TecoMaster Canada Snap on ratchet

[snapmom]

I have been searching for one of these for a long time, found one at the Florida Flywheelers Show today. For a short while in the early 60s Snap on made some tools for TecoMaster Canada. This one has a 63 Date code. Reads TecoMaster Professional 5700. Is a 1/2 drive.

 

[Underdog]

Neat, never seen or heard of one.

 

[billymade]

I love the handle; the head reminds me of the early PAR-X and now Williams line of ratchets... very cool. Have anymore background history of their relationship? I have always thought the old Gray Canada tools have a "separated at birth" look to them... of course there is the bonney connection there too...

 

[snapmom]

This is a quote out of the Snap on Tools Canadian History Book from the era of 1960s. "an opportunity was available to supply a line of Tecomaster Professional Tools to the T. Eaton Co. In an effort to protect the Dealer force a new design was developed both for the handles and the sockets. This filled a void, allowed the factory to maintain their work force and avoid servere production cutbacks. Eventualluy the economy of the country turned around and demand on Snap on tools increased. Some dealers were voicing resentment against this "second line" Eventually Eaton was told that we could not longer supply them and production was converted to Snap on Tools"

 

[lbgradwell]

Congrats snapmom!

I have been looking for one of those since we first discussed them back in 2009. Not only have I never seen one of those (clearly) Snap-on made TecoMaster ratchets, I've never seen any TecoMaster ratchet in person...

I suppose yours made it to Florida with some "snowbird" escaping a harsh Canadian winter!

We can see now that yours is clearly a match for the "Professional" model in this page from a circa 1965 catalogue:

Yours is in excellent condition to boot!

I'll continue to hunt...

 

[otis66]

I like that handle.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Very nice ratchet

 

[davesnothere]

Now I too must have one!

 

[matthew]

That's super cool... glad to see you've found it!

And an interesting coincidence... I just acquired some Tecomaster 1/2" sockets and ratchet, as was just logging on to show them. I guess they belong in this thread. Not sure who the OEM is on mine, I'm wondering if maybe it would be Wright??? 45 tooth single pawl.

 

[matthew]

More pictures. Bought them on a bit of a whim, not sure whether I'll keep them or not, just thought they were interesting.

 

[matthew]

(not to hijack the thread off the SnapOn-Tecomaster connection, but any guesses on the maker of my Tecomaster set?)

 

[billymade]

The ratchet looks like its made by Wright tools to me... http://www.wrighttool.com/

Take a look at some of their earlier stuff; the breaker bar handles show... look very similar to your ratchet.

http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/wright-tool-forge.html

 

[JeremyManning]

cool ratchet

 

[RangerDaleXp]

That's super cool... glad to see you've found it!

And an interesting coincidence... I just acquired some Tecomaster 1/2" sockets and ratchet, as was just logging on to show them. I guess they belong in this thread. Not sure who the OEM is on mine, I'm wondering if maybe it would be Wright??? 45 tooth single pawl.

My grandfather was a building maintenance engineer for Eaton's in Winnipeg in the 50s and 60s till he retired sometime in the 70s. I ended up with some of his tools and one was the 3/8 version of that ratchet along with some sockets....

 

[DFW-LSX]

I learn about a new tool brand everyday here. lol Ill have to keep my eye out now.

 

[RangerDaleXp]

When I was a young kid my grandpa had lots of tools in his basement when I remember visiting him in winnipeg. My dad brought back a few boxes of tools after he passed and some where from during the war when grandpa was with the Canadian army. The tecomaster ratchet and the sockets to me was sentimental but I thought they were cheap junk until yesterday. I never knew they were made by wright and snap-on.

As for the sockets from the war. They were apparently found on a German tank just after Normandy and he also brought home some old Craftsman stuff back as well then.....

 

[Logman50]

Nice to see pics of the Wright manufactured Tecomaster sockets and ratchets. My first set of 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" were Tecomaster (by Wright) given to me as Christmas gifts from my father in 1967. The ratchets wore out sometime in the 70's but I used the sockets right up until I had a tool box stolen out of my truck 3 years ago. I only broke one of the 1/2" drive sockets in all those years!

 

[Jmac00]

i now know the TecoMaster boxed wrenches my father has are decent...i thought they might have been cheap stuff.

 

[lbgradwell]

I have been very busy of late and have not been spending much time online, but I felt I had to share today's acquisition!

Ever since snapmom found an example in Florida (of all places) back in 2011, I have been watching for my own. Finally, I saw two new listings on ePay last night located on the other side of Toronto from me in Oshawa. The seller was listing the drive tools for C$99 and the sockets for C$45 OBO. I wrote him immediately offering C$99 for both listings combined.

This morning, a reply was waiting stating that my offer was acceptable, so I am pleased to announce that the following set is already en route to me!

These are 1/2"-drive tools and the ratchet is the same model (and year - 1963) as snapmom's example. In addition to the ratchet, there are two extensions, a u-joint, a breaker bar, a spark plug socket and seven standard sockets. These tools were made here in Canada by Snap-on and offered as the house brand for the Eaton's chain of Department stores.

Everything seems to be in very good condition but, sadly, it appears from an Eaton's catalogue that four standard sockets are missing. So I would ask all Canadian members to keep their eyes open for the matching sockets in the sizes listed as MISSING below!



TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5700 Pear-Head Chrome Ratchet, 32-tooth
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5702 15-1/2" Flex-Handle
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5703 5" Extension
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5704 10" Extension
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5705 Universal Joint
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5612 3/8" Standard
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5614 7/16" Standard, MISSING FROM MY SET!
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5616 1/2" Standard
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5618 9/16" Standard
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5620 5/8" Standard
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5622 11/16" Standard, MISSING FROM MY SET!
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5624 3/4" Standard
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5626 13/16" Standard, MISSING FROM MY SET!
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5628 7/8" Standard
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5630 15/16" Standard
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5632 1" Standard, MISSING FROM MY SET!
TecoMaster Professional (Snap-on) 5706 13/16" Deep Spark Plug

 

[JAKE-THE-TOOL-MAN]

Wow beautiful tools! Nice score

 

[snapmom]

Very nice. sometimes you just get lucky. If you need a new selector switch, just holler.

 

[lilredex]

The Pickering "Tools of the Trade" is a good place to find TECOMASTER sockets, have seen a few there over the years.

http://ontarioantiquetools.com

 

[lbgradwell]

If you need a new selector switch, just holler.

Thank you.

I expect delivery tomorrow, so I will be able to inspect the ratchet better in person then...

 

[lbgradwell]

The Pickering "Tools of the Trade" is a good place to find TECOMASTER sockets, have seen a few there over the years.

I've never been, but I do know the fellow who runs it.

TecoMaster sockets are not common, but the ones I do tend to see are the generic-looking Asian fare with no model numbers. I don't suppose you've noticed if the tools you've seen had model numbers?

 

[lilredex]

You can correct me on this....but as I remember they had a kind of homeowner's version as well as a pro version and I have seen both there.

Maybe your friend can offer more specifics.

 

[lbgradwell]

You can correct me on this....but as I remember they had a kind of homeowner's version as well as a pro version and I have seen both there.

Maybe your friend can offer more specifics.

Yes, there were "TecoMaster Professional" and "TecoMaster" lines, but I'm not sure what the difference was in terms of quality and I think the second line was only introduced after the Snap-on era anyway.

The sockets I'm looking for would only have been offered for a few years; certainly 1963-65 and perhaps 1966 but were gone by 1967.

(And I wouldn't call the Pickering show guy a friend - but I have met him!)

 

[lbgradwell]

The day after I bought the two combined lots above, the same seller listed the matching speeder! Ack!

I immediately emailed him asking if it was too late to add it to my order (as I didn't want to have to pay for shipping again), but this guy is the world's most efficient eBayer and replied that my stuff had already been packed and the postage paid. I mulled over buying the speeder anyway, but knowing that I'd never actually use the thing, I was having trouble hitting the "Buy It Now" icon.

By this morning, my sense had returned and I realized this acquisition has nothing to do with practicality or use, but rather the noble goal of re-assembling a very rare set! I don't know what I was thinking! I may very well never see another matching speeder...

The tools arrived in today's mail and they really are in excellent - almost unused - condition. After I left favourable Feedback for the Seller, I was surprised to receive an email thanking me along with an offer of 50% his asking price for the speeder. I agreed and am happy to report the following is also en route (for a quite modest C$18.71 shipped):

Naturally, all these tools were once part of the same set. We know from the date code on the ratchet that Snap-on was supplying the tools by 1963 and the following excerpt from the 1965 Eaton's catalogue shows the same tools were still on offer then. I don't have a 1966 catalogue, but the supplier had changed by 1967 for sure.

A close reading of the catalogue text shows my set to be the larger 1/2" set on the left (053-A 1536). An even closer reading shows that no 13/16" socket was included in the set - presumably because the spark plug socket could perform that duty should the need arise. Consequently, I would like to revise my appeal for help locating the missing sockets to merely three sizes:

TecoMaster Professional 5614 7/16" Standard
TecoMaster Professional 5622 11/16" Standard
TecoMaster Professional 5632 1" Standard

PLEASE NOTE: The sockets I want will have the model numbers noted above.


By the way... that $35.95 in 1965 Canadian dollars equates to $277.27 today. That's a modest sum today given the fact the tools were made by Snap-on.

And lest anyone still doubt that Snap-on was the maker of these tools (the obvious ratchet notwithstanding) consider the following 5" extensions. The only matching 1/2" Snap-on piece I have is this Canadian-made 1951 SX-5 5" extension. It is an exact copy of the TecoMaster Professional 5703 from the set. (Or rather, the other way around!):

The two pieces match right down to the cryptic "H-in-a-rounded-triangle" symbol on the fill plug opposite the detent ball:

Cool.

 

[superautobacs]

Great post

I really like the design of the TecoMaster handles. IMO, much better looking, and probably more comfortable than a Snap-On.

I'm glad these aren't the TecoMaster tools made in Poland ... or was it Yugoslavia .... ? I forget.

 

[snapmom]

TecoMaster 3700 3/8dr ratchet. Looks a lot like a ParX or Blue point.

 

[Beanscoot]

Here's some Tecomaster sockets I picked up recently at our local flea market:

Did someone say that 13/16" wasn't included? How about the ever popular 25/32" and square plug sockets?

N.B.: they are all 1/2" drive.







View attachment 798073

I tried to insert full images, but can't quite figure it out. Can anyone advise how to do it?

 

[snapmom]

A 3/8 Tecomaster 7/16" flex socket model number 3630

 

[The Cobbler]

Tecomaster was Eatons Canada brand name I think . they sold lawnmowers & other stuff under that name

 

[Beanscoot]

Snapmom, how do you find Tecomaster tools in Florida?
I used to regularly go to a big flea market near Seattle in pre-Pestilence days (quite close to the Canadian border), and never saw Canadian tools.
I'm amazed some turn up in Florida.

Cobbler, I have an early '50s Tecomaster lawn mower with a 6B Briggs engine. It has a cast aluminum deck with Tecomaster cast in it, and shows a couple old weld repairs of the deck. It looks a lot like a Lawnboy with one front wheel behind the discharge chute.
I picked it up years ago and fixed it up. It had a bent crankshaft which we repaired during my apprenticeship at a large industrial facility by turning the end down, plating it up with nickel and then grinding it back to specs.
A very interesting project saving some old machinery.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I tried to buy a couple of Tecomaster sockets from one fleamarket vendor, he is usually reasonable, this time I guess he knew hat he had and wanted Snap-On prices. I passed.

 

[snapmom]

A 3701 tecomaster speeder. Took me 7 years to find one.

 

[Snapped-off]

Pristine.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Eatons was the Sears of Canada. Big, iconic. They were one early department store deaths.

 

[mikedodge]

I have a tecomaster ratchet set in its metal case same as the picture in the old ad some posts back. There's the ratchet, sockets, spark plug socket and short and long extensions. I always liked that set.