Show off your Plomb War Finish

[Conductor562]

It's pretty self explanatory. Let's see them! If this thread has been done before I couldn't find it, but I'd be surprised if it hasn't.

 

[Plombob]

I won't be able to get to mine for a while. BTW: You ****! - you have a whole set of wrenches!

 

[Conductor562]

I won't be able to get to mine for a while. BTW: You ****! - you have a whole set of wrenches!

I'd like to have them up to 1", but I can **** in one hand and wish in the other and see which one fills up first Do you happen to know how big they made civilian model combos? That may seem like a stupid question, but there aren't a lot of visual War Finish references and it stands to reason that the offering may have been limited with the wartime shortage.

 

[Conductor562]

Surely some of you guys have some War Finish stuff lying around.

 

[rickhigginshtbr]

subscribed for the plomb ****.

 

[zuk123]

Silly question maybe, but as you say, not a lot of references....

Is the war finish the sort of grey bare metal? Smooth but not chromed? Doesn't really polish, can have dark spots that don't wire brush off??

I've got a bunch of old wrenches like that, I thought maybe they just lost their chrome, but they seem too consistent.

Thanks, I've only been buying this stuff since joining GJ!

zuk

 

[Charles (in GA)]

 

[B17E1943]

Does it have to say "War Finish" on it? Or does "WF" count - or does that mean "Wright Field?"

I'm so confused ...

 

[Conductor562]

Is the war finish the sort of grey bare metal? Smooth but not chromed? Doesn't really polish, can have dark spots that don't wire brush off??

Yes, the War Finish and Wright Field tools all have a "dusty" looking cadmium finish. I can't swear those spots won't come off, but I have yet to find anything to take them off. The civilian stuff was stamped War Finish while the Army/Air Corp contract stuff was stamped WF- followed by the stock number for that particular tool such as WF-38 which was a 1/2" drive ratchet. WF stood for Wright Field (Now Wright-Patterson AFB) which was a major contract point during the war. The Wright Field stuff is getting harder to find, but it's still more common than the War Finish stuff. There were also Plomb's stamped USN which were Naval contract pieces but I know very little about them. I have a book put out by Proto for their 100th anniversary in 2007 that answers a question I always had. All the manufacturers essentially had a "War Finish", but Plomb went out of the way to stamp them as such. Part of it was that due to the wartime material shortage manufacturers didn't offer their typical lifetime warranties with them and certain stampings identified these tools for that purpose. Plomb went a step further (according to my book) because Morris Pendleton wanted Americans to identify his company's tools with the war effort. It also goes on to explain how Pendleton used Government loans during the war to modernize his factories while many manufactures were still weary of going in debt as they'd just gotten on their feet following the great depression. After the war the Government forgave the debt and Plomb made out like a bandit. Anyway, that's my rambling for the moment

 

[Conductor562]

Does it have to say "War Finish" on it? Or does "WF" count - or does that mean "Wright Field?"

I'm so confused ...

A War Finish stamped tool was made for the civilian market and looks like this:

A WF (Wright Field) tool was made for the Army/Air Corp and looks like this:

A USN stamp was made under Naval contract and looks like this:

 

[B17E1943]

Thanks!

I need to put all my PLOMB in one place so I know what I have. I know I have a few of the WF.

 

[Conductor562]

Thanks!

I need to put all my PLOMB in one place so I know what I have. I know I have a few of the WF.

Then by all means post them up!

 

[B17E1943]

I'll do some digging tomorrow.

 

[glenmore]

Only 2!

I think I came across these two only because they were small and were passed over.

 

[Conductor562]

Only 2!

I think I came across these two only because they were small and were passed over.

My 9/16 is a much brighter color than the rest kinda like the bottom one in your pic. I'd love to know why. At first I thought someone had done a really good job of painting it years ago. Then I though maybe someone had just done a fine job of adding a War Finish stamp to a regular wrench. Neither of these appear to be the case. I'm stumped But I'd love to find out what the story is.

Keep em coming guys

 

[B17E1943]

Here ya go - I thought I had more, but this is all I can find at the moment ...

 

[Conductor562]

Here ya go - I thought I had more, but this is all I can find at the moment ...

Is that box end wrench a WF or War Finish? I think I see a WF, but can't tell for sure.

 

[B17E1943]

It's a WF; should've gotten a better shot of it.

 

[Conductor562]

Here's a nice article with some good information:

http://http://www.vannattabros.com/plomb/plombtool.html

 

[Steevo]

 

[Conductor562]

That's a monster Steevo! Biggest War Finish socket I've seen anyway.

 

[justin10054]

I'd like to have them up to 1", but I can **** in one hand and wish in the other and see which one fills up first Do you happen to know how big they made civilian model combos? That may seem like a stupid question, but there aren't a lot of visual War Finish references and it stands to reason that the offering may have been limited with the wartime shortage.

I have a "war finish" 1236 1-1/8" combo. I'd be willing to swap it for a pebble 1236. I almost have a full set of pebble combos up to 1-1/4. I just need the 1234 and 1236.

 

[NHBandit]

You bastards ! I had never heard of this before and now I have to go sort through 3 large toolboxes full of stuff to see if I have any of these... Be back in awhile. You all better hope I don't find any because if I do then I'll have to try to complete the "set" and that just ads another guy to the bunch who are looking for these and so it goes....

 

[Conductor562]

I have a "war finish" 1236 1-1/8" combo. I'd be willing to swap it for a pebble 1236. I almost have a full set of pebble combos up to 1-1/4. I just need the 1234 and 1236.

I have no Pebbles Would you be willing to sell it outright?

 

[Conductor562]

You bastards ! I had never heard of this before and now I have to go sort through 3 large toolboxes full of stuff to see if I have any of these... Be back in awhile. You all better hope I don't find any because if I do then I'll have to try to complete the "set" and that just ads another guy to the bunch who are looking for these and so it goes....

Completing the set will be quite a daunting task. War Finish combos are very rare as you can probably tell be the shortness of this thread. I'm stuck at 11/16. You find an occasional misc. socket and a breaker bar once in awhile, and sometimes you'll find some DOE wrenches, but the combos don't come up often.

 

[Virgil Cain]

Is anyone still using these wrenches or are they just in collections?

If they are being used are their any concerns with coming into contact with the cadmium finish?

 

[Conductor562]

Nine are retired. I like using vintage stuff, but the War Finish stuff is just too hard to replace to risk it. As far as the cadmium finish goes, I never use a wire brush on them. An rust is typically able to be rubber off by hand and if not I use evapo-rust. I give them a coat of silicone spray a couple times a year and they stay looking pretty nice.

 

[justin10054]

That 1236 I posted above is in my set of "user" combos, but I've never actually had to use that size.
Are they all cadmium plated? Most of my war finish tools look like plain steel to me.

 

[Conductor562]

That 1236 I posted above is in my set of "user" combos, but I've never actually had to use that size.
Are they all cadmium plated? Most of my war finish tools look like plain steel to me.

For the most part, yes. You'll see some here and there that have a different appearance like the 9/16" in my OP. Not 100% sure what the reasoning behind it is, but given the material shortage I suppose the kinda had to go with what they had.

 

[coconanipoo]

5663 War Finish
WF-84
WF29
WF33

 

[Cab037]

WF-37 1/2" Breaker Bar
WF-36 1/2" 20" Long Extension
WF-22 3/8" Sliding Tee

Bought them in a lot of other tools primarily for the long extension...

 

[DWise]

1/2 drive speeder.

 

[woody 73]

You bastards ! I had never heard of this before and now I have to go sort through 3 large toolboxes full of stuff to see if I have any of these... Be back in awhile. You all better hope I don't find any because if I do then I'll have to try to complete the "set" and that just ads another guy to the bunch who are looking for these and so it goes....

I second that...thought I had seen it all, now it's WAR FINISH you guys are going to kill me

 

[Conductor562]

For those just joining us, remember that WF and War Finish are 2 different species. Post 9 and 10 elaborates on this.

 

[woody 73]

You just wait conductor 562 until NHbandit and I get together and come up with some kind of clone plomb then we will fix your boat...WAR FINSH phooey.

 

[Conductor562]

You just wait conductor 562 until NHbandit and I get together and come up with some kind of clone plomb then we will fix your boat...WAR FINSH phooey.

Far be it from me to discourage. If you're cloning ****, clone me a War Finish combo in 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, and 1". I won't tell a soul

 

[JohnDeere1]

Sorry to bring back an old thread but just bought 2 WF today for $2 1/2 breaker and a 3/8 flat style ratchet both in outstanding condition the ratchet was just dirty but the breaker is as new. Fyi tooth paste cleans the cadmium without taking it off makes them bright and adds a slight shine.

 

[JohnDeere1]

Will post pic in the morning

 

[SilverDeck]

My biggest piece of Plomb War Finish: 3/4" Drive 5649 Ratchet. Some discoloration on the exterior surfaces but the internals of the ratchet are like new. Not sure that it ever got used much (or at all).

 

[Cruzan80]

Just found some WF swivels at an estate sale. Also some wright branded ones, with the same dashes. Did Wright brand exist at the same time?