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Socket Question
- Thread starter Chipmunk
- Start date
Mickey O
Well-known member
Bought a Snap-on 1 13/16, ¾ drive socket with the following stamp on it…
1 13/16 Snap-On Tools, LDH 582, Made in the USA, LIC. REISSUE, PAT. 19287, LOXOCKET, TRADE MARK, (with a 1947 date code)
Any idea what all that means?
I can decipher that for you, what you have there is: a 3/4" drive 1-13/16" socket.
"CTRL" + "A"
"LOXOCKET" Locking Sockets and the LDH Series
In 1935 Snap-on made a significant change in its line of 3/4-drive tools with the introduction of sockets with release buttons, for use with locking drive studs. Drive studs with locking pins had been introduced previously, but the addition of a push-button release made the tools much more convenient to use.
The system of locking pins and release buttons adopted by Snap-on was based on the "Lock-On" patents developed by Blackhawk Manufacturing. (Readers interested in background information will find extensive coverage in our article on Blackhawk Lock-On Tools.) Snap-on didn't adopt all aspects of Blackhawk's system, but they did license the patent #RE19287 covering the release buttons, and references to this patent will be found marked on sockets up through the late 1940s. In 1938 Snap-on coined the trademark "LOXOCKET" for the sockets with release buttons, although the trademark wasn't registered until much later.
The addition of release buttons was also the occasion for other changes to the 3/4-drive socket line. Of the four socket styles initially offered in 1931 (hex, double-hex, extra deep hex, and double-square), only two remained in production for later years. The DH-xx2 series of double-hex sockets became the LDH-xx2 Loxocket series, but with straight walls instead of the earlier tapered design, and the S-xx2 series of extra deep sockets became the LS-xx2 Loxocket series. The hex socket series (models 302 to 642) was discontinued after 1934, but the double-square sockets apparently saw limited production in 1935 in the Loxocket line, but afterwards were discontinued. The double-square Loxockets are not known to have been listed in any Snap-on catalog, but a couple of examples from 1935 have been discovered. (See for example the Snap-on L-632 Double-Square Socket.)
The figures below will show the development of the LDH Loxocket series, with numerous small changes to the markings as well as incremental improvements to the construction. The initial design included a band of parallel knurling around the socket, with the model number, Snap-on logo, and socket size stamped below the band. Other markings such as patent and trademark notices were not very standardized though, and these markings will be found in different places.
The standard finish for the LDH series was chrome plating, with the upper walls highly polished and a flat or matte finish to the socket base and knurled band.
http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/snapon-bluepoint-tools-p2.html