Show your Indestro and Duro-Chrome tools

[Oldtuleguy]

Ouch. Nice shape otherwise. Those old screwdrivers are tough to find in good shape.

 

[RagTopTA]

Heres a Duro set I forgot I had. Found it sev years ago at an Estate sale in a rickety old garage.

 

[Old Radar]

Found a 1970s era Indestro Classic 1/4 & 3/8 Socket set today, #S6310. The good part is all the set's sockets are there and they and the box are in great shape. Unfortunately none of the drive tools were in the box. I spent a fruitless 45 minutes searching for them at the estate sale. After getting home and checking my stash, I have the 6272 Ratchet but not the 6073 Spinner or the 6230 2-5/8" extension. I've included my 2879 spinner until the correct one turns up.

 

[four.cycle]

^ are the sockets in that set "Select" (two plain bands) or "Super" (single knurled band)?
"Classic" was usually "Select". (The only place the word "Classic" appeared is on the label inside the box lid and in the catalog.)
(There were some "Classic" sets produced in which the sockets are stamped only with "Indestro" - (no "Select" or "Super", and on those sets you can get away with either on the drive accessories.)
That yellow-handled 2879 is a very difficult to find item - even the later white and clear-handled models are almost non-existent.
There are frequently 2873 spinner handles listed on Ebay - unfortunately sellers think they're made of platinum. Sometimes you can score one on the cheap.
The 6073, from what I've see, is a bit more difficult to find (at least on Ebay.)
You can probably find that oddball extension as part of some kind of "package deal" on Ebay - most likely mixed with some other odds and ends.

Nice set, btw. Box appears to be in cherry shape (at least on the inside.)

 

[Old Radar]

Thanks! Here is the top of the box. Except for the one light spot it looks great. The bottom actually looks better but has a similar spot. The sockets are Select. I was surprised I don't have any short extensions in my stash--I'll have to be more diligent combing through tubs of tools.

 

[four.cycle]

^ that box looks like it's almost new.

Here's a little Duro Chrome set I just received. Early black finish "D-I" stuff, except for the 3/8" 8-point which is a bit shiny.
oddly, the little breaker isn't marked at all, but definitely appears to be Duro Chrome design. No 7/32" or 7/16" sockets in this one, but I did get the little cross bar. The box is in amazingly good condition - I'd give the decal at least a 95 out of 100:

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Those are nice boxes. Hold alot of stuff.

 

[Old Radar]

Seems like they were making their boxes and then deciding what to put in them. On mine, both the socket tray and the drive tool area are too big for the included tools, but I didn't see that they used a specific numbered box on more than one set in the catalogs.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Yes I think maybe same box for different sets

 

[four.cycle]

d42jeep and I both own multiple copies of those oversize green-box sets. I'm not sure if anyone ever came up with a definitive explanation for the size of the boxes.

 

[d42jeep]

There is little doubt about those boxes being used for wartime 1/4” drive sets. Here are a couple of blown up wartime pictures of an S-K 1/4” drive set above a Duro 1/4” drive set. The Duro spinner handle probably disintegrated a few years after the picture was taken. For my own amusement, I recreated the photo in
2017.
-Don
.

 

[d42jeep]

I have a box with the same exterior dimensions but a slightly wider socket slot ideal for 3/8” drive sockets. I used it to make my version of a wartime 3/8” drive set.
-Don

 

[Jim C.]

I recently came across this Indestro Super 1/4” drive, inch pound torque wrench. I think it’s model number 8081A. It seems to be in good working order.

Jim C.

At same time, I also got this NOS Indestro 3/8”drive flex head ratchet, model #2736A.

 

[four.cycle]

So.... d42jeep... on that Duro-Chrome 1/4" drive set above (green box, D-I):
I'm going to assume that the model 4502 kit shown in the 1939 Duro catalog is not that set, correct?
Is there anything documenting what the set might have originally contained from the factory? Or do you think that green-box D-I set was strictly a wartime thing made to fill a military contract?
I believe I have a few of the 1/4" pressed-flange ratchets around here, but mine are all branded Indestro.
Looks like the breaker in your 1/4" set there is stamped with a number. (Presumably 4550)
I know I have at least one or two more of those here somewhere, but I cannot recall what pieces they contain.

 

[d42jeep]

Hey, BK,
I think that Duro wasn’t marking their sockets D-I until the beginning of the war, so I would assume the set in the prewar catalog would have been marked Duro Chrome. I kind of based the contents of my 1/4” drive D-I sets on the actual wartime photos.
-Don

 

[MR.X]

Is this a Mil. contract# or ? looks like 42A6485

 

[Provincial]

A page from the 1957 General Tool catalog featuring Duro Metal and Woodworking Machinery.

 

[rustyzman]

I bought one of those Duro belt/disc sanders for the shop I used to work at. We needed a second one for a part we made and I found it at an estate sale for $100. That was a Very nice sander. Heavy cabinet, good castings, belt tracked very well with easy adjustment and even had a belt driven vacuum in the cabinet base (did not hook that one up though...).
One of the items I wished I had bought for myself instead. It was better than the Delta Rockwell unit we already had in use in the shop, the Duro was just much heavier built. Switch was in an odd spot though, down on the middle of the side of the cabinet as I recall.

 

[Jim C.]

A little while back, a friend of mine had the exclusive rights to “plunder” an auto parts store that had been open for decades, but since went out of business in the mid 1990s. When the store closed, its contents and existing inventory of parts, tools, etc were left as is. Most of the tools were S-K, Kraeuter and a good amount of Indestro. There was virtually no rhyme or reason to any of it. Just boxes and boxes and more boxes full of hand tools. Anyway, one of the wrenches I found in the absolute disorder is shown below.

The wrench has a flattened out hex shaped shank with finished panels opposite each other. Can anyone tell me the approximate age of this wrench and how many others were in the set? Thanks.

Jim C.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I think the hex shanks were part of a special wrench line that didn't appear in catalogs. I have one, a very odd 'SUPER-QUALITY' CVS era double offset DBE but with fixed socket ends, one 8 point, the other 12 point, that appears to be a Ford main bearing wrench. Part number 767. So, maybe all of them are 7xx series. Linked here. Otg says he has one in reply in the very next post. Maybe his will add a piece to the puzzle.

 

[Jim C.]

I thought the wrench looked unlike anything I’ve seen made by Indestro, I looked for more information but couldn’t find much. The flat hex shank has a nice feel to it so I figured I might try to get a list of wrenches in the set and put one together. When I found the wrench in the boxes on top of boxes of tools, it was the only one of its kind. While there were several duplicates of other wrenches, sockets, ratchets, etc., this wrench was the only one I found. After I discovered it, I was actively looking for more and came up empty. I guess that should have been a clue that it might be uncommon.

Jim C.

 

[saukit]

Lucked into a Duro Chrome 1/2 inch ratchet the other day. In great shape, didn't even need to remove any rust. I have a feeling I'll end up with quite a few more of these, luck willing...

 

[saukit]

Here's a socket set that I'm told is Duro, came from same sale as the ratchet above. They were in different boxes but maybe originally part of the same set? The box that the sockets came in looks very similar to the box posted by RagTopTA in post #1,762 but I don't believe it has the stamp on top.

Anyone have any idea of the age on these? Pre/post war?

 

[four.cycle]

^ The model 3217 universal joint is the only piece I can identify with any degree of certainty - unmistakable because of the two plain bands at the ends.
The only way to positively identify sockets from that era is to be able to see the side of the socket so that the size stamp, knurling, and any other marks/symbols can be seen.
The three sockets at lower right could be Duro/Indestro, but without comparing them to a known example it's difficult to say for certain. (New Britain Machine Co., Walden-Worcester, and G.M. Mfg. Co. also made sockets which look very similar, but I'm leaning to Duro/Indesto on those three.)(Don may weigh in on this for a second opinion)
The broaching on the other sockets does look like Duro/Indestro product.
The small valve grinding attachment (642) (which is actually missing a piece) at lower left is most likely Duro/Indestro product.
As to vintage, that is difficult to say, because Duro/Indestro manufactured those over quite a range of years, as is also the case with your pressed-flange 678 ratchet in the post just above.


NOTE that the catalog illustration of the 3217 universal joint does not show the two bands. (It also shows a model having both male and female ends - but Duro/Indestro did make a female-to-female universal early on.)
Early catalog illustrations are notoriously unreliable when trying to ascertain details on some items because of a things called "artists renditions". IOW: trust, but verify.
I've seen enough (and own enough) of those U-joints to be able to identify them by sight. The earliest ones were not marked with part numbers.

 

[Old Radar]

Here's a socket set that I'm told is Duro, came from same sale as the ratchet above. They were in different boxes but maybe originally part of the same set? The box that the sockets came in looks very similar to the box posted by RagTopTA in post #1,762 but I don't believe it has the stamp on top.

Anyone have any idea of the age on these? Pre/post war?

^
The small valve grinding attachment (642) (which is actually missing a piece) at lower left is most likely Duro/Indestro product.

Saukit--I think I have the part you need for that 642 valve grinder attachment. I found an Indestro set last December that had it but no socket end. Luckily, Private Lugnutz generously supplied me with a completed unit, so you are welcome to this one--it looks a lot better now than this picture shows. I'll be out of touch for the next week but PM me your info if you want it and I'll take care of it when I get back.

For the rest of you GS addicts--good luck this coming week! I look forward to seeing all your finds.

 

[four.cycle]

 

[d42jeep]

Here is my Indestro marked set with several similarly marked sockets. I’ve seen an almost identical Duro marked set shown in this thread somewhere. They are prewar, in my opinion.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

Thanks Don.
Yes - 1920s - 1930s. They're "Master Series" carbon steel sockets and they're not in the later catalogs. (yours looks like a 1536. they must have sold millions of those things.)
BK

 

[saukit]

Thank you four.cycle, Old Radar, and d42jeep! These sockets came in a case that is the same shape and color as d42jeep's, unfortunately someone took a rattle can to the exterior so any identifying markings are covered up. There's no stamp or decal on the interior. I'm out of town the next few days but when I get back I'll try to post some additional pictures for posterity's sake.

I really appreciate the knowledge and the offer to complete the valve grinding part, you guys rock! Thanks again.

 

[JjKk40]

How do those valve grinding sockets work? I have one in my Indestro set too.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Older valves had indents on either side of the face of the valve for those prongs. Most of the attachments came in different sizes (diameter between indents on valve face/prongs on attachment) to accommodate different valve sizes, and were pinned on to a little stake on the socket with a little split pin. These adjustable jobbies were an innovation from that. Later, flat valve faces came around and suction cups, and you could find valve grinders with both kinds of attachments.

Despite the name, really more for valve lapping with lapping compound, not actually grinding.

 

[bonneyman]

Lucked into a Duro Chrome 1/2 inch ratchet the other day. In great shape, didn't even need to remove any rust. I have a feeling I'll end up with quite a few more of these, luck willing...

Nice!

I like those ratchets. Not very fine teeth but stout as all get out!

 

[Outlawmws]

The later valve lapping tools with suction cups also got away from a rotational lapping motion and used a special "hand drill" that alternated the direction back and forth.

 

[JjKk40]

Thanks for that explanation private lugnutz!

 

[Outlawmws]

two combos added yesterday. the top one may be my first Duro/Indestro?

 

[d42jeep]

two combos added yesterday. the top one may be my first Duro/Indestro?

The Duro/Indestro marked wrenches were some of the last ones produced and the quality had definitely dropped off.
-Don

 

[Provincial]

two combos added yesterday. the top one may be my first Duro/Indestro?

I've been keeping an eye out for a 1/2 combo like the bottom one in this photo. I bought a set of these "select" wrenches at the local hardware store in the mid-1960's and still have them. I ground the open end of the 1/2 into a tappet wrench, and want to replace it. While I shouldn't have ground it, I had no other good option at the time, and needed to get the car back on the road!

 

[Outlawmws]

I've been keeping an eye out for a 1/2 combo like the bottom one in this photo. I bought a set of these "select" wrenches at the local hardware store in the mid-1960's and still have them. I ground the open end of the 1/2 into a tappet wrench, and want to replace it. While I shouldn't have ground it, I had no other good option at the time, and needed to get the car back on the road!

@Provincial , PM me your addy. I have ONE other wrench in this pattern, and it's jut not a goal to make up a set 1 by 1...

 

[Provincial]

Here is a chance for someone to pick up a Duro table saw with Dayton 3/4HP motor on the original stand. I have no connection to the seller, other than living in the same area.

Craigslist Salem Oregon

 

[d42jeep]

This partial smaller 1/4” drive set arrived in the mail a couple of days ago. Although the finish on the tools appears to be wartime, the sockets are all marked Duro Chrome rather than D-I.
-Don