Spreading the Bonney affliction!

[Davefr]

I guess this one is a rebranded Bonney.

 

[LesserSon]

Yes - Bonney manufactured several different tool sets for Chrysler conferences. Mostly coated with a yellow lacquer, which many online sellers seem to think is gold plated.

 

[LesserSon]

Bought yesterday at a tractor & engine show flea market for $2. The two halves of the 1941 Macleod patent brake spring pliers were manufactured in 1947 & 1949, judging by the date codes.
The P38 slip joints were very rusted and mostly seized. I bought them because the 1939 Palmer patent mechanism seemed unusual in slipjoints. I got them limbered up with WD40 and a small pick, because the nut is completely rounded over.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...which many online sellers seem to think is gold plated

Just like their boogies and turds!

 

[Ricky Joe]

Bought yesterday at a tractor & engine show flea market for $2. The two halves of the 1941 Macleod patent brake spring pliers were manufactured in 1947 & 1949, judging by the date codes.
The P38 slip joints were very rusted and mostly seized. I bought them because the 1939 Palmer patent mechanism seemed unusual in slipjoints. I got them limbered up with WD40 and a small pick, because, unlike the second patent illustration, they seem to be riveted. Or if it is a bolt, there is no slot and it spins, while the nut is completely rounded over.

Nice find on the lower left brake wrench. Now I’ll have to check my Ford spring pliers for date consistency.

 

[Farmer J.]

More like a surgeon, Mike! You had good reason, and admittedly, an elite occupation.

I, too was an active A&P mechanic, .............. I was always on the move, and my tools were divided into several hand-carry boxes because there was no way to use a real tool stack!

Yes and I retired from being a working A&P mechanic 5 years ago from Boeing. ...................... I had my tools and kept them under lock and key as I knew my brothers and sister would raid it if I did not do it.

I had wondered if there is any practical reason why some tools are high polished chrome and others not, so these posts are very interesting reading. Thank you both for taking your time to post, and to share your knowledge and experience.

I have some shiny chrome polished tools which I keep clean and only use in my workshop, but i always liked the bare steel 'industrial finish' and use them on the farm and in my carry box. With no chrome they don't flake and peel. My liking for plain steel is a hang on from working and living with Mennonite farmers in Canada. Some these plain unfinished tools become shiny from use but I feel OK about that, as it fits OK with the work ethic..

 

[Davefr]

Bonney guys, I picked up a really nice Bonney tool chest at a g-sale but the label is in bad shape. I'd like to explore getting a new one made. Does anyone have the artwork for this style label or a good high res image. TIA.

 

[Mikeske]

Bonney guys, I picked up a really nice Bonney tool chest at a g-sale but the label is in bad shape. I'd like to explore getting a new one made. Does anyone have the artwork for this style label or a good high res image. TIA.

I bought what appears to be the same exact top box in 1983 and since I was a working mechanic the label quickly was worn off. The label is from the early 1980’s. I have not seen them in since about then. What the bottom box had was a metal raised chrome logo. I think that if you do make the label make a few extras I would be very interested in a couple myself

 

[Mikeske]

I cannot find a picture of the logo but it was chrome background with red letter and red half border and the other half border was black. The red lettering and half border was the same red as the box

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I may have one I will check

 

[bonneyman]

So, not only chrome-plated, but polished to a glassy, mirror finish meant to blind you as you reach to get your fingerprints all over the wrong one that just slipped out of your oily, grimey hands into the engine compartment?

Been there, done that.

 

[d42jeep]

I guess this one is a rebranded Bonney.

I found this rusty treasure at a Tahoe yard sale this morning. The spinner markings are kind of interesting. Marked Chrysler Motors Corp. Master Tech Award. Username told me it was made by Bonney.
-Don

 

[Mikeske]

I found this rusty treasure at a Tahoe yard sale this morning. The spinner markings are kind of interesting. Marked Chrysler Motors Corp. Master Tech Award. Username told me it was made by Bonney.
-Don

Yes it is a Bonney and the originally it had a thin layer of gold tone on the metal shank. I never even used mine that is Bonney branded that I got in 1983 as the handle was uncomfortable in MY hands.

 

[Mr.Ric]

maybe my favorite logo of all logos

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That's a good one. Here is that black and red one,

 

[Davefr]

That's a good one. Here is that black and red one,

Thank you!!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

 

[d42jeep]

Yes it is a Bonney and the originally it had a thin layer of gold tone on the metal shank. I never even used mine that is Bonney branded that I got in 1983 as the handle was uncomfortable in MY hands.

It came out of the evaporust looking a little better. The markings are more legible and a trace of the gold tone remains.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I see those tech awards sets on ebay pretty often, they must have handed out a bunch!

 

[Mikeske]

I see those tech awards sets on ebay pretty often, they must have handed out a bunch!

Yeah they were handed out anytime a mechanic attended the training classes that Chrysler had. After my active duty in the Air Force sometime in 1984. I worked at Chrysler Plymouth dealership as a heavy line mechanic for a couple years before I went to Boeing. I got ratchets, universal sockets and a gold tone socket set. I used them for work with little regard to keeping pristine.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That was awesome you got some free tools!

 

[Mikeske]

That was awesome you got some free tools!

Yes I appreciated it and they also match the Bonney tools I already had.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It came out of the evaporust looking a little better.

A LOT better! If you search the thread on "Chrysler" other pieces of the "Gold Tool" awards have shown up here from time to time, Don. I know there's a set of swivel sockets that look like gold teeth and at least one end wrench set. Curious, I did some digging and you'll see that report, too, in the list of posts you'll get if you search. According to Chrysler, it started in 1962.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The logo talk inspired me to develop a #Bonney logo timeline chart, since we get those questions from time to time, and I got carried away with other data from there, deciding to go for full Infographic. Timelines showing logos, location(s), ownership, name of company, and just a smattering of the most essential or popular brands or lines. I'm hoping you guys scrutinize it. Easy to fix or tweak. Not meant to be overly precise or encyclopedic, but 'close enough at a glance' and I think something like this could come in handy if only for myself. Gotta call it something memorable (Summary Timeline) so it's searchable later.

 

[RTM]

I dunno squat about the Bonney timelines, but that looks good and informative.

Thanks

 

[Ricky Joe]

The logo talk inspired me to develop a timeline of them, since we get those questions from time to time, and I got carried away with other data from there, deciding to go for full Infographic. Timelines showing logos, location(s), ownership, name of company, and just a smattering of the most essential or popular brands or lines. I'm hoping you guys scrutinize it. Easy to fix or tweak. Not meant to be overly precise or encyclopedic, but 'close enough at a glance' and I think something like this could come in handy if only for myself. Gotta call it something memorable (Summary Timeline) so it's searchable later.

View attachment 1714445

I like the way you did that!

 

[d42jeep]

A LOT better! If you search the thread on "Chrysler" other pieces of the "Gold Tool" awards have shown up here from time to time, Don. I know there's a set of swivel sockets that look like gold teeth and at least one end wrench set. Curious, I did some digging and you'll see that report, too, in the list of posts you'll get if you search. According to Chrysler, it started in 1962.

Chrysler was offering the master tech program through my high school auto shop in 1966 and I was tempted to participate. They donated a new Plymouth Fury to the shop as part of the program. I still find it amusing that one fender was marked Fury III and the other Fury II. An early example of Chrysler’s well known quality control Issues.
-Don

 

[Old Radar]

I dunno squat about the Bonney timelines, but that looks good and informative.

Thanks

I still find it amusing that one fender was marked Fury III and the other Fury II. An early example of Chrysler’s well known quality control Issues.

Maybe QC did find it but it was easier to donate than mess with it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...that looks good and informative.

I like the way you did that!

Thanks, guys. I'm thinking I might make one for a few other mfgrs.

 

[Provincial]

A late Bonney tag I posted in early June:

 

[LesserSon]

I started collecting Bonney by way of a chance discovery of Zenel DOEs at a yard sale. There was something about their style that really appealed to me. My first post on this thread was #184, Feb2016, showing them off. (Comparatively low-res images then!)
I have been hunting the other sixteen DOEs advertised in Bonney catalogs as my primary quarry ever since. Some came easily. But two sizes eluded me, after I balked at an eBay price for a clutch that included them.
Years passed. Then, a few weeks ago, I lucked into a 3035 at an antiques & junk shop. This week, an eBay offering popped up including a dupe of that and the very shy 3034.
The price was for a group of four, three of which I didn’t really “need.” I made a couple offers, which were declined. Thought I’d sleep on it. But before that happened, I caved and hit “buy it now.”
So now I’m done. No more early mornings at the flea market, no more prowling the dim corners of pawn shops, rooting through rusty tool bins, no more scrolling through CL and eBay…
Ha-Ha-Ha! Just kidding!

EDIT: Here are all 28 advertised sizes. The dupes suggest common surviving sizes in my area, but also my shifting collecting habits; I haven’t purchased every Zenel DOE I’ve seen (MrsLS probably disagrees).
My notes tell me I have a 3033A in 10-1/4” length (manufactured after 1946), but I don’t see it. Just two at 9-1/2”…the hunt continues!

 

[JjKk40]

I know my Bonney peeps saw this. The want is so bad but the funds are not there for me at the moment, of course!

Vintage Tool Boxes top and bottom Bonney Red Wrinkle Paint Label 1940's 50s | eBay

Neat older tool boxes. Used condition. Has original red wrinkle finish paint and labels. Great to display next to your antique or classic vehicle.

www.ebay.com

 

[Mikeske]

I know my Bonney peeps saw this. The want is so bad but the funds are not there for me at the moment, of course!

Vintage Tool Boxes top and bottom Bonney Red Wrinkle Paint Label 1940's 50s | eBay

Neat older tool boxes. Used condition. Has original red wrinkle finish paint and labels. Great to display next to your antique or classic vehicle.

www.ebay.com

That is awful Expensive for a toolbox. I like but the price has to come down by at least $400-600. At $895.00 plus shipping of $220.00 I would love it but that is a pass everyday

 

[LesserSon]

I saw it. It’s very close by; local pickup. I’d love to have it, but my “best offer” would not exceed $200.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

If it was just a little earlier, with the older logo oval decals (like the flip-top boxes that JjKk and I have from some short postwar transitional period of old logos on red boxes...), I can promise you gents that I would be on my way to Whitehall to grossly overpay for it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

(Just a quick note to say that I replaced the InfoGraphic (#4,744) with a new and improved version after QC by LesserSon who offered several cogent corrections and additions wrt early ownership chain, B-Shield, 30's product lines, and a 300-mile factory displacement! )

 

[JjKk40]

I like the label timeline Lugz. What was the label Bonney used on the early socket sets, for example the 9/32 drive sets and others of that early era? I gotta see if mine are in tact enough to see.
And yes, this Ebay listing is close enough to me that id have been there if I had the extra $$$ even knowing its wayyy overpriced! Lol!

 

[LesserSon]

I have not seen a M set box in person, but I think it would be the oval with plane boat car, etc. That’s what’s in the ‘37 catalog on other drive sets, but it doesn’t show in the p5 illustration. Maybe centered on the outside of the lid?

 

[Davefr]

I used the image oldtuleguy posted and used Photoshop to change the color scheme to match my old logo. I ordered a label/decal but had to buy a whole sheet worth. If anyone needs this style just let me know.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Looks good!