Show your vintage Bridgeport tools!

[bonneyman]

Hmm. I had posted this screwdriver on the Bell System thread, but apparently forgot to post it here. I got this with a messed-up leather washers cap, and simply cut it down and put some shellac on the handle. I’ll try for a better picture of the logo tomorrow.

Wood grain on that handle looks nice, LS. Reminds me of some of the work I've seen on old gun stocks.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Traded one of the rhinos for a little macthless 98

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here is my bridgeport #3 I have been using for 40 years. Still works great! Got it from my dad.

 

[LesserSon]

Spotted this Boy Scouts hatchet in an antiques store today.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a screwdriver I found last Friday. It appears in the ‘53 catalog.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ Maybe this is a stupid question, but why would one need to beat on the handle of a screwdriver with a hammer?

 

[d42jeep]

I have to admit to doing it the other day to clean paint out of a slotted screw in a painted over hinge that needed a little tightening in our 100 year old house. I only hit it on the end though, not the side!
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

This is also the recommended method of loosening a screw that is rusted into wood. (Additionlly, determine if it has loosened by tightening it further, instead of repeatedly trying to remove it, as doing so will deform the slot.) You can’t squirt penetrating oil onto wood and expect finishes to adhere correctly, nor give it a bath in an electrolysis tank.
There is no other tool than a screwdriver for the task (chisels and punches could be modified to do it). If you look at “perfect handle” screwdrivers, the designers provided a flat striking surface on the **** of the handle, and several other designs have steel inserts for the purpose. These are the types to use, but if you don’t have one handy...
As has been oft repeated, screwdrivers are consumables: in their normal range of use they come into contact with hardened, abrasive, and arcing materials. And then in a pinch they often substitute for the proper tool for a job - awl, chisel, prybar.

 

[four.cycle]

Okay... I get that... I used one of my good screwdrivers for a wood chisel about a month ago fabricating something to cover up some exposed wiring.
But, as in both of the scenarios you two have described, I was hammering on the **** end of the screwdriver, and not in the fashion that is shown in the advertising illustration above, which makes me just shake my head in disbelief.

 

[LesserSon]

I’m sure the side-blow is just a gimmick to suggest how tough the handles are. You are correct that striking the side of the handle to perform an actual task is far-fetched.

 

[four.cycle]

Upon reflection, I should retract that previous statement. It was not, in fact, one of my good screwdrivers. It was a Craftsman model that somebody gave to me and I took it with me to that job because I figured I didn't need to worry about leaving it there overnight and losing it.

 

[Mark914]

That boy scout hatchet is cool! dare i ask how much they wanted for it ???

 

[LesserSon]

I don’t remember. I may be near there tomorrow, so I can check.
Update: I didn’t get back in time. I’ve searched the place a few times, with no luck. Either someone bought it, or the vendor hid it really well. I’ll guess it was around $30-35, because that is more than I’d pay, but not astronomical enough to be memorable.

 

[d42jeep]

I found a couple of Bridgeport made tools on Friday. The first one is a larger dual marked DOE wrench, the second is a Stiletto marked screwdriver made by Bridgeport. Neither of these tools are marked Bridgeport.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice. Picked up a radiolectric 440 to go with my 442

 

[Catfishdan]

I don’t see many Bridgeport tools around here, so I snapped up this #2 Phillips when I saw it for 50 cents at the flea.

 

[d42jeep]

I don’t see many Bridgeport tools around here, so I snapped up this #2 Phillips when I saw it for 50 cents at the flea.

Dan,
Was there a patent number on the blade? There was a newer patent in 1950 that started with 25*******. The pre ‘50 patent started with 20*******.
I took a picture of my dual marked Bridgeport DOE wrenches yesterday.
-Don

 

[bonneyman]

Here's two drivers I managed to pull out. Thought I had some more Bridgeport drivers, but they're eluding me today.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice. Here is driver display I got from rick
and dave...

 

[Catfishdan]

Dan,
Was there a patent number on the blade? There was a newer patent in 1950 that started with 25*******. The pre ‘50 patent started with 20*******.
I took a picture of my dual marked Bridgeport DOE wrenches yesterday.
-Don

I guess it’s pre 1950. Patent number is 2046837-40. Lic. 7. Thanks.

 

[LesserSon]

OTG, that looks great! I really like those Bridgeport screwdriver displays, with the hinged flip-up holders. I saw one on eBay for the Rhinos, but the bottom had some moisture problems, so I passed.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I was thrilled to get it, and with a bunch of odd bridgeport drivers as well...

 

[d42jeep]

I have some Bridgeport tools, so this caught my eye yesterday.
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

Nice crate tool! What’s the overall length?

 

[d42jeep]

Here are a few pictures.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I found this large Bridgeport slotted screwdriver at a recent estate sale. The blade was discolored but cleaned up well.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was picking through a box of rusty wrenches last week at the flea market and noticed the unmistakable double panels of a few BHM "Pyramid" DOEs. Then I found a few more, and a few more after that. So I kept digging. Sure enough, the full set was in there. Unfortunately, they were beyond preserving, covered after de-rusting with those steel deep stubbornly irremovable black box rot splotches.

So I tried effecting their original "Blued" finish instead. I'm not entirely pleased, but I'm not ready to throw them away either

If you're not familiar, these are the second generation of a wrench BHM had been making since at least the 1930's marked, stupendously, for imperial and metric sizes. The set goes from 5/16" to 1" or 8mm to 25mm in seven (7) wrenches.

The excerpt is from the 1953 catalog.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice! I grab them whenever I see them but I don’t think I’m close to a complete set. I think the finish looks good. Here are some I posted upthread.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice! I grab them whenever I see them but I don’t think I’m close to a complete set. I think the finish looks good. Here are some I posted upthread.

Thanks, Don. Looks like you have one dupe, and you only need three (3) more. I have a few of the older ones (smooth, crowned shank), too, but I don't have any with the BHM logo. That's a neat one.

 

[bonneyman]

I don't know if it's vintage or not, but snagged this auto tire pressure gauge (0-50 PSI) for 50 cents at a pawn shop yesterday. Still works, too!

Analog forever!

 

[LesserSon]

I didn’t buy it, because, as I joked with the vendor, it’s heavier than my drill press! A very impressive vise.
Guess I should have left my foot in the frame for scale, alas.

 

[pharmerphil]

That vise is from a "Bridgeport" vertical milling machine, a top quality machine! It is, however, a different manufacturer than "The Bridgeport Hardware Manufacture" who made hand tools; both were located in Bridgeport, CT., just different companies.

 

[d42jeep]

I found another DOE at the Tahoe flea on Saturday. It’s a slightly different size than the one I posted above.
-Don

 

[Flatcapped]

Not sure where I picked this one up, but it sees pretty regular use in the shop.

 

[bobemmerich]

Nice! Makes me want to start collecting. Good stuff made right in my hometown "back in the day"! I knew of the machine tools, but had no idea hand tools were made there (in the city).

 

[d42jeep]

I found a NOX TOX crate opener yesterday to go with my Baby Terrier one posted upthread.
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

I picked up a Stanley / Bell System screwdriver last weekend, and compared it to a Bridgeport / Bell System screwdriver I’ve had for years (and sadly, cut off the leather washers). Other than the color of the insulating plastic shank spacer and my own color choice of shellac, these screwdrivers are identical - even the species of wood for the handles.
On the Bonney thread, we have often wondered on the identity of the OEM for Bonney and Stanley screwdrivers, which, along with a few other brands, seem identical. I know Stanley bought North Bros, and that they made many models of screwdriver, but it sure semms like Bridgeport was the OEM for at least a few models for Stanley (and others).

 

[misterbill]

Found this itty bitty No. 23 wrench at the bottom of a pile of rust yesterday. Looks like a DOE upthread #3.

Bill

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I posted a 6-pc BHM DOE wrench set on the DOE thread, linked here.

 

[LesserSon]

BHMCorp wood hollow-handle multitool w 7 bits.
Two BHM nutdrivers.
From a local yard sale today.