Show your Indestro and Duro-Chrome tools

[Outlawmws]

Finding the screwdriver will likely be impossible

the key question is what color handle, and were they marked?

 

[d42jeep]

the key question is what color handle, and were they marked?

I would expect the handle to be amber and look like this.
In a perfect world it might look something like this. Very few have been found. This one was in the 1945 set.

-Don

 

[d42jeep]

This wartime Duro 2016 DBE arrived in the mail today. These are fairly hard to find and sought out by GMTK collectors. I’ll probably eventually pass it along to another collector.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Duro-Chrome 4575A 1/4" drive ratchet. I'm surprised to find no pic on a GJ search. Of course, this is when I get hammered with pics and links proving me wrong. A precursor 4575 is shown on post #1869.

I don’t have one of those although I wouldn’t mind finding one. I do have a NOS Indestro 3/8” drive cousin though. -Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a very early Duro set that came in the mail yesterday. A couple of sockets are questionable but it seems otherwise complete. I substituted an ell that had a bit less damage inflicted on it.


-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ an ebay seller listed one of those LIDS just a couple days ago:

Indestro Auto Socket Wrenches Metallic Box Embossed Lid Only | eBay

Made by indestro. Slide in tool box LID. All my sales will be straight forward and in good faith, if you need more info on this product ASK for pictures. I may not have all the answers but will try to answer them.

www.ebay.com

 

[d42jeep]

A little information on the ell handles.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

@Oldtuleguy -
When we were talking yesterday we briefly discussed the boss lady. I'll take the liberty of posting this again for you.
Here's more information and the photo of her with her prize dairy cow.

 

[Mintgrun]

Question for @d42jeep

Does this 31/32” socket belong in this set? It fits, so it lives in there now.

 

[d42jeep]

If that is the corner of one of these sets it doesn’t belong. I have never actually seen a D-I 31/32” socket before and I’ve seen quite a few D-I sockets.
-Don

 

[Mintgrun]

Yes, it's the corner of a box like that. One that I pulled out of the scrap bin at Habitat, not long after scrounging around in the tool bins making sure to gather up as many D-I tools as I could find. It boggles my mind that an almost complete set arrives and then gets broken up/discarded on its way out onto the shelves.

It's the first 31/32" I've seen too. I love coming home and finding that the wrench or socket fills a gap. Even if that gap was meant to be!

Thank you for the info, Don.

 

[bonneyman]

It's the first 31/32" I've seen too. I love coming home and finding that the wrench or socket fills a gap. Even if that gap was meant to be!

Damn, I could have used a 31/32" socket for a plumbing job last year. Adjustment nut on the guest bathroom faucet, rusted in good - and weird size. Ended up having to make one - took a 15/16" socket and slowly ground it out larger till it fit.

 

[Mintgrun]

plumbing job ... weird size.

Plumbing = weird sizes galore!

That was the first D-I 31/32" I've seen, but this Bonney example was the first one I found. It's probably more up your alley, based on your screen name.

Here’s a D 31 CV 1/2” socket. It is the first 31/32” one I’ve seen. Apparently it fits U.S.S. 9/16” bolts.

(copied from a post in the Bonney thread)

It looks like sumb dumb plumber put a pipe wrench on it, unfortunately.
(not that I have anything against plumbers)

One more and I'll have a 31/32" socket collection!

Tom

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

A couple months ago I posted in here about Duro/Indestro’s “tappet style” thin combo wrenches. I’ve been on the lookout for them since then and I found my first one in the wild today. It’s a Super-Quality branded 3/8” combo serial number 771.





Last photo compares it to the Carlyle that’s my user combo in that size at home. The Super-Quality is longer despite the Carlyle being “long pattern.” Boxed end is .255” deep compared to .275” on the Carlyle and the open end is .140” thick vs .195”, though here it’s noticeably bigger in the other direction to compensate. Overall I don’t think these will be huge game changers to own but they are still pretty cool and I’ll definitely still buy them when I run into them.

 

[four.cycle]

err.... actually.... the model 771 was their "Standard Length" combination wrench (as opposed to the 771S "short series", which are far more common.)
Indestro's tappet wrenches were T1, T1A, T2, T3, and T4 (a part numbering system you will see on other brands as well.)

I am trying to complete a set of the "Standard Length" models, but am shy 771, 772, 773, and 776. I'm looking for later production stuff than what you have there. Yours is early -"Super Quality" is 1930s or 1940s and they are thin - almost as thin as their tappet wrenches were. (Sizes on these two catalog snips are from 1971.)

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

From what I was reading on alloy artifacts it seems like they originally used those serial numbers (77x for Indestro and 020xx for Duro) for this thin style in the 1930s but over time this morphed into the "Standard Length" series you are talking about. I can dig up more of the details after dinner but for now here is the intro to the tappet style combos from their Duro page: http://alloy-artifacts.org/duro-indestro-p4.html#duro-combo

And incidentally I think I've got a spare 776 from the era/series you're working on. I got it in a trade from another member here while trying to track down some of these tappet style combos. It has some chrome wear but if you want it it's all yours:

 

[four.cycle]

^ yeah I'd love it. that looks to be the right era (date wise) to match the others. that one is just stamped "Indestro Super", right?

"...From what I was reading on..."

Respectfully, AA is in error on this particular point.
The Indestro tappet wrenches were a different series, with different part numbers, as I cited above: T1, T1A, T2, T3, and T4.
Indestro's "Short Handle Series" SAE combination wrenches ranged from 767S through 777S (1/4" - 3/4") and their "Long Handle Series" ranged from 771 through 783 (3/8" - 1-1/4").
Later there were larger sizes available (e.g., 783-48)

What you have is an earlier production (1930s - 1940s) "SuperQuality" combo, and yes, they are a wee bit thinner in the hand than their later counterparts - I have a couple of them, and a couple early production obstruction wrenches, which you might want to consider.
Again, I think the earlier production "SuperQuality" does have a thinner beam and thinner head than the later "Super".

You can see some of the differences between the early and later production pieces by comparing the little 1821 obstruction wrench (pictured below.) That one is a favorite for getting in behind tiny Tecumseh carburetors.

(I got you covered here on a 7/8" combo with a "thin" head. It's caveman work, but it'll do in a pinch. )

 

[d42jeep]

Yes, it's the corner of a box like that. One that I pulled out of the scrap bin at Habitat, not long after scrounging around in the tool bins making sure to gather up as many D-I tools as I could find. It boggles my mind that an almost complete set arrives and then gets broken up/discarded on its way out onto the shelves.

It's the first 31/32" I've seen too. I love coming home and finding that the wrench or socket fills a gap. Even if that gap was meant to be!

Thank you for the info, Don.

If you have interest in completing that wartime D-I set, I would probably be able to help with some of the pieces you might be missing. I wouldn’t mind having that 31/32“ D-I socket. I try to keep some spare D-I sockets around for GMTK collectors.
-Don

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

@four.cycle Gotcha, that makes sense! Sometimes AA is mixed up on this stuff. And glad I can help with wrench 776! Yes it’s branded Indestro Super. Is this the specific branding you’re looking for? I can check a couple places in town to see if they have 771 772 or 773 in the right era/branding before I send it.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Those three are unicorns in good condition. There are trashy copies on ebay. Clean ones are pretty difficult to find: 3/8", 7/16", and 1/2"
Funny you brought this up. I only decided that I "needed" to put together a set of the long series just a few months ago.

 

[d42jeep]

Duro-Chrome 4575A 1/4" drive ratchet. I'm surprised to find no pic on a GJ search. Of course, this is when I get hammered with pics and links proving me wrong. A precursor 4575 is shown on post #1869.

I don’t have one of those although I wouldn’t mind finding one. I do have a NOS Indestro 3/8” drive cousin though. -Don

Thanks to the generosity of PSCo1867, a family reunion of cousins took place on the West Coast today.
-Don

 

[Cruzan80]

Duro or Indestro wrench, Indestro Super 1/4 driver and possibly a flex driver (unmarked, but the box it was in only had D-I flavored tools, and other random stuff). Nothing on the handle.

 

[d42jeep]

I have one of those unmarked flex spinners and keep it in a Craftsman set although I have no idea who made it. I like that amber handle Indestro spinner. I use those for D-I sets since the Duro spinners are made of unobtainium. They don‘t show up very often.
Unmarked spinner.
-Don

 

[Mintgrun]

Duro or Indestro wrench, Indestro Super 1/4 driver and possibly a flex driver (unmarked, but the box it was in only had D-I flavored tools, and other random stuff). Nothing on the handle.

You forgot to mention the CuTco kitchen shears!

 

[Cruzan80]

Those snuck into the pic. Mentioned them in the GS thread, along with the other finds. Hard to leave them behind when marked $1.

Don, I have a BE spinner somewhere. May compare and see if there are identifying details. Like Ientioned, the only tools in the box were the ones I grabbed an some "Select Steel" and Power-Kraft items (D-I made), which led me to think it was part of this.

 

[four.cycle]

^ "unmarked spinner" above = pretty sure that's Oxwall.

they also made one with a "stubby" handle that's found in their Japan-made "PowerMaster" sets (top right in first image and following two images)

the long-handle models are at lower right in first image. sorry about crappy photo.

 

[four.cycle]

Indestro Super 8081A 5-200 inch pound torque wrench (patent 2743678 2897704 3016773)

manufactured by Jo Manufacturing?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

They sold pretty decent torque wrenches. Here's an old one still in the box.

 

[four.cycle]

^ yes. I have one of those in a drawer in the garage. the Indestro equivalent: 8099-½, as I recall. (fun trying to send in purchase orders to the factory with fractions.) Indestro was making those beam-type models.
I don't believe they made the "clickers" - I'm positive they were outsourced.
When they were first introduced, it was only the 8088 model - 1/2" drive - and they were on backorder forever. The smaller drives weren't even available (even though they showed up in the catalog.) Backordered. Go figure.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Yes I don't think they made the clickers, which was not unusual

 

[Outlawmws]

Richmont Sturdivant made a lot of the clickers on contract - Something to make a comparison against.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I think even the torque wrench makers got their ratchet heads from other companies.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yep, Richmond used Proto a lot.

 

[d42jeep]

Indestro Super 8081A 5-200 inch pound torque wrench (patent 2743678 2897704 3016773)

manufactured by Jo Manufacturing?

Look at the resemblance to my AC Spark Plug 3/8” drive torque wrench made by Jo Manufacturing although there are differences
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ If you read the response from @Grayspoked in the "JO" thread he makes a good argument for the OEM on mine to have been New Britain. It most certainly looks New Britain-ish.

 

[d42jeep]

The ratchet head on my Jo made wrench is New Britain as well.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

We found a few auto kit wrenches at today’s estate sale.
-Don

 

[RyanE]

This beast arrived in the mail today. I think maybe Indestro might have actually made it?


Indestro 3580 15-in adustable wrench

Indestro 3580 15-in adjustable wrench

Hey @four.cycle , curious what makes you think these are made by Indestro?

I've got a similar 15" adjustable branded "Williams" "Superjustable".

I've also got another (older?) 18" Superjustable branded "J.H. Williams & Co" with "Patd in USA", suggesting it is older. Same pattern. Excellent finish and chrome on both of them.

Was Indestro/Duro making these for Williams or did they both source them from another maker?

 

[3baygarage]

4C, if you turn the wrench on it's side and the jaw track is D shaped then should be Williams made.

 

[four.cycle]

@RyanE - I would be more inclined to think they were both made by Williams.
Indestro outsourced all kinds of stuff, so that would certainly come as no surprise, and it makes perfect sense. Williams would certainly have had the production capacity.

I thought it might have been made by Indestro because it doesn't look anything at all like my Indestro 4, 6, 8, or 10-inch models, none of which I believe were made by Indestro - I think they were outsourced as well.