much appreciated and interesting to know your WF also rubs (some). Yours looks like its doing the same thing; does the knurling raise fully above the ball bearing when in spin mode as it should with your ratchet on it or is it doing the same thing as mine in pic #2 above?
Mine has issues especially with my Plomb ratchet and Proto (thanks Jeep), the ratchet actually pops off the spinner while trying to use it when handle is in proper free spin mode as it cant seat down enough into the socket all the way. The Williams actually spins really nicely when the ratchet is not on it, almost feels like its on bearings even though its not.

Interested to hear if your Williams is worse or ?

Again, thanks for checking. Cheers

 

[Provincial]

Does it rub if you use a sliding T-handle?

 

[macgee]

Does it rub if you use a sliding T-handle?

Yes it does, admittedly though I don't have a Plomb or Williams T-handle, only have a Heyco in 1/4 but it pretty much rubs on everything. It can work but not great and when you lift the handle to go into free spin mode it partially ejects the male square of ratchet up, lifting it up and then only about half of the square male is in contact with female. Worst was the breaker bar.

You can see it by looking at the handle in the pic, eyeing the ball bearing positioned on the lower part of the handle, it's only partially seen when it should fully below the handle in free spin mode.

 

[Provincial]

If you leave the pin engaged in the knurled sleeve, is it possible to depress that ball that I see peeking out from the tapered end (nearest the male drive end) of the extension and move the whole handle toward the drive end? You may have to align a spot in the handle assembly with that detent ball to accomplish this.

 

[RubiconJK]

Thanks Rubicon,

Much appreciated and interesting to know your WF also rubs (some). Yours looks like its doing the same thing; does the knurling raise fully above the ball bearing when in spin mode as it should with your ratchet on it or is it doing the same thing as mine in pic #2 above?
Mine has issues especially with my Plomb ratchet and Proto (thanks Jeep), the ratchet actually pops off the spinner while trying to use it when handle is in proper free spin mode as it cant seat down enough into the socket all the way. The Williams actually spins really nicely when the ratchet is not on it, almost feels like its on bearings even though its not.

Interested to hear if your Williams is worse or ?

Again, thanks for checking. Cheers

The knurled handle does raise above the ball but tends to partially unseat the ratchet in the process. I really don't see any way to avoid this situation and so your short extension solution seems to make sense.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

FWIW, I've had a few of these spinners in a few brands and none of them were what I would call smooth in a perfectly functioning sense, they were all either too loose or jammed up completely. That's not a scientific assessment. Could've just been weird bad luck. But that's my take on the mechanism.

 

[macgee]

Thanks guys,

I've gone off topic in this thread enough about this subject, might have to start another thread.

Thank you RuiconJK for taking all the time checking your own and your opinion.

Thanks Lug's on you assessment. My Williams actually spins really smoothly when in proper spin positions, surprisingly much better that I would expect and locks in well with no play.
Was curious if Plombs version was the same, they look almost identical and wonder if they were made in same factory?

Provincial: Yes the ball depresses well, the tool locks in place well and is aligned, it just seems that the knurled handle is a tad too long so when lifting it up to place it in the proper spin freely mode, it partially ejects/raises the ratchet out of the female socket (maybe that the purpose?).
When holding down the ratchet seated properly in the female socket then the knurled handle hits the bottom of ratchet and only partially raises up and top is dragging against the ratchet and against the ball bearing, not rolling above it. It still works/spins but not as it should and not nearly as nicely as it could.

I'll go ahead and put if on the lathe to remove some of the top but will hate doing it.

Again, thanks for your patience and sorry for going off topic. Please carry on posting some nice Plombs. Cheers

 

[Leviton]

I was lucky to find a Plomb 9990. It has rounded corners. The internal hinges are all intact and the door slides work extremely well. The external top hasp has been modified and one back side portion has some surface rust.
There is just a tiny portion of a decal remaining on the front external upper face, behind the hasp (can be seen in the third photo).

I'm going to keep this as-is, except I'd like to do something to knock of the surface rust on the portion of the back side where it is worst. And, one of the drawer bottoms is down to shiny metal and I'd like to get some wrinkle paint back on that.

I'm more of a wrench, ratchet, screwdriver, and pliers guy than a toolbox guy and I've got a two questions if anyone can help?

1) I'd like to put a little paint on that back rust spot (after doing something to remove the rust) and the one drawer bottom - anyone found any paint that is close to this color?

2) Am I correct in assuming that the rounded corners on this put the date at 1948? Was there a time period for the green paint?

Thanks for any help.

 

[macgee]

1) I'd like to put a little paint on that back rust spot (after doing something to remove the rust) and the one drawer bottom - anyone found any paint that is close to this color?

Thanks for any help.

Contact d42jeep,

He's the man and had mentioned in the past about a (army?) green spray paint can that matches up well.

 

[r_olson_06]

Thanks Roy. My interest in these markings ties in with my J100 research project, so I will be extremely grateful for any and all info/images you can share related to the “L.A. CAL.” markings on 1920s Plomb tools.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

Well my memory did fail me on this one. I have a wrench that is Plomb TM Co (not LA Cal)that contains A.L.A.M size standards. Thanks to Lugz and Mr. X for educating me on the A.L.A.M standard and timeline. I think the latest this wrench would be in production more than likely would be late teens early 20s.

Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench

 

[d42jeep]

When refinishing entire boxes I’ve had good luck with Midwest Military’s Signal Corps Green, Type 1. The problem is that Plomb used so many variations of green on their boxes, what is a good match on some boxes will really be obvious on others. My experience with my 9989 box is that the paint is quite flat and perhaps another brand of Olive Drab paint would be less obvious. My approach would be to pick up a few varieties of paint and do some testing before spraying anything on the actual box. I’ll post some pictures of boxes repainted with the Midwest Military paint and my 9989 so you can see the difference.
-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

I was lucky to find a Plomb 9990. It has rounded corners. The internal hinges are all intact and the door slides work extremely well. The external top hasp has been modified and one back side portion has some surface rust.
There is just a tiny portion of a decal remaining on the front external upper face, behind the hasp (can be seen in the third photo).

I'm going to keep this as-is, except I'd like to do something to knock of the surface rust on the portion of the back side where it is worst. And, one of the drawer bottoms is down to shiny metal and I'd like to get some wrinkle paint back on that.

I'm more of a wrench, ratchet, screwdriver, and pliers guy than a toolbox guy and I've got a two questions if anyone can help?

1) I'd like to put a little paint on that back rust spot (after doing something to remove the rust) and the one drawer bottom - anyone found any paint that is close to this color?

2) Am I correct in assuming that the rounded corners on this put the date at 1948? Was there a time period for the green paint?

Thanks for any help.

Nice top chest... did you perhaps get this recently off face book ?

In terms of you age question- the rounded corners appear before 1948... I think yours is more war time but I cant remember exactly ? I know we discussed this box and the 3 different variations of handles and edge types earlier this summer on this thread ? In terms of you paint question -D42 certainly steered you in the right direction with the paint color. You may also want to age the new paint you apply to the back as well to make it blend in with the old paint...regardless, that box looks really solid!

 

[macgee]

Fixed it. Now works really well with my Plombs and on everything else after putting it on the lathe, removing about .17" of length on the handle. After pics below

 

[RubiconJK]

Fixed it. Now works really well with my Plombs and on everything else after putting it on the lathe, removing about .17" of length on the handle.

Looks good.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Thanks guys,

Question and opinion, I have the Williams M-110 1/4" spinner that looks just like the Plomb and I'm having issues with it, does the plomb spinner when in free spinning mode rub against the bottom of the ratchet? Does your Williams do that?

Mine does this whether its being used with my Plomb, Proto, Felo or Snap-On ratchets. To go to from locking spinner handle mode (in down position) to free spinning mode (up position), the knurled portion has to lift up to disengage from the lock pin and spin freely above the springed ball bearing. With all my ratchets the knurling hits the body of the ratchet causing drag/friction. Does this happen your 9/32" Plomb.

Mine works really well/spins freely if I use a short extension between the spinner and ratchet when in the up position. I'm thinking of putting the spinner on my lathe and turning down the top knurled portion about 1/8" to prevent hitting the ratchet body? I hate altering a collectable tool but its not functioning as it should or am I missing something? Sorry in advance if I'm getting to off topic and for all the photos but asking here as a lot of you are way more knowledgeable than I and many of you have these Plomb and Williams spinners in your collection. Thanks

Pic in free spinning mode, handle up:

In free spinning handle mode shows it hitting and rubbing hard on ratchet heads, you can still see the locking pin and ball bearing partially, not fully free above it:

In locked position, handle down, no issue in this mode:

Pic in free spinning mode in fully up position while using an extender in female socket that does not interfere with knurling handle:

Indeed the Armstrong, williams and plomb versions all have the same issue. You have to use a short extension or it rubs. These are all 9/32 drive so I don't know if all the 1/4 drive versions have same issue but I would assume so. I think Don has a walden version.

 

[d42jeep]

Both my 1/4” drive Williams version and my 1/4” drive Walden version rub slightly on their respective ratchets when used in the freewheeling position but not enough to be bothersome. The locking ball is totally exposed.
-Don

 

[Rileysan]

Nice top chest... did you perhaps get this recently off face book ?

Yep, that's the same one I emailed to you a few days ago from up in Ridgefield.

The seller actually had two of these. Did you buy them both, Leviton? If you feel so inclined, I'd welcome meeting another local here in the Portland area. I make my home in the backyard of the old P&C tool factory in Milwaukie.

Cheers!

Brian

 

[Catfishdan]

Mail man brought me the last piece to complete my set of midget open ends. Now the 3226 on top is bothering me. It doesn’t match the rest. It never ends!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Ah yes. The odd wrench in the set. I have been there.

 

[macgee]

Indeed the Armstrong, williams and plomb versions all have the same issue. You have to use a short extension or it rubs. These are all 9/32 drive so I don't know if all the 1/4 drive versions have same issue but I would assume so. I think Don has a walden version.

Thanks Oldtuleguy,

Yours looks like they also raise up well above the socket like mine did and you noticed the same issue, at least I now know I wasn't seeing things.
I essentially milled off/shortened the knurling portion that sticks above the female socket when in free spin mode to almost flush of the female socket, you can see my pics above showing it flush with female in spin mode in post #10342 after milling it. Have to say it works much better now and makes more sense than the way it was. Thank you!

Both my 1/4” drive Williams version and my 1/4” drive Walden version rub slightly on their respective ratchets when used in the freewheeling position but not enough to be bothersome. The locking ball is totally exposed.
-Don

Thanks Don,

Yours look good, especially the Walden; very Interesting. Why didn't I get one of those?

Mine was too long to work like that. The Williams M-110 spinner I have looks like a newer version than yours but they also look very similar to the plombs except for a couple of cosmetic details. Oldtuleguy's version looks just like mine.

Thanks for taking the time to take pics and to check and show me

Cheers and thanks everyone for the help, its much appreciated!

 

[Leviton]

When refinishing entire boxes I’ve had good luck with Midwest Military’s Signal Corps Green, Type 1. The problem is that Plomb used so many variations of green on their boxes, what is a good match on some boxes will really be obvious on others. My experience with my 9989 box is that the paint is quite flat and perhaps another brand of Olive Drab paint would be less obvious. My approach would be to pick up a few varieties of paint and do some testing before spraying anything on the actual box. I’ll post some pictures of boxes repainted with the Midwest Military paint and my 9989 so you can see the difference.
-Don

Thank you Don. I will follow your recommendations.

The seller actually had two of these. Did you buy them both, Leviton? If you feel so inclined, I'd welcome meeting another local here in the Portland area. I make my home in the backyard of the old P&C tool factory in Milwaukie.

Cheers!

Brian

I only bought the green one.

Yes, let's get in touch.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Couple of r tools stamped artcraft ,pepboys house brand at some point.

 

[bmwrd0]

Oooh, very jealous of those! I have two Artcraft sets that I am working on, not an easy task.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Pick up the R tools when I see them. Kind of interesting to see the different brands they came in.

 

[bmwrd0]

These are the two sets in question.


I too pick up the R series ratchets, along with any other Penens built ratchets, but only have five of these; Fleet, Penens (x2), SpeedMaster (x2)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Doesn't anyone else think it's an unusual name for a brand of mechanics tools? It literally sounds like something you'd buy at Hobby Lobby today.

 

[bmwrd0]

And if you search for it on eBay you get thousand upon thousands of art supplies.

 

[Smokeshow69]

And if you search for it on eBay you get thousand upon thousands of art supplies.

Ahh yes, I remember when you found these. You got a heck of a deal on them! Yes, the name brand is very odd....

Speaking of the penens brand....I have been working on repainting and aging this box set I got from Jocosawdust. I need some sockets, t bar, hinge handle and extensions and universal joint. If someone has any of them, i am all ears!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I have a similar set, missing 3/4 socket and maybe a short extension.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I have a similar set, missing 3/4 socket and maybe a short extension.

very nice... yours also has some 8pt sockets that mine is missing..

-Question for you- do you have a 1-1/4 socket and if so, can you shut the lid with the socket standing up ? I have to lay mine down sideways in order to shut the lid.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Mine does rub but it closes