Show your Indestro and Duro-Chrome tools

[Outlawmws]

Today's new additions:

 

[saukit]

Here are the circle x (x-circle? not exactly sure on terminology) DBE wrenches I picked up this weekend. The big one is a really freakin cool wrench, super thin for it's length and nice thin box ends! The smaller one I elected not to put in the evaporust after dj42jeep let me know that these are one of the components to the GMTK. I kind of like the bare finish better but I would guess that the patina is more desirable.

 

[d42jeep]

Although your 2013 is a very cool wartime wrench, it wasn’t included in the GMTK. I have one as well. Username posted his incredibly difficult to find GMTK correct set here. What appears to be an X in a circle is actually a stylized DC in a circle that was Duro and Indestro’s wartime logo.
-Don

Some wartime (X) DBE wrenches from my WW2 mechanics tool kit.

 

[saukit]

Thanks Don! Those little offset wrenches are really cool! Appreciate the information!

 

[d42jeep]

My pleasure. There was some recent discussion on the S-K thread about identification of early sockets. Since I didn’t want to take the S-K thread further off topic, I thought that I should post them here.
-Don

 

[RAS61]

Found this Indestro tool kit on CL for $15. Pretty complete, missing utility knife, tape measurer, one screwdriver and one socket. Not everything marked Indestro, box end wrenches yes, but open wrenches no. Screwdriver, vice grip and items in ignition pouch no. All socket items except 1/4 drive flex ratchet marked Indestro, makes me think ratchet isn't original. Ratchets and sockets look barely used

 

[four.cycle]

^ There's a similar type promotional set posted just up-thread.
That 1/4" drive ratchet is not Indestro. That kit originally contained a 6072 pear-head ratchet.
The box cutter was a "Walsco". The screwdrivers in those kits were Roscos (black and yellow striped handles.)
The "Select" wrenche on the red tray are all Indestro.

Nice set.

 

[RAS61]

^ There's a similar type promotional set posted just up-thread.
That 1/4" drive ratchet is not Indestro. That kit originally contained a 6072 pear-head ratchet.
The box cutter was a "Walsco". The screwdrivers in those kits were Roscos (black and yellow striped handles.)
The "Select" wrenche on the red tray are all Indestro.

Nice set.

It looks like there was something else in the rectangular area next to the screw drivers, any idea?

I'll have to look for that other set, the only other I've found similar is one on Ebay as part of a Phillips 66 credit card holder promotion from 1969

 

[four.cycle]

^ Those sets also included a cheap stamped set of SAE ignition wrenches (which I do not believe were made by Indestro), and a small set of SAE hex ("Allen") wrenches, as I recall.
I was mistaken above. The tape measure was made by Walsco. The utility knife was made by American Hatchet Company.
These are photos from a previous Ebay listing - I do not own any of those blow-mold promotional sets:

 

[RAS61]

^ Those sets also included a cheap stamped set of SAE ignition wrenches (which I do not believe were made by Indestro), and a small set of SAE hex ("Allen") wrenches, as I recall.
I was mistaken above. The tape measure was made by Walsco. The utility knife was made by American Hatchet Company.
These are photos from a previous Ebay listing - I do not own any of those blow-mold promotional sets:

The open space was probably for hex keys. Odd that this set has vice grips but no place for pliers? Concerning the grips, they're stamped "Grip All", would that be Indestro?

 

[four.cycle]

no... "Grip-All" is a name I do not recognize.
Indestro had their own version of "locking pliers", but I am not sure whether they made them or they outsourced them.
There is another thread here for oddball locking pliers....
here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/c-1949-h-r-basford-gripso-plier-wrench.481019/
that includes in the first post a number of links to other brands of locking pliers, but I am not seeing "Grip-All" mentioned.

:

Another brand we haven't identified yet?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Concerning the grips, they're stamped "Grip All", would that be Indestro?

"Grip-All" is a name I do not recognize.

We don't know who branded them "Grip-All", but they are identical to Bonney. Bonney clearly did not make them. Probably Petersen licensed. Don has an example. He posted it in the midst of my Lugzsonian thread 'Curator's Corner' on locking plier-wrenches, linked here.

 

[four.cycle]

thank you.
so.... for the time present (until the maker is identified) this would be correct??

Grip-All / Grip-All locking pliers / (* maker unknown ) / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...an-a-virtual-tour.468584/page-11#post-9172281 /

looks like that's about as much as we've got on it. :

 

[d42jeep]

Here it is. It came with a replacement bolt that was too long so I made one that’s the correct length.
-Don

 

[RAS61]

Here it is. It came with a replacement bolt that was too long so I made one that’s the correct length.
-Don

And here it is with the correct bolt - maybe the only surviving original example in existence?

 

[Mintgrun]

Those look like they would work well on the end of a slide hammer, due to the jaws being almost parallel to the adjustment bolt.

That's why I chose these. I welded a 5/16" bolt onto the hammer's shaft, so it fits in place of the adjustment bolt. They're quite useful!



Tom

 

[RAS61]

Those look like they would work well on the end of a slide hammer, due to the jaws being almost parallel to the adjustment bolt.

That's why I chose these. I welded a 5/16" bolt onto the hammer's shaft, so it fits in place of the adjustment bolt. They're quite useful!



Tom

very resourceful and ingenious, Rube Goldberg would be proud!

 

[saukit]

Big wrench, small wrench! The big one is pretty cool, does anyone know what era/type of Ford V-8 this is for? As far as I can tell it reads FORD A-B-V8. The small DBE is a 919.



Also grabbed some Duro Chrome at the same booth as the bearing wrench above if I remember correctly. Speeder is a 651-D and the ratchet is a No 3202-R.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice grabs! The main bearing wrench is for the Ford Model A made 1928 to 1931, Ford Model B made in 1932 and Ford flathead V8s starting in 1932. The 1929 Model A below was my first car. I was 15.
-Don

 

[amecks]

This 1/2" drive breaker bar was in 4 boxes of stuff I was recently given. It has a drive square on the handle end! A friend suggested it was for use with a female ratchet as an extension. Duro-Chrome 657DK about 15" long.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice breaker, Al. The double male ended breakers were a Duro/Indestro thing early on until female drive ratchets faded away. They made them for others as well.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

And here it is with the correct bolt - maybe the only surviving original example in existence?

Rather than making a replacement adjusting screw, it looks like a Visegrip adjustment bolt is a perfect replacement and looks much more original.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

it looks like a Visegrip adjustment bolt is a perfect replacement

Almost assuredly confirming what we suspected about its OEM.

 

[d42jeep]

For sure. The handle half that the adjuster screws into is an exact duplicate of the Peterson visegrips. Only the other half is different and actually the function and range of the tool is inferior to Peterson’s original.
-Don

 

[RTM]

Nice breaker, Al. The double male ended breakers were a Duro/Indestro thing early on until female drive ratchets faded away. They made them for others as well.

thanks for the timely information Don. I have one sitting in my To Be Identified box, from a GS a few weeks back, third pic from the bottom of the post here. Dang, a month old post, I better get moving, lots to ID still, though I did find some NB identification.

2021 Garage Sale Thread

We had a 3 day weekend full of decent garage and estate sales. Sorry, lotsa pix, was way too crowded to jamb it all into one. Friday had an estate sale near to where my GF was running errands, had seen a couple of potentially interesting items. She found them, sent pix, we talked, she grabbed...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[four.cycle]

You have a 2781 Indestro 3/8" breaker with the square male end on the bottom end of the handle? That's a rare one.

A little gem I recently acquired. Too cute to pass up:

 

[four.cycle]

Indestro model 360 "Slip-On" socket set (patent 111026)
1/4" hex drive. Sockets slip onto shaft and are held in place by detent ball.
This is an early production model made prior to the patent being issued in 1938.
Oddly, this one appears to be painted RED as opposed to orange, as is noted in the 1948 catalog. (It's definitely the original paint.)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Jinxed again!!!!!

Back in April (page 41, Post #1,607) I posted a No. 2033 (1/2") "Dart" style combination wrench. This morning I found another one, a No. 2031 (3/8"), but I couldn't remember what size I already had when I was standing there at the flea market. These are so rarely seen it wouldn't have mattered. I would've bought it anyway. Nevertheless, as I said when I reported my find on the Garage Sale thread this morning, I was hoping it wasn't a dupe. The good news is that it wasn't.

The bad news is that these were f$%^ing stamped on opposite sides! As if collecting anything onesie-twosie in the wild, let alone a rare series, wasn't already hard enough, I get lucky enough to find a second wrench, and it's not a duplicate size, but they don't f$%^ing match in orientation as a set! The open ends and the box ends are angled away from each other in opposite directions.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A little later (1954->) than my collecting era, but I couldn't leave this No. 4575 RHFT behind.

 

[Username already in use]

@Private Lugnutz those are really smooth ratchets. Nice score.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, and I agree. I am not easily impressed by tooth counts, but it is very smooth, and for what it's worth, I count 52.

 

[RTM]

The bad news is that these were f$%^ing stamped on opposite sides! As if collecting anything onesie-twosie in the wild, let alone a rare series, wasn't already hard enough, I get lucky enough to find a second wrench, and it's not a duplicate size, but they don't f$%^ing match in orientation as a set! The open ends and the box ends are angled away from each other in opposite directions.

I don't know that they weren't a set from the factory. I have a set of BluePoint ignition wrenches, with 2 different forge dates, but the first of the above the pocket wrenches is stamped on the opposite site. The set, as found, is shown here. Might not be an OCD compliant set, but it was a set from the factory.

 

[four.cycle]

^ there was a set of those early "dart" Duro DOEs on Ebay a couple weeks back (in the original roll-up pouch, no less), but the PO had stamped them all with his initials.
I think you'll find that little Duro ratchet quite nice. The early production models were 52 teeth - they didn't go to a 60-tooth model until about 1980. It's still my favorite ratchet, and I own more than a few.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

RTM, you realize how many DOE, DBE, and socket wrench sets I have, right? Too many to count. Easily into three figures. Most of them are consistent, but not all. Many of them have some kind of deviation. And some mfgrs are notorious for it. Of course both of these wrenches came from the factory. And it's possible that in some of the 5-, 6-, and 7-pc sets, only made for a short time in the mid 1940's, that some of the brand markings got stamped on the flip side instead of the top side coming off the line. But that's not typical, from any mfgr, and it's certainly not desirable as a collector.

Some collectors, and maybe most (or at least those I hang out with...) want perfectly matching sets, and will spend years "upgrading" their sets, replacing production deviations (in finish, markings, etc). Personally, and dead seriously, I don't consider that even remotely close to being an OCD issue.

Of course with rare sets and tools, more tolerance is acceptable. But not all deviations are the same.

With end wrenches, I want the wrenches to line up in markings and shape when I stack them or splay them. When the brand markings are on the flip side, and the angles of the ends are not the same, it's disappointing.

In this case, it appears that the 2033 might be the culprit.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

there was a set of those early "dart" Duro DOEs on Ebay a couple weeks back (in the original roll-up pouch, no less), but the PO had stamped them all with his initials.

Dang. Really? I've filed down owners' marks before! (Williams Superior jeep set. Took weeks. I covered my work up with black japan, the correct finish, and it was undetectable.) But I'm almost glad I didn't know. Saved some bucks and months and months of hope and onesie twosie suffering. Haha.

 

[RTM]

RTM, you realize how many DOE, DBE, and socket wrench sets I have, right? Too many to count. Easily into three figures. Most of them are consistent, but not all. Many of them have some kind of deviation. And some mfgrs are notorious for it. Of course both of these wrenches came from the factory. And it's possible that in some of the 5-, 6-, and 7-pc sets, only made for a short time in the mid 1940's, that some of the brand markings got stamped on the flip side instead of the top side coming off the line. But that's not typical, from any mfgr, and it's certainly not desirable as a collector.

Some collectors, and maybe most (or at least those I hang out with...) want perfectly matching sets, and will spend years "upgrading" their sets, replacing production deviations (in finish, markings, etc).

Sorry, forgot who I was addressing. In my limited collection of vintage wrenches, easily counted at 3 sets, meaning wrenches found together at the same site, made by the same manufacturer, assumed to be bought all at once, only one had all the wrenches stamped the same way.

I'm surprised you have such a high consistency factor.

And sorry, the OCD comment was a bit over the top.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I didn't take offense. We all have our tics, me included. I'm just explaining, with context, why it was so ironically frustrating for a second find to not be a dupe, and yet be backwards from the first with respect to the markings. After awhile, when one has accumulated alot of sets, maybe the standards get higher. For me it has been that way, anyway. But again, I have plenty of imperfect sets, and some deviations are far less egregious than a wrench mismatched in shape by the markings on the flip side. Even an older production wrench, with a different font style, or hyphens instead of slashes in the fractional size would bother me less than a wrench I have to flip brand side down if I want the jaws and box to face the same way as the other wrenches in the set. It's not that big of a deal. Just a funny Murphys Law disappointment.

 

[d42jeep]

This 1/4” drive ratchet arrived in the mail yesterday to fill out a set. These are getting harder to find.
-Don

 

[saukit]

I found another Duro Chrome 2016 the other day, I thought I spotted it in a pic for an estate sale and I couldn't get there until after noon so I thought it would be gone for sure. Happily it was indeed the wrench I thought I saw and it was still there. This one is not the circle x variety though. I compared it to the circle x I have and it is a bit skinnier. Not sure if it is older or newer.

 

[Mintgrun]

Searching this thread did not bring up another 0626 3/4" speeder socket wrench, so I'll post the one I found today. This one is not marked Duro Metal Products Co., but otherwise, it matches the one on the AA site. The funny thing is, theirs lacks the model number. They say that one is nickel plated and appears in the 1938 catalog as a "rim wrench". I bought it because it will fit the 19mm lug nuts on my car. I also just wanted to have the fun of looking up who made it. Now I know.