ratchet ****

[chad s]

Heres an interesting one. This is a 1931 dated F-70 3/8 ratchet, and after opening it to clean and lubricate it, I found what may be an early spring design. These are known to have an "S" shaped spring, however, a reference to a spring similar to the 2 piece "heart" spring is found in an early patent drawing, showing just one half of the heart style spring.

And this is the standard "S" spring:

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

Well it's obvious you've got a HUGE pile of ratchets - comforting to know there's someone out there even nuttier than me

If you ever do start selling some of those, I've seen a few in there I don't have an example of - like that Indestro-made Powr-Kraft...

Now what I'd like to see are the 5 gal bucket-loads of sockets you must have with all those odd toolbox-lots you bought.

When I started posting pic's, I would have guessed the collection had between 210 and 220 ratchets, had no idea the count would go this high.

Hope you didn't mind the light-hearted ratchet competition, really didn't think I would surpass your total when this began. Was trying to add some interest/suspense to the thread. Now its going to be interesting to see how high this ratchet count goes................

 

[billymade]

The insanity continues!

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

10 more 3/8" drive Craftsman flat panels. The 5 on the left are the fine tooth/quick release/thumbwheel versions (one to the right-most is New). The 5 on the right were the generation before Sears current offering (one to the left-most is a New Reconditioned piece, notice the black reversing lever)...........

10 more Craftsman 3/8" drive on deck..............the march to 300 begins............

('HOUND's running ratchet total, this thread: 218 1/2" Drives, 24 3/8" Drives, 242 Overall/All Sizes. Number needed to surpass overall/all sizes ratchet total of 300: 59 . )

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

The insanity continues!

Hey, billymade! Scored a gallon of that Evap-Rust stuff earlier today , clerk rang it up as "clearance" for $5.99, did I get a deal??

 

[billymade]

Wow! Yes, that is a killer deal! Typical prices online for a gallon range from $19.99 to $29.99! Where did you get it? I would like to pick some up for that price; hell, I paid more for a quart of the stuff!
http://www.google.com/products?clie...evapo-rust&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wf
Let us know what your results are; I have been amazed and blown away what this stuff can do to vintage rusted tools!

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

It was at a place I know as Cummins Tools.......think they changed their name recently. They compete with Harbor Freight in many ways. The gallon of Evapo-Rust was in a ton of stuff they bought when someone's store went out of business, as they had a lot of 1 gallon jugs of different stuff/mixed brands on the same shelf, wiper fluid, cleaning stuff, solvent, etc. etc. Going to try some of it on an S-K ratchet, and some old wrenches.

Their website was www.cumminstools.com , but the address redirects you to a site called www.toolsnow.com .

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

Hope you all had a good weekend...........10 more Craftsman 3/8" drives as promised...........9 Professional Polished versions and 1 stray flat panel the needed it's pic taken (shows some contrast anyway).

From left to right:

1) Flat Panel
2&3) The Professional Polished sold prior to Sears current offering. Thumbwheel feature is nice, black thingy in the middle is the reversing lever, no quick release feature on this one.
4&5) Yet another prior generation of the Professional Polished ratchets offered by Sears. What looks like the thumbwheel is actually the reversing lever. Center thingy is the quick release feature. I think it is a cool looking ratchet.
6-10) Current Professional Polished version offered by Sears.

More ratchets pic's to come...........any S-K fans out there..............?

('HOUND's running ratchet total, this thread: 218 1/2" Drives, 34 3/8" Drives, 252 Overall/All Sizes. Number needed to surpass overall/all sizes ratchet total of 300: 49. )

 

[bchee]

I never seen that Craftsman with the red stuff on it before (#4-5). That's kind of cool. What is the red stuff?

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

That red thingy is like a rubber boot of some type, assume a mechanic put that on there to keep the end of the ratchet from digging into his hand. I don't think it is a Sears piece. Kinda like the black rubber thing someone put on the flat panel ratchet to the far left in this pic:

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

Looks like we sank to the bottom of page 3, but we now have over 5500 views.......

21 3/8" drive S-K ratchets, and 1 rarely seen JCPenney (manufactured by S-K).

From left to right:

1-15) Various years S-K
16) (S-K manufactured) JCPenney with a flat panel handle. I don't recall these in the JCPenney catalog years ago, but I wasn't looking for them either. A relative at the S-K plant tipped me off about their being made, along with JCPenney wrenches being made at the S-K facility. He said they used to make "runs" of them in anticipation of Father's Day, and Christmas.
17-18) S-K fine tooth
19-20) S-K with the unique push through reversing lever
21-22) S-K (notice the bottom-most has a "fat" reversing lever, like the JCPenney)

The count to 300 continues.............I'll find a pic of more 3/8" drives to keep the appetite up ..............

('HOUND's running ratchet total, this thread: 218 1/2" Drives, 56 3/8" Drives, 274 Overall/All Sizes. Number needed to surpass overall/all sizes ratchet total of 300: 27. )

 

[lbgradwell]

17-18) S-K fine tooth

The reversing switch on those reminds me of JH Williams...

Is the JC Penney ratchet marked "Penncraft" or "JC Penney"?

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

lbgradwell, yep, they are very similar, hadn't paid much attention before. The S-K does have an allen head set screw in the center of the reversing lever, IIRC..........

Here is a pic of csquared 's broken 1/2" drive fine tooth S-K from post #104 of this thread:

The JCPenney ratchet does not have "Penncraft" on it, just "JCPenney".

 

[caper]

snapmom,what vintage are those round flex head ratchets?Never seen any like them before.

 

[caper]

moparhound,I'm in awe of your collection!You've given me something to aspire too and comfort for my girlfriend in knowing there is someone out there who is a bigger ratchet ***** than me!

 

[caper]

I can't beleive this thread only has a three star rating!

 

[chammyman]

I can't beleive its not butter!

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

This one has the same reversing lever design, and basically the same style as the modern S-K fine tooth:

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

I can't beleive this thread only has a three star rating!

I can't beleive its not butter!

You mean "better".........

 

[old salvage]

You mean "better".........

Who's going to be the first to try that as a ratchet lube ?

 

[Diesel-Mech]

I can't beleive this thread only has a three star rating!

Maybe a few people around here have ratchet envy.

 

[chammyman]

I wasn't sure if you got 'I can't believe its not butter' over there

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

Who's going to be the first to try that as a ratchet lube ?

Click.......click.......click..........yeppers, buttery smooth!!!

 

[snapmom]

I think the pat. holder has a lot to do with the exact same guts in the diff. mfg.

 

[bchee]

Who's going to be the first to try that as a ratchet lube ?

Click.......click.......click..........yeppers, buttery smooth!!!

 

[Phatsub]

I have to confess, I've been contributing to this threads view count. I check it constantly for new pics...I absolutely LOVE them. Great for wallpaper. Please, keep the pics coming.

 

[csquared]

Haven't been on in a while, and just saw post #176. That ratchet isn't broken, I was just cleaning and re-lubing it. Thought I would take a picture for you guys while it was apart. The mechanisms are the most interesting part for me.

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

The dirty bits of my SK 42475... naughty.

Fixed. Sorry, that was huge.

Ahhhh........when you typed "Fixed" you were referring to the size of the pic, not the ratchet.

 

[SteveU]

Wow, you could have a dedicated ratchet for every socket size offered in that drive.

3/8" & 1/4" ratchets:

A few more 3/8", as well as some 1/2" that got left out:

 

[snapmom]

One of the nicest collections I have seen, the variety. Treasure hunting is fun.

 

[lbgradwell]

One of the nicest collections I have seen, the variety. Treasure hunting is fun.

Yes it is!

OK, snapmom, I must ask you a question...

At the risk of sounding sexist, I think we can all agree that vintage mechanic tool collecting is an unusual hobby for a woman.

How came you to this interest (to the point where you have a famous collection and are an acknowledged expert in things Snap-on)?!

Was/is your Dad a mechanic or dealer? Were/are you one or either? Are you a flea market or antiques dealer?

Or was it some other reason altogether?

 

[snapmom]

My father was a shade tree mech. He made me work on my own cars. He had a lot of snap on tools, which I have now. Started on ebay in about 99, just wanted to complete some of my sets. I had some 9/32 drive so tools and a few old so tools my father had, and started to buy some more. I do not consider my collection famous. I have a long way to go. I am not a dealer, but sometimes I sell my dupl. tools, sometimes I buy large lots and end up with lots of dups. I trade these or sell them.

 

[PowderKeg]

Snapmom,
What you've shown so far is impressive - I didn't know Snap-On made so many round head ratchets, and those spin ratchets are particularly cool. I suspect we've only seen a very small portion of your collection. You and Chad S have some really nice vintage stuff.

 

[snapmom]

Some Snap on F-7 three diff. these are s/o first 3/8 rats.

 

[snapmom]

some Snap on F-70 two diff.

 

[krusty the clown]

i have never seen the 29 or the 30 models before. they must be really rare!

 

[snapmom]

Some Snap on F-70A three diff. notice that the guts are all diff.

 

[snapmom]

The F-7 is very hard to find, there may be another version, but I have not seen it.

 

[chad s]

i have never seen the 29 or the 30 models before. they must be really rare!

At the time, 3/8 wasnt the standard it is today, 1/2 was a much bigger seller, with a lot more options and tools to support the drive size.

 

[chad s]

Heres my early 3/8 collection. The one on the far right side is my latest acquisition, a 1935 1/4 female refrigeration ratchet.