The vintage Blackhawk Thread

[Oldtuleguy]

Kilness patent new britain era ratchet, from after the acquisition in 55. Here is a 3/8 version.

 

[thehorse13]

Horse13, as I mentioned before, I could have some more made but it is not at all cost effective to do 1. I would at least need 5 more.
I'd be glad to do it you would just need to round them up. Let me know what you want to do.

Thehorse13 - 1
Oldtuleguy - 2
bmwrd0 - 1
Farmer J. - 1

We're up to 5 right now. One more badge and we're in business, right?

 

[y'sguy]

Yes that is what I wrote. I will honor that. And to top it off looks like you make get top salesman of the year. woohoo!

Did Don Long request one? I thought I saw that somewhere else?

 

[thehorse13]

Yes that is what I wrote. I will honor that. And to top it off looks like you make get top salesman of the year. woohoo!

Did Don Long request one? I thought I saw that somewhere else?

That was me thinking out loud. lol. I figured that if anyone had beat up Blackhawk stuff waiting to be restored it would be him.

Maybe we'll find someone else in the mean time.

 

[Shelbylex]

Y'sguy, how much are the emblems? (you can PM me if you prefer)
I know about a toolbox which needs a significant restoration but am waiting for the owner to come down to earth with the price (the box will need more than complete stripping... Trying to see if the owner will realize its not worse a fortune... If I will get it, I might consider an emblem...

 

[y'sguy]

That was me thinking out loud. lol. I figured that if anyone had beat up Blackhawk stuff waiting to be restored it would be him.

Maybe we'll find someone else in the mean time.

Yes,that's good and fine. I will wait awhile longer before I begin the process so I can try to cover all the orders with processing. As near as I can tell by my sketchy records The shipping was around $4 each. Good thing I don't do this for a living!
I think this time I will ask for a paypal payment in advance to secure the order. This seems to get the ball rolling pretty good and keeps us all accountable.
When that time comes, soon I will make my paypal link available. I f anyone has a better suggestion, let me know.
Cost of the emblem was 30.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Sounds good. Looking forward to the finished product!

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, y'sguy

Gentlemen: I decided to start a thread for Blackhawk and Caterpillar boxes. Please post your boxes, advertisement, etc. I think having them all together will be interesting and make it easier for everybody who is interested to see them all together...

Blackhawk Tool Chests and Tool Rollers (Caterpillar by Blackhawk are welcomed as well!)

There is a lot of interest in Blackhawk tools and toolboxes. We already have a general thread and tool box thread. Let's start Blackhawk specific thread! Caterpillar boxes welcomed! Not as pristine, but this is what I have!

www.garagejournal.com

I know, after Y'sGuy posts his boxes we will all feel bad about not doing the same to our boxes : )

 

[don long]

Thehorse13 - 1
Oldtuleguy - 2
bmwrd0 - 1
Farmer J. - 1

We're up to 5 right now. One more badge and we're in business, right?

Put me in for 1

 

[thehorse13]

Yes,that's good and fine. I will wait awhile longer before I begin the process so I can try to cover all the orders with processing. As near as I can tell by my sketchy records The shipping was around $4 each. Good thing I don't do this for a living!
I think this time I will ask for a paypal payment in advance to secure the order. This seems to get the ball rolling pretty good and keeps us all accountable.
When that time comes, soon I will make my paypal link available. I f anyone has a better suggestion, let me know.
Cost of the emblem was 30.

Looks like I was right. Don Long just replied and he wants one which gets us to the magic number of half dozen. Whenever you need to be paid, I will certainly get the PayPal payment over to you.

 

[thehorse13]

Since I've taken so much attention with getting medallion badges made, here is a contribution to the Blackhawk thread Gods. A nice 2601U set found in the 1930 catalog. I'm two wrenches short of finishing this up. The outside of the case is as nice as the inside. It's like it was never used except for the two wrenches that are missing from the set (2780 & 2616).

 

[y'sguy]

Holy Cow! Nice!

 

[Shelbylex]

Nice set, Thehorse13!

 

[Shelbylex]

Well, I have a puzzle here: what do you think: Blackhawk? Bottom appears to be rusty. Owner told me no major dents. How much would you pay ?(...yes, this is the box which I might need an emblem for if it's a Blackhawk and I can get it for a less than stratospheric price...)

 

[don long]

Wow
That looks like a real project.

 

[Shelbylex]

Do you think it's a Blackhawk? It looks like one but I did not see similar models before with door going down and three small drawers on the left.

 

[thehorse13]

Well, I have a puzzle here: what do you think: Blackhawk? Bottom appears to be rusty. Owner told me no major dents. How much would you pay ?(...yes, this is the box which I might need an emblem for if it's a Blackhawk and I can get it for a less than stratospheric price...)

Sure looks like an early Blackhawk box to me. Keep in mind that I am a terrible cheapskate and I only go 20 bucks deep into boxes that require a full restoration. The metal has to be solid though.

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, Thehorse13. I wonder if the front cover (which is down) had an emblem or not. What's your guess?

Can you add the picture of this box with content to the Blackhawk box thread? (or, if you prefer, please e-mail me the full picture from the catalog and I can add it to all the catalog box pictures on the thread. We should also probably add the full content of your box from the add to it. Do you want to do it when you complete the restoration or prior?

 

[y'sguy]

Yep, that looks like the one. On the door that drops down, does it have 2 holes in it for a round badge? That is the only way I would think it may have had one. Otherwise it may have been a decal?

 

[thehorse13]

My 70RD treasure chest from the same era has a decal on the inside of the lid. On the outside of the lid, there are two holes for the factory personal plate that you would get from the factory when you ordered you Blackhawk toolbox and tool set. I've attached a picture of where you would find this plate.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Shelby bonney sold that same box, maybe others. This one was posted on bonney thread awhile back.

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, Y'sguy, Thehorse13 and Oldtuleguy.
I can not see the box in person but I can not see the holes on the front from the picture (the pictures I posted is what I got (+ few pictures of the hinges - equally rusty, the front one is a little bent).
Would you pay $35-$40 for it? (The owner wants much more but hinted that he can come down on the price eventually). I am not sure how pitted the metal is going to be judging by the rust. It was also repainted at least once-twice...

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Easily worth that.

 

[y'sguy]

Looks like a fun and challenging project if you wish.

 

[bmwrd0]

I have a Snap-on box in roughly the same condition. A lot of work, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, gentlemen! I will try to get it. The owner told me that he will be in my state in approximately a month - hopefully it works out!

 

[thehorse13]

I never even considered that Bonney was using the same box for their tools during that era. Even if it turns out to be a Bonney box, it surely is worth 35-40 bucks. I consider that the cost of entry into a therapeutic restoration of an old tool box.

 

[Old Radar]

Picked up this Blackhawk Torkflash the other day--sadly no case, instructions or nice decal on the side. It did clean up fairly well.

I have two requests for the crowd.

1. I would love a scan of the instructions or vectors to a site where I can download one.
2. The AA batteries I have do not fit inside the compartment. This is surprising. I initially thought maybe my battery was too fat because of the plastic sheathing, so I stripped that off. No go. As you can see in the last pic, my naked battery is 0.547ish in diameter. It is 0.010" too fat for the cylinder.
I have thought of three possibilities for this problem:
a. Modern AA batteries have a slightly larger girth than batteries that were contemporaries of this tool.
b. Bakelite shrinks over time.
c. Costco contracted with a company whose AA batteries push or exceed the limit on the size standard.

If everyone is having this issue, then either a. or b. is true.
If it's just me, then c. is probably true.

So my request is for owners of a Torkflash to let me know if they can fit a AA battery into it; and if so, tell me what brand of battery you are using.
Because there may not be a whole lot of Torkflash owners who see this post or know where their Torkflash is or don't have a battery, everyone can play by measuring the diameter of any (or all) brands of AA batteries they have access to and let me know if any are 0.0537" or less in diameter.

Thanks for your help!

 

[thehorse13]

Picked up this Blackhawk Torkflash the other day--sadly no case, instructions or nice decal on the side. It did clean up fairly well.

I have two requests for the crowd.

1. I would love a scan of the instructions or vectors to a site where I can download one.
2. The AA batteries I have do not fit inside the compartment. This is surprising. I initially thought maybe my battery was too fat because of the plastic sheathing, so I stripped that off. No go. As you can see in the last pic, my naked battery is 0.547ish in diameter. It is 0.010" too fat for the cylinder.
I have thought of three possibilities for this problem:
a. Modern AA batteries have a slightly larger girth than batteries that were contemporaries of this tool.
b. Bakelite shrinks over time.
c. Costco contracted with a company whose AA batteries push or exceed the limit on the size standard.

If everyone is having this issue, then either a. or b. is true.
If it's just me, then c. is probably true.

So my request is for owners of a Torkflash to let me know if they can fit a AA battery into it; and if so, tell me what brand of battery you are using.
Because there may not be a whole lot of Torkflash owners who see this post or know where their Torkflash is or don't have a battery, everyone can play by measuring the diameter of any (or all) brands of AA batteries they have access to and let me know if any are 0.0537" or less in diameter.

Thanks for your help!

I can take pictures of my Torkflash original instructions if you like. Your observation of AA batteries is spot on. Modern AA batteries will not fit this tool. Apparently they changed the dimensions over the decades. I have yet to find a battery that does work.

If you can survive without the pretty light, the wrench can be used without batteries. Just watch the beam touch the edge, which is what made the light come on when you could power it with the old AA standard.

 

[bmwrd0]

You are looking at 1.5 volts, how many amps? I bet you could rig up some watch or hearing aid batteries in parallel and make it work.

 

[Mintgrun]

One vintage Blackhawk Armstrong HEXITE 9/16 - 5/8 DOE and a not so old looking not so straight ET-1800 screwdriver. I tried google image search to find another ET-1800, but no luck yet. It was straight originally, right? The handle shape is odd. Was it a part of a set, or something?

 

[Old Radar]

I can take pictures of my Torkflash original instructions if you like. Your observation of AA batteries is spot on. Modern AA batteries will not fit this tool. Apparently they changed the dimensions over the decades. I have yet to find a battery that does work.

If you can survive without the pretty light, the wrench can be used without batteries. Just watch the beam touch the edge, which is what made the light come on when you could power it with the old AA standard.

If it's not too much trouble to get a flat copy, I would greatly appreciate it! I'm interested in getting it powered just for the novelty. I may have to try Beemer's suggestion with hearing aid batteries.

Thanks, guys!

 

[thehorse13]

If it's not too much trouble to get a flat copy, I would greatly appreciate it! I'm interested in getting it powered just for the novelty. I may have to try Beemer's suggestion with hearing aid batteries.

Thanks, guys!

No trouble at all. When I head out to the garage tomorrow I will grab some pictures for you.

 

[thehorse13]

If it's not too much trouble to get a flat copy, I would greatly appreciate it! I'm interested in getting it powered just for the novelty. I may have to try Beemer's suggestion with hearing aid batteries.

Thanks, guys!

Here ya go. If these don't work for you I can retake them. The original document will not lay flat so I had to weight it on each side with heavy flat wood.

 

[Old Radar]

Works for me--Thanks!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some 40s 3/8 drive stuff.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

These came in the "Q" case in 43

 

[CRTDI]

Some 40s 3/8 drive stuff.

Very nice! A lot of the 3/8th drive stuff is harder to find than some of the 7/16th drive items. At least for me..

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Blackhawk treated the 3/8 stuff like a red headed stepchild. I have been collecting it for years to come up with a few sets.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It's because the sockets were too small for Lock-On, their flagship modernizing technology. They barely got it in the Nuggets.