The Ratchet Collection Thread

[Username already in use]

I just assumed a connection between Thorsen and P&C based on the open gear ratchet... Interesting company history.
The designs are nearly identical. I posted the 3/8" drive Action, Thorsen, and P&C ratchets back on post number 227 in this thread, HERE.

 

[Username already in use]

Heres a couple of ratchets that followed me home today.
I gave a buck for the unbranded 1/2" and $8 for the 3/8" flex MAC.

 

[r_olson_06]

Heres a couple of ratchets that followed me home today.
I gave a buck for the unbranded 1/2" and $8 for the 3/8" flex MAC.

Great finds. I think the unmarked is Walden.

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[Ole Slewfoot]

Ill second that, have the same one with a different selecor.

 

[Username already in use]

Great finds. I think the unmarked is Walden.

Yeah, it is a Walden. I meant to type that, but I accidentally a word.

 

[Rileysan]

Since someone brought up Truth ratchets here recently, I was reminded I hadn't posted pictures of my Truth 1" drive ratchet, sans handle. No model number.

Brian

 

[3baygarage]

I was wondering the same thing when I first got it, and also I noticed the drive plug and selector were on the same side (as often is seen with Plomb/Proto rats) so I knew it had to come apart.

As I sat there pondering this, flipping the selector back and forth, it stuck in the center position and the drive plug just fell out of the head! The pawl looks like a batman shape, and one of the wingtips is all that holds the drive plug in the head. Kind of a shoddy design, if you ask me...maybe why these are not common. It also has insanely high back drag. This one definitely will not be a user, it is purty enough for the collection though.

Thanks for checking. Figured that's how it worked. Can't imagine flipping direction during use and the gear pops out. Easy to clean and lube. Still a cool one.

Since someone brought up Truth ratchets here recently, I was reminded I hadn't posted pictures of my Truth 1" drive ratchet, sans handle. No model number.

Brian

I have that same one and need a handle too darnit!

 

[twertsy]

Since someone brought up Truth ratchets here recently, I was reminded I hadn't posted pictures of my Truth 1" drive ratchet, sans handle. No model number.

Brian

Nice Brian!

 

[r_olson_06]

Finally have the 3/8 model. Vlchek 3/8 and 1/2 drive ratchets. 3/8 was eBay sourced this this week. Been looking for almost a year for this one.



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[Private Lugnutz]

Do you have any sockets or other handles to go with that WSSR10? In my experience, of all the major WWII-era manufacturers who made tons of other basic mechanics tools (e.g., DOE wrenches, DBE wrenches, pliers, hammers, etc), Vlchek drive tools are by far the rarest.

 

[r_olson_06]

Do you have any sockets or other handles to go with that WSSR10? In my experience, of all the major WWII-era manufacturers who made tons of other basic mechanics tools (e.g., DOE wrenches, DBE wrenches, pliers, hammers, etc), Vlchek drive tools are by far the rarest.

I did pick up 1 vlchek socket a month ago. First one I have ever seen. It looks early proto plomb similar impact style socket.

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[r_olson_06]

Do you have any sockets or other handles to go with that WSSR10? In my experience, of all the major WWII-era manufacturers who made tons of other basic mechanics tools (e.g., DOE wrenches, DBE wrenches, pliers, hammers, etc), Vlchek drive tools are by far the rarest.

I know it's not a drive tool and probably deserves a different thread but here is a vlchek and proto LA impact socket side by side.

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[twertsy]

Finally have the 3/8 model. Vlchek 3/8 and 1/2 drive ratchets. 3/8 was eBay sourced this this week. Been looking for almost a year for this one.



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Great snag on that 3/8 example!! Any chance you could load it up on TA? That's a rare bird.........

 

[d42jeep]

One of the items I picked up over the weekend was this New Britain sourced Craftsman BE 1/4" drive reversing ratchet complete with the drive plug. I've had a couple of non reversing 1/2" drive BE ratchets but never one with the drive plug.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

Private Lugnutz -
RE: "Action"
I avoided picking up any "Action" brand stuff, choosing instead to keep my focus on Thorsen, until an Ebay seller posted an Action set that was just too good a deal to pass up.
I've got a boatload of Thorsen, and for the life of me, I cannot see one bit of difference between the Thorsen and Action stuff. Of course, I'm not a metallurgist so I can't affirm or deny that Thorsen may have been using some super-duper-secret-formula alloy, but my gut tells me it's the same stuff.

My take on it is that it was just another "dual line" thing done for marketing purposes. You can sell Joe's Hardware "Thorsen", and you can sell Bob's Emporium "Action", and even though they're right across the street from each other they're both happy - same kind of deal as Indestro/Duro Chrome.

Another thing about Action is that it is (as I'm sure ssdave would attest to) dirt cheap on Ebay because nobody is buying it (kind of like Triangle-era Herbrand.)
There's a 3/8" drive 77JA ratchet and a 51JA extension waiting for me at the post office right now: $10.65 including shipping from Florida to Tacoma, Washington. Go figure.

 

[davethorik]

Good to see you back, four.cycle!
The Action 17MA I posted has a matte finish on the chrome. Are all Thorsens full polish?

 

[four.cycle]

All of my Thorsen appears to be "full polish", but some of it dulls over time. As Lugnutz mentioned about his "Action" stuff, some piece (sockets and wrenches) have a "dull" or "satin" finish.

r_olson_06 -
in post #321 of this thread you posted a photo of a rusty old ratchet.
it looks like it might be an Indestro model #657

that one's kind of an oddball - I have not been able to find it listed in any catalog.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

for the life of me, I cannot see one bit of difference between the Thorsen and Action stuff.

The Action 17MA I posted has a matte finish on the chrome.

What dave said, four.cycle. It was common for mfgrs to use slightly different part numbers and prices for identical wrenches and pliers and hammers with different finishes in the 30's and 40's. I'm not sure about 50's, and I'm definitely not sure I can name a similar example of an entire line of drive tools being formed on that distinction (finish) alone. But I am convinced that is the only difference between unbranded Thorsen ACTION and branded Thorsen proper. I called it satin above. My entire 1/2-inch drive ACTION set is satin or matte, not full polish.

EDIT: We x-posted. Since I now see that you have seen me talk about the finish upthread, I'm assuming you meant no discernible physical/mechanical/construction differences, and yes, I agree.

 

[twertsy]

What dave said, four.cycle. It was common for mfgrs to use slightly different part numbers and prices for identical wrenches and pliers and hammers with different finishes in the 30's and 40's. I'm not sure about 50's, and I'm definitely not sure I can name a similar example of an entire line of drive tools being formed on that distinction (finish) alone. But I am convinced that is the only difference between unbranded Thorsen ACTION and branded Thorsen proper. I called it satin above. My entire 1/2-inch drive ACTION set is satin or matte, not full polish.

I believe I have a 3/8 drive hinge handle that's either Cad or plain steel.

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[four.cycle]

Username already in use -

in post #349 you posted a Powr Kraft 4815 00T ratchet made by Thorsen using a dual-pin ejector mechanism.
Same as the Thorsen 89J:

 

[four.cycle]

Lugnutz -

re: "Action" -
Let me back up a bit here regarding "finish". I'm not really rowing with both oars in the water, it seems.
I have a tiny bit of "Action" (one 3/8" drive set, as I recall), a ton of Thorsen, and way too much Giller.
I do have a lot of Thorsen and Giller 1/4" drive stuff that one would call "satin" finish - mostly the little tiny sockets. Also the sliding T-bars, breakers, and some extensions would be called more "satin" than "polished".
Almost all of my 77MC ratchets have what one would call a "satin" finish as well.
So now that I actually think about it (without going out and opening up a bunch of boxes), the only "plated and polished" stuff I can think of off the top of my head are the larger (3/8" and 1/2" drive) sockets and some of the drive accessories.

That said, I just received a Thorsen 77JCT that's got fabulous chrome plating, but it's clearly apparent it wasn't made by Thorsen:



Let me add:
Regarding your apparent fascination with the early 77 and 77J open-gear ratchets:
Another member here some time back referred to them as "The AK-47 of ratchets".
I think you'll probably find a couple other long-time users of them on this site who will attest to their durability and reliability in the worst of conditions, while being misused, abused, and improperly maintained.
Supposedly, the open-gear model 4480 Wright 1/2" drive was something that Wright tooled up for to supply a ratchet for the U.S. military, who needed something that wouldn't fail in adverse (dusty) conditions (like sandstorms in Iraq.) I have nothing to substantiate that other than a couple anecdotal remarks on this site some time back, but it does make perfect sense - why would a contemporary manufacturer go back to an earlier (and supposedly obsolete) design?

 

[four.cycle]

To those who might have missed it previously:
The little slugs/drive adapters/ratchet adapters/drive plugs for your female drive ratchets are available from KC Tool in Kansas City ( https://www.kctoolco.com/ ) in Wiha/Heyco.

 

[r_olson_06]

Great snag on that 3/8 example!! Any chance you could load it up on TA? That's a rare bird.........

I haven't had any luck getting on something about being blacklisted.

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[four.cycle]

And finally, here's my question (not worth starting a new thread for this one):
I recently acquired a New Britain NM55 1/4" drive RHFT ratchet that is wonky.
I completely disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled it, but I cannot get it to work in both directions.

I found a couple Blackhawk repair kits, both of which contain the internal snap ring, but because the photos are so poor I cannot even guess as to whether or not they'll suit my purposes.

Here's the repair kit that I think might work:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-PIECE-1-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

I sent an inquiry to the seller, who is being less than helpful. I would imagine he doesn't want to deal with hassling over a return, which is understandable.

If I could find a photo image of a Blackhawk GW9945A on Google Images at least I could make an educated guess, but I've hit a wall on this one.

Anybody have any clue on this? The kit's only $8 bucks, so it's not like I'm out a ton of money, but if it's not even close to what I need I can simply return the ratchet to the seller.

Let me know.

(* edited 11/02/17 19:57 PDT *)

 

[twertsy]

I haven't had any luck getting on something about being blacklisted.

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Now what did you do? No soup for you!

I'll set you up in the morning.

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[r_olson_06]

Now what did you do? No soup for you!

I'll set you up in the morning.

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Thanks. I will get to this weekend.

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[davethorik]

What dave said, four.cycle. It was common for mfgrs to use slightly different part numbers and prices for identical wrenches and pliers and hammers with different finishes in the 30's and 40's. I'm not sure about 50's, and I'm definitely not sure I can name a similar example of an entire line of drive tools being formed on that distinction (finish) alone. But I am convinced that is the only difference between unbranded Thorsen ACTION and branded Thorsen proper. I called it satin above. My entire 1/2-inch drive ACTION set is satin or matte, not full polish.

EDIT: We x-posted. Since I now see that you have seen me talk about the finish upthread, I'm assuming you meant no discernible physical/mechanical/construction differences, and yes, I agree.

My little 17MA was part of a boxed set so I dug it out of storage and took a look to refresh my mind.

The ratchet is all matte save for the gear cover piece. The breaker bar is all matte. The extension is matte, but the large diameter on the female end is polished. Sockets with a taper are matte on the taper, large diameter polished. Non-tapered sockets are full polish. An eclectic mix, to be sure.

 

[four.cycle]

I suppose I should mention:
Sometimes real life takes on a higher priority than participation in discussions on internet forums.
Sometimes our health isn't as good as we'd like it to be.
Sometimes we just have to drop off the planet for a bit.
Hope to be able to again become a more active participant here.

Cheers!

 

[Username already in use]

Username already in use -

in post #349 you posted a Powr Kraft 4815 00T ratchet made by Thorsen using a dual-pin ejector mechanism.
Same as the Thorsen 89J:

Thanks for the confirmation and the pics. That's what I suspected.

If I could find a photo image of a Blackhawk GW9945A on Google Images at least I could make an educated guess, but I've hit a wall on this one.

Not sure if this is what you're looking for. I don't see an 'internal snap ring' anywhere inside the Blackhawk ratchet. Let me know if you need/want more pics.

 

[four.cycle]

I'm stumped.
Here's the repair kit I was looking at:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192163266954?rmvSB=true

Note that the clip ring included in the kit is not the same as your "external" (circular) clip ring. The only ratchet I know of that uses that "internal" clip ring (with the two little holes) is the Kilness-patented New Britain. I may be dead wrong there.

 

[3baygarage]

Four Cycle welcome back!

Yes, those repair kits are for NB made (Kilness style) Blackhawk ratchets. Not the ratchet pictured above.

 

[four.cycle]

okay, so the worst that's going to happen is.... what?
will it matter if the replacement innards are single-pawl or dual-pawl? will either one work in the same ratchet body?
sorry if that sounds like a stupid question, but generally when I pull them apart and put them back together they work just dandy. this is one of two in the last two years that I've just not had any luck with.
(the other one's an older Indestro 2875 1/4" RHFT that's sketchy but I just got tired of screwing around with it and said "good enough".)

a whole $8.25 isn't going to kill me... I'm thinking I should just order it and cross my fingers.

 

[3baygarage]

If your ratchet looks like the one Username posted, then no the kits aren't interchangeable.

Two different head styles.

 

[d42jeep]

I'm very happy to see you back on the site, Four Cycle! I always thought that it was interesting how similar our career paths were. Now I can brag to you about my Indestro finds.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

doh!

I guess it would help if I showed you guys what I'm working with here:



Take a look and give me your best guess as to whether you think that kit I posted the link to above will work. Thank you!

and Thank you, D42Jeep - as I said above, sometimes other stuff has to be given greater priority due to necessity.

BK

 

[3baygarage]

Okay. Chances are it fits. It's the correct style kit, just not sure if there was any variation in tooth count in either NB or Blackhawk.

Husky is the one I know for sure had two different tooth counts in their version of those round head, in 3/8 drive anyway.

 

[four.cycle]

Thank you! I'm going to go ahead and order one and cross my fingers.
I've started picking up some NB stuff lately - all 1/4" drive - so I suppose if not this one, it will fit some other.

I've been "helping" out here - girlfriend is making hats for the "Arabian Dance" in my sister's production of "Nutcracker" for Christmas.



Trust me, the music is much better than that hat looks on me:

( the Rousseau-ish backdrop on that scene is fabulous!)

 

[four.cycle]

A recent acquisition, and possibly the answer to a question that seems have been something of a mystery.

This 1/4" drive "Frankenstein" type ratchet seems to have puzzled a few of you.

made by G.M Mfg. Co., 1308 43rd Ave., Long Island City, N.Y.
see: http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2014/02/vanished-tool-makers-gm-co.html

The first kit is the one I recently acquired.

The second kit is one currently listed on Ebay. I sent an inquiry to the seller asking him to take a really close look at the foam insert inside the box, and whether or not it appeared (A) original (B) uncompromised and (C) the same age as the rest of the pieces. He answered yes to all three questions.
I therefore submit that this one was made by G.M Mfg. Co. in New York. The ratchets have NO markings on them at all.
There also exists a Japanese-made knock-off which looks exactly like this one, but the head unscrews from the shank (and most of them I've seen are stamped "Japan".)

On the other hand, I might be dead-*** wrong on this one.

mine:



the one currently listed on Ebay
HERE: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-GM-Co-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 (* I'm still waiting for him to drop the price about $10 bucks - it ain't worth no $30 dollars. *)

 

[3baygarage]

Another fairly rare, unbranded SK 4070 I snagged this weekend.

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Here are 3 varations I have with similar design. Only one is marked.


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Very nice. I had one of those as well. It lives with another member now, but I saved a pic.

Picked up this old war club yesterday.

View media item 76567
View media item 76568

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Almost skipped the flea market today. Boy am I glad I decided to go!!! Possibly one of my favorite finds of the year, and my first Blackhawk ratchet!