Show your Indestro and Duro-Chrome tools

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

@d42jeep That’s what I’ve heard! Now I pass through Emeryville and think I must have missed out on all the fun. Though the Townhouse bar and the Oaks Card Club are still there…

@four.cycle that’s really interesting, I still run into some scattered NOS Indestro Thorsen and Truecraft around here, mostly in the stores where stuff is kept behind the counter or in a locked case. I really appreciate you sharing all the stories about this because it’s giving me a better understanding of the timeline of how we transitioned from having mostly domestically made tools to mostly imports like we have now.

And the offset flare nut wrenches seem like they could come in handy. I’m surprised I haven’t seen them from other makers. They are too expensive for me to buy a bunch of sizes online “just in case” but definitely a good thing to know about if I end up needing a certain size.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Watch "Granco" listings. "Granco" cranked out sockets and wrenches for the air force (or NASA?.) strictly government contract stuff.
they made some fancy flare nut wrenches.

The transition from the old-school "traditional" wood-floors-with-ashtrays-everywhere auto parts stores to the sterile environments one finds today in an "Advanced Auto" or "O'Reilly's" didn't happen overnight - it was a slow progression. that's why there's still NOS Indestro, S-K, and VACO hanging on hooks in a hardware store in Fremont, Ohio.

I'm going to assume from your listing that little Wizard 1/4" ratchet in classifieds that you did NOT find that model to be the end-all ratchet. What'd you think about the 6072 and the other one, just out of curiosity?

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

Thanks for the tip on Granco. The few tools I have from them seem good but I don’t know much about the brand overall.

The Wizard ratchet is totally nice! I just realized I have a ton of ratchets that fulfill the same purpose- regular length fixed head 1/4” drive ratchets with medium tooth count and smooth operation but heads that are a little big by modern standards. So I decided to keep my favorite which is a 40 tooth Gray Canada V2536 and offer the rest for trades.

I haven’t been able to test the ones you sent me yet- we have been doing shop maintenance on some of our machines all of January and I’ve only used 1/2” drive the whole time. Once February comes I’ll be back to using mostly small stuff like usual! Looking forward to giving them a try then. Thanks again for that. I swapped the Craftsman ratchet and socket set in as my main ones on my service cart so they’ll get plenty of use.

 

[d42jeep]

I like those offset flare nut wrenches. All I have in Duro are these that I bought new. I still favor my Snap-on flare wrenches.

I found this DBE at a recent estate sale. It was pretty rusty.
Before.
-Don

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

I like how your Duro flare nut wrenches have a little meat added to the outside wall of the more extended side of the open ends.

And that wrench you cleaned up came out great!

 

[four.cycle]

^ yes, the Duro-Chrome and Indestro flare nut wrenches are pretty stout.

re: "40 tooth Gray Canada V2536"

interesting.
the 6072 Indestro is a 26-tooth. the Par-X (as I recall) was only a 24-tooth, but it had a PLASTIC pawl which made it feel somewhat smoother after I cleaned and lubed it.

I think I might have sent you a 32mm Granco socket. not sure. Gave a buddy of mine a set of 1/2" drive metric 12-points (8mm-32mm) and he's been happy with them so far.

 

[Outlawmws]

My only offset flare nut wrench is an Indestro Super in 5/8 - 13/16 - the number was badly struck and all I can get of it is 381 Nice plating, and "12 pt" on e ends.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here's a late 30s indestro 1518 set

 

[d42jeep]

This Indestro labeled D-I set arrived in the mail from a eBay seller. I’ve rarely seen a rustier box but the sockets and unmarked breaker will fill out some sets. The bottom of the box is almost rusted through.
-Don

 

[Outlawmws]

Is it in spots? it doesn't look that bad in the pic.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are some views of the rusty areas. The only thing it has going for it is the Indestro decal.
Rusty bottom

-Don

 

[Outlawmws]

Wow, that's a shame; stored is a damp place...

 

[four.cycle]

ooooo.... is that the one that was on ebay just recently?

now you know why all my socket set ads show top, bottom, and front and rear faces of the boxes!

 

[bigb5454]

Hi guys!

Picked up an Indestro ratchet. From what I have researched, looks like it may be the ratchet out of a No. 1236 Socket set. Alloy Art. reads that it should be from mid 30's to 40's. Any other info. from the resident experts? (hopefully getting these pic downloads down!)

 

[d42jeep]

ooooo.... is that the one that was on ebay just recently?

now you know why all my socket set ads show top, bottom, and front and rear faces of the boxes!

That would have been nice. Fortunately, you sent me a few much nicer boxes plus I had some others.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

@bigb5454 -
your ratchet is the Indestro model 1308, made from the 1930s through the 1970s

 

[bigb5454]

@bigb5454 -
your ratchet is the Indestro model 1308, made from the 1930s through the 1970s

Thanks four.cycle, wonder want the difference in the 30's version and the 70's version? Looks like the ones in the ads you posted just have "Indestro" name on them where the one I have has "Chicago" etc.

 

[four.cycle]

^ markings were inconsistent - some have no markings at all. no telling when it was made, as they're all built the same way.

 

[d42jeep]

I found two rusty D-I wartime 1/2” drive deep sockets at yesterday’s estate sale. I worked on them with steel wool to make them a little more presentable. Unfortunately they are duplicates, size-wise. At least they are different styles than the ones I had. They may be added to this set which is always in a state of flux.
All D-I
Mixed Duro and D-I
-Don

 

[Ricky Joe]

Feeler

 

[Etchase]

Not only do I not have a Tommy bar for this 4550, but I can’t even find a picture of one. Is it the same as the one for the flex handle without the double anvil? From a catalog it was 4 inches long, but I’m wondering about any features like a ball that would help identify it. The illustrations just show it as a rod as far as I can discern.

 

[d42jeep]

Well, I have some but don’t know if they are original. Here are some pictures.
Indesto made
Duro
I have a few larger drive examples if you want to see those.
-Don

 

[Etchase]

Thanks Don. All the Duro seem to be about 4 inches, whether they are paired with a duel anvil or not.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are two 3/8” drive D-I sockets on the left and two Duro-Chrome 3/8” drive sockets on the right. They are pretty similar in appearance.
-Don

 

[NoahG]

Had to dig out this DOE 18/19 today to turn some serrated flange M12 nuts.

 

[burnin53]

Cross country set arrived today... tools unmarked other than sizes and chrome vanadium. Breaker bar has eagle patent lawsuit head on it.

I wondered if I'd ever see another box like this Cross Country I found empty about 20 years ago,and there it is.
Guess I haven't looked in this thread for a couple years or so.
I filled it with chromium vanadium as I felt that might be what was in it originally,and looks like I guessed right.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice! We're in a small club

 

[four.cycle]

^ THAT "Chromium Vanadium" has a completely different knurling pattern on it than some other Duro/Indestro-manufactured "Chromium Vanadium" stuff:
Don's Indestro "Chromium Vanadium"
OTG's Ward's "Chromium Vanadium"
but
it looks like GJ member thefraze_1020 might have found a match to those "Cross Country" units.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I've been inspired to get mine out for a cleaning. Sockets are a bit different

 

[burnin53]

^ THAT "Chromium Vanadium" has a completely different knurling pattern on it than some other Duro/Indestro-manufactured "Chromium Vanadium" stuff:
Don's Indestro "Chromium Vanadium"
OTG's Ward's "Chromium Vanadium"
but
it looks like GJ member thefraze_1020 might have found a match to those "Cross Country" units.

Thanks,4C. I'll keep an eye out for those.
Looks like I do have one,but it's badly pitted.

 

[burnin53]

Here is an oddball. Chrome nickel?

Oldtuleguy,I have a partial set of the chrome nickel sockets.
I thought they were S-K all this time.
After seeing your set,I decided they should be in this Duro box.

 

[burnin53]

Also,I have an 11/32 that reads chromium vanadium instead of chrome vanadium that I'm assuming is an Indestro since it has a star on either side of the size.

 

[burnin53]

This is the type of unbranded S-K that "tricked" me into thinking the chrome nickel socket was some kind of special alloy
S-K socket.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Check out our chromium vanadium thread

Thread '"Chromium Vanadium" - Who Made it? 10/21/21' https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/chromium-vanadium-who-made-it-10-21-21.488239/

 

[d42jeep]

This partial wartime D-I socket set arrived in the mail today. Most of the sets I’ve seen have been populated with Duro Chrome marked sockets. Three of the included D-I sockets have a green finish that comes close to matching the box. I firmly believe that they are original to the box.
I added D-I sockets that I had on hand.
The set on the upper right has Duro marked sockets, the set on the left has D-I sockets and the one on the lower right is mixed.
-Don

 

[Old Radar]

Great looking decal on that box!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some ignition wrenches

 

[d42jeep]

Nice set with an excellent roll. GMTK correct for a late war set that I believe was made in 1945. Very unlikely to have come with a Duro screwdriver because most of them either got lost or the handles disintegrated. Here is the set in my GMTK.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

This 3/4” drive D-I socket arrived in the mail today. I’m now up to three so I guess by definition it’s a collection.
All three together.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ wasn't aware there WAS a 3/4" drive "D-I"