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[Provincial]

CRTDI scores again! Nice!!!!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Beautiful set!

 

[Macduf]

looks like an early wrench, did it come this way or was it bent?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I think those came that way

 

[Provincial]

Ford spark plug and head stud (nut) wrench. Ford provided one with each car or truck up until the mid-1940's. This one was probably sold aftermarket. Started with Model A's and the size of the open end got smaller as it got later and the spark plug hex size got smaller.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I think I have one somewhere that says ford on it, maybe a mdf version. Cool wrench!

 

[Raineman]

My first.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's a nice find, Macduf. The MDF/Ford script examples are so common I leave them behind, but I have examined hundreds and none of them have been an early "VLCHEK" yet!

 

[Username already in use]

I found this nice 10" pair of 'vice grips' at the flea yesterday. Maybe Peterson was the OEM?

 

[d42jeep]

This #4 Phillips driver arrived in the mail yesterday. I have a hard time resisting the Flying V logo.
-Don

 

[Fred Knox]

I believe this is an old Vlchek open-end wrench, as there is only a logo and the number "27" on opposite sides. It looks like an early logo, but it is worn down a fair bit. Any idea on its history or what the "27" means? Many Thanks.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Vlchek very commonly put forge numbers on shanks. "27" happens to also be a common industry standard number for a 19/32" x 11/16" DOE engineers wrench, but if Vlchek put an ISN on a wrench (rare to begin with on their early carbon steel wrenches), it was usually stamped on the face of the minor jaw. So I think that's a forge number. Nobody knows what they mean. Probably die numbers.

 

[Fred Knox]

Thanks Lugz. The “27” is on the opposite side of the major jaw, but facing the opposite direction. Perhaps it is an ISN, as the jaws are 19/32” x 5/8”, or is that unlikely? Any thoughts on vintage?

 

[d42jeep]

As Lugz says, a 27 is 19/32” x 11/16” so probably not an ISN. Several clunky Vlchek wrenches were in the garage when we moved into our current house. I would assume they were from the 20s or 30s.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The “27” is on the opposite side of the major jaw, but facing the opposite direction.

It's on the shank, not the jaw. That's a die number.

 

[Provincial]

I found a Vlchek WBE12 3/8" combo yesterday. Notice that the ring of the box end is so thin. The chrome is perfect, so it was not thinned in the field. It's a long pattern, too. I wish I had found it when I was working on airplanes, as the thin box end would have made life much easier in some hard-to-reach places!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

vlchek made nice wrenches

 

[Provincial]

I especially like their WBH double box end wrenches!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

They always have that nice thin box end

 

[d42jeep]

Here are a couple of 1/2” cold chisels I found at a recent driveway sale. The refurb of the lower one is still in progress. It has suffered some abuse during it’s lifetime.
-Don

 

[saukit]

Here's a set of DOE wrenches that I picked up the other day. I haven't gotten around to cleaning the pouch up yet but the wrenches came out better than I expected.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

They look good!

 

[Username already in use]

They look good!

 

[saukit]

Thanks Lugz and Username, here they are back in a clean(er) pouch.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Wow! I'd look through jimsenginedecals shop on eBay to see if he has a Vlchek sticker. That deserves a decal.

 

[bmwrd0]

I have a similar, but smaller Vlcheck set, and it doesn't have any markings on the roll either. I will have to dig it out, but I haven't filled it out yet and so have never shown it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have a similar, but smaller Vlcheck set, and it doesn't have any markings on the roll either...

Very possible, Beemer. Perhaps mass third party production? I don't know. I know next to nothing about production in the 1950's or later. I just remember seeing that blue and gold scheme before with logos like this...




Given the condition of saukit's pouch, it seems unlikely it wore off! So I would tend to believe his and yours were indeed part of some kind of sales where branding was less significant if not outright unwanted. Or maybe they just got more economical and put them in unbranded pouches!

EDIT: Having said all that - after seeing the branded pouches, and having a hard time unseeing the logo - I'd be tempted to put a reproduction sticker in that big empty space. But that's just me. It may seem counterintuitive for me, but I can gussy with the best of them, selectively (typically more modern stuff, or where gussying actually improves something in my opinion).

 

[saukit]

I'm looking for jimsenginedecals on eBay and no luck finding it...anyone know a specific item that would lead me to the seller? When I search for the seller ID it comes up blank. It would be nice to put a decal on this pouch...

 

[steaks&anvils]

I'm looking for jimsenginedecals on eBay and no luck finding it...anyone know a specific item that would lead me to the seller? When I search for the seller ID it comes up blank. It would be nice to put a decal on this pouch...

I just used google for "jimsenginedecals", then I navigated from those hits.

try this link:

Security Measure | eBay

www.ebay.com

 

[saukit]

I bow to your superior google fu, steaks&anvils! Thanks very much!

No Vlchek decals there at this time unfortunately but I'll check back periodically. I'll look around elsewhere as well...

 

[steaks&anvils]

I bow to your superior google fu, steaks&anvils! Thanks very much!

No Vlchek decals there at this time unfortunately but I'll check back periodically. I'll look around elsewhere as well...

Thanks, no secret powers, I just google anything and look through the hits. Google finds stuff inside the websites, so it makes it easier sometimes. Image view helps a lot too.

Can you email the website and ask if they have any? Maybe they don't always keep up on what they have available? Send an example and ask.

 

[d42jeep]

I have sent that seller (jimenginedecals) examples of original decals and he has produced replicas. Very nice guy.
-Don

 

[3baygarage]

Phew! It’s a good thing there‘s no slot for this wrench in your pouch, or I wouldn’t even feel right posting it. That would just be cruel.

Nice job there

I picked this little guy up at the flea today.

 

[Mintgrun]

I've got a soft spot for stubby DBE wrenches. I left a few behind yesterday, which is unusual... but I couldn't resist the WBC 1618. It was fun to come home and find that I already had it's little brother. I like bare steel wrenches.






Tom

 

[mrb1]

Any input on what the purpose of the "grooves" may be? Guessing not original. And the three "***"? Both ends seem the same size, but are not marked.

 

[RTM]

I’d guess owner ID marks.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are my Vlchek finds from today.
—Don

 

[ed4banger]

Couple Craftsman....

 

[ViceRoy2030]

My yard sale find this weekend

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Vlchek collectors: what’s the difference between WBE and WC designations on vlchek combo wrenches. Both are very comfortable wrenches to use for me. Would like to put together a set. Thanks.

Having never seen any Vlchek combo wrench with any model number other than WBE, I postulated on your original thread that it might be later than my collecting niche (NLT WWII), I got curious, and I was correct.

Looks like the dropped the WBE for combos (and all the WBx model numbers for box wrenches, e.g., WB, WBH, WBL, WBA, WBC, etc, too) sometime between 1955 and 1959. In 1955 they introduced combos with flat shanks and recessed panels with X5xx model numbers to go along with the raised panel WBE's. In 1959, they started using WC- for flat smooth shank combo wrenches they called "Vega", and 800xx series for combo wrenches with a recessed panel.

You can view the 1955 and 1959 catalogs at the International Tool Catalog Library.