Proto Tools Picture Thread - Post Yours!

[d42jeep]

I finished cleaning up my abused 12” adjustable wrench. It looks a little better in the pictures than real life.
Before adding it to the Proto drawer, I got the other ones out and shot the adjusters with some WD40.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

An interesting fact: Most Stanley Proto adjustable wrenches open larger the other brands of the same size. For example the 4 inch one opens to 9/16 as opposed to 1/2. @d42jeep if you open the second one from the top all the way and compare it to a regular 10” it will be larger.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is another adjustable wrench that opens unusually wide. They even marked it wide opening.
-Don

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Now I know the middle pliers are Proto and the bottom pliers are McKaig Hatch but what are the top pliers with the 166 stamp? Thanks.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Proto never used that grip pattern on the top one to my knowledge

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Proto never used that grip pattern on the top one to my knowledge

Thanks. It does have a dot pattern as nothing I have seen in my research.

 

[JohnDeere]

Can you post a better pic of the handle?

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Can you post a better pic of the handle?

I hope this will help.

 

[JohnDeere]

They look like my 8” CeeTee (Crescent) pair.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

They look like my 8” CeeTee (Crescent) pair.

Thats it Fort Pit. You guys amaze me. I guess its (time behind the machine). Now I'm off and running again. Thanks.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I would concur

 

[d42jeep]

Crescent did a lot of contract work and there are many brands with that handle pattern. If you check the Crescent thread you will see quite a few.
-Don

 

[genog]

A buddy of mine saw this ole discarded box and grabbed it for me.
It needs a bit of work
I don't need another project......

 

[RTM]

A buddy of mine saw this ole discarded box and grabbed it for me.
It needs a bit of work

Hell, that would pass for pristine in my neck of the woods.

 

[d42jeep]

Spotted this 1/4” drive box a an estate sale this morning. It was filled with discardable tools other than two of the original tools. We also found an adjustable wrench and a 1/2” drive deep socket. I ended up adding my miscellaneous Proto 1/4” drive sockets to the box for storage.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

What would you want in exchange for one of those 1/4 sliding T handles?

 

[Snaparxon]

Got to a shop sale way late today but still managed to scrounge this catalog with price list

 

[JohnDeere]

Any way you could make a pdf of that?

 

[mritchie77]

Got to a shop sale way late today but still managed to scrounge this catalog with price list

Good catalog. ITCL doesn't have anything in that date range (74?) scanned.

 

[Etchase]

I finished cleaning up my abused 12” adjustable wrench. It looks a little better in the pictures than real life.
Before adding it to the Proto drawer, I got the other ones out and shot the adjusters with some WD40.
-Don

Since you had all those out, could you tell me if those have slotted screw adjustment shafts, or are some pressed in? If there are any pressed in, do they all have opposing holes that let you press them out? Just trying to figure out when the transitions occurred. Or I should just ask do you know when they went to a press fit and when they did away with the hole that allows pressing it out. Thanks.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ll take a look when I get a chance.

What would you want in exchange for one of those 1/4 sliding T handles?

I’ll send one along in the next care package. The older one has owners markings. Do you mind those?
-Don

 

[Snaparxon]

Any way you could make a pdf of that?

Not a computer wizard here. Would I have to scan each page on both sides in order to do that?

 

[d42jeep]

If you send the catalog along to Mark Stansbury he can scan it and put it on Internet Archive. He is a GJ member so you can send him a PM to make arrangements.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

Not at all, most of my tools are users anyway.

I’ll take a look when I get a chance.

I’ll send one along in the next care package. The older one has owners markings. Do you mind those?
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

I think that the pressed in screws were a Stanley Proto thing. The ones with the opposing hole to press it back out is Ingersoll Rand, and I am pretty sure all of the ones with screw are before proto was bought out at all. I do not know if early ingersoll rand adjustables have screws or not.

 

[rogue321]

 

[JohnDeere]

I want to built a 1/2 one of those but with a 1/2 proto nut driver handle.

 

[rogue321]

The Proto screwdriver I pulled the handle from was super hard to get off. I almost gave up because I thought I was going to break the plastic. These things were well built for sure! Unless you can find a bigger handle, you wouldn't be able to make the hole any bigger than I did..

 

[d42jeep]

My only Proto find at yesterday’s moving sale was this 1/2” drive 1-5/16” socket. Like all the tools from that sale, it needed plenty of cleaning.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Since you had all those out, could you tell me if those have slotted screw adjustment shafts, or are some pressed in? If there are any pressed in, do they all have opposing holes that let you press them out? Just trying to figure out when the transitions occurred. Or I should just ask do you know when they went to a press fit and when they did away with the hole that allows pressing it out. Thanks.

Most of mine do NOT have slotted screws and don’t come apart easily. It seems that there may be a correlation between slotted screws and unreinforced hanging holes. Here are the results of the survey. Only the 4” Proto LA and Mfd. without reinforced hanging holes have slotted screws.
-Don
The next two have screws.
I hope that tells you what you wanted to know.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I want to built a 1/2 one of those but with a 1/2 proto nut driver handle.

I don’t believe that the handle has enough material for that project.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

I realized that and decided to do the same thing but with a 3/8 ratchet and nut driver.

 

[JohnDeere]

Seems like my guess lines up well with Don’s findings, and it would appear that early Ingersoll-Rand Proto adjustables have screws. I would also guess that earlier Stanley Proto wrenches had the opposing hole to drive the pin out.

I think that the pressed in screws were a Stanley Proto thing. The ones with the opposing hole to press it back out is Ingersoll Rand, and I am pretty sure all of the ones with screw are before proto was bought out at all. I do not know if early ingersoll rand adjustables have screws or not.

Most of mine do NOT have slotted screws and don’t come apart easily. It seems that there may be a correlation between slotted screws and unreinforced hanging holes. Here are the results of the survey. Only the 4” Proto LA and Mfd. without reinforced hanging holes have slotted screws.
-Don
The next two have screws.
I hope that tells you what you wanted to know.
-Don

 

[Etchase]

Most of mine do NOT have slotted screws and don’t come apart easily. It seems that there may be a correlation between slotted screws and unreinforced hanging holes. Here are the results of the survey. Only the 4” Proto LA and Mfd. without reinforced hanging holes have slotted screws.
-Don
The next two have screws.
I hope that tells you what you wanted to know.
-Don

Thank you so much for going thru all the effort to not only check, but photograph all the sides. Press fit is much earlier than I thought. There are a lot of adjustable wrench photo’s out there but almost all are side views.

 

[d42jeep]

You’re welcome. I tried to capture all of the date codes. Happy to contribute to the collective knowledge. I was surprised by how few slotted screws there were. I imagine that reducing manufacturing costs was a large factor in the change.
-Don

 

[Etchase]

You’re welcome. I tried to capture all of the date codes. Happy to contribute to the collective knowledge. I was surprised by how few slotted screws there were. I imagine that reducing manufacturing costs was a large factor in the change.
-Don

The other thing in that time period was click stop which might benefit from a pressed shaft. I’ve never taken one apart. Cost saving would seem minimal to me, but they made a lot of them and every nickel counts.
Nice assortment you have there and those pictures are great!

 

[d42jeep]

These three are Clic-stop. The feature only really works well on the dark finish one. The other two chrome wrenches function pretty much like any other adjustable.
-Don

 

[Etchase]

I don’t know enough about how to date those to know if they are early sixties, or early 70’s., if they are early sixties it would narrow down the date of when the slotted screw disappeared considerably. The one with the date year code 1 and the full patent number looks like a candidate.

 

[Boogerman]

Hoarder sale buy this weekend; about 8 gallons of mostly Proto. Lots of less worn replacements for my main socket sets; and completed about 6 or 8 socket sets. 100+ wrenches and other items; 200+- sockets. 75 P&C and about the same SK pieces.

 

[JohnDeere]

It seems that Clik-Stops work well or not at all.