Vintage S-K Tools

[Rileysan]

I grabbed this shot off of an eBay listing so it looks like the blue color was used in the S-K/Lectrolite era as well. S-K/Lectrolite was renamed to S-K Wayne between '62 & '64 according to AA. The other picture is the blue box I traded.
-Don

Yep! If you scroll back far enough in this thread, you will see my S-K Lectrolite set in a blue box. Not sure if some or all Lectrolite boxes were blue.

Brian

Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Yep! If you scroll back far enough in this thread, you will see my S-K Lectrolite set in a blue box. Not sure if some or all Lectrolite boxes were blue.

Brian

Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk

Same here, I think I posted the one I had as well. It was a 1/4 & 3/8 combination set box.

Mine had the sticker

 

[Catfishdan]

I picked up a nice complete 1/4 inch set today at a thrift store. Every piece has the same owners mark on it. I'm thinking early 50's?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thehorse13]

I picked up a nice complete 1/4 inch set today at a thrift store. Every piece has the same owners mark on it. I'm thinking early 50's?

Yep. You're right on the money with the date. I have the 3/8ths and 1/2 inch sets both of which were purchased in the mid 1950s by my dad.

I'm coming to terms that I may be an S-K snob. Anything made during the Wayne years is of no interest to me. I won't even buy them at 25 cents a piece. I always look for the early stuff made before the merger bonanza of the early 1960s.

You made a good grab with this little 1/4 inch set. I would have bought it too.

 

[raiderhillbilly]

Yep. You're right on the money with the date. I have the 3/8ths and 1/2 inch sets both of which were purchased in the mid 1950s by my dad.

I'm coming to terms that I may be an S-K snob. Anything made during the Wayne years is of no interest to me. I won't even buy them at 25 cents a piece. I always look for the early stuff made before the merger bonanza of the early 1960s.

You made a good grab with this little 1/4 inch set. I would have bought it too.

I agree with you here. I love diamond logo stuff and the knurled sockets. One exception the the Wayne era, The 1/4 and 1/2 drive sockets that are knurled with bright chrome on top and matte finished on the bottom half that say S-K Wayne are hard to find and beautiful.

 

[r_olson_06]

I agree with you here. I love diamond logo stuff and the knurled sockets. One exception the the Wayne era, The 1/4 and 1/2 drive sockets that are knurled with bright chrome on top and matte finished on the bottom half that say S-K Wayne are hard to find and beautiful.

Was it the 1" socket that Wayne never made in knurled bases? I know there is one size in the 1/2 drives that they didn't make knurled.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[d42jeep]

I gathered my prewar, wartime and postwar S-K 1/4" sets for a photo op yesterday. I still have a few holes to fill in a couple of the sets.
-Don

 

[Toothaker]

Was it the 1" socket that Wayne never made in knurled bases? I know there is one size in the 1/2 drives that they didn't make knurled.

You may be right. My 1967-vintage SK Wayne set all the sockets are knurled. But the 1/2" and the 1" socket are stamped SK, not SK Wayne. I figured they were using up old stock, and hadn't started their own SK Wayne production line yet. So I don't know if they ever produced SK Wayne sockets in those sizes.

My set is from 1967, which is near the end of the SK Wayne era.

 

[d42jeep]

Wow, those are in beautiful condition. They look unused. I have accumulated several Wayne 3/8" drive sockets but have not yet run across any knurled 1/2" drive Wayne sockets.
-Don

 

[Toothaker]

See post #179. This is just about the only tools I've collected. I have a lot of old tools, but I use them. My working set of 1/2 drive sockets are all vintage SK. But this set is essentially brand new. It includes a set of 1/4" and 1/2" sockets, wrenches and screwdrivers.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6155028&postcount=179

 

[d42jeep]

Wow. That toolbox is like a time capsule! Very nice.
I found this 3/8" drive set at an estate sale in Berkeley on Friday. It was missing only the 9/16" deep socket, which coincidentally I had picked up at an earlier sale the same day. Here are a couple of pictures after I cleaned it up.
-Don

 

[notlob]

Wow! Looks like I should have made the drive to Berkeley on Friday.

 

[d42jeep]

The sale wasn't all that great. The drill press you were interested in sold immediately for way too much money. I picked up another S-K/Brazil 1/2" drive socket in Walnut Creek. I'm getting to have quite a few of these. It might be cool to find a Brazil marked box for them.
-Don

 

[madison069]

Saw this today on craigslist,

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/d/sockets-accessories-and/6377898054.html

If it wasn't a high price I would go grab it.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I picked this up today. Wondering what the time frame is on it? Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

 

[d42jeep]

My best guess on your box would be early to mid '50s. Probably just before the S-K Lectrolite merger. I think that these two boxes are slightly older than yours.
-Don

 

[r_olson_06]

They maybe from the same era. I know SK in the diamond era ran a couple different barn lid tool boxes. I believe 1 was for a large 1/2 drive set and the other was for a small 3/4 drive set. Usually you can tell by the tray for the original purpose.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[d42jeep]

They maybe from the same era. I know SK in the diamond era ran a couple different barn lid tool boxes. I believe 1 was for a large 1/2 drive set and the other was for a small 3/4 drive set. Usually you can tell by the tray for the original purpose.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

The trays from both of my boxes look the same as the one in txlonghorn's box.
-Don

 

[txlonghorn1989]

They maybe from the same era. I know SK in the diamond era ran a couple different barn lid tool boxes. I believe 1 was for a large 1/2 drive set and the other was for a small 3/4 drive set. Usually you can tell by the tray for the original purpose.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

That is interesting to read. I got it to house the close to complete S-K 1/2" socket set that was in a red & gray Craftsman toolbox I bought a few months back. Great to hear that this box may actually be intended to house such a set. I need to find where I posted pics of that set and get an opinion from you guys if the box and the socket set are from the same period.

 

[r_olson_06]

That is interesting to read. I got it to house the close to complete S-K 1/2" socket set that was in a red & gray Craftsman toolbox I bought a few months back. Great to hear that this box may actually be intended to house such a set. I need to find where I posted pics of that set and get an opinion from you guys if the box and the socket set are from the same period.

The trays from both of my boxes look the same as the one in txlonghorn's box.
-Don

I have some catalogs at home with outer box dimensions that I could upload pictures of.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I have some catalogs at home with outer box dimensions that I could upload pictures of.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

That would be awesome!

 

[r_olson_06]

That would be awesome!

So I was wrong it is a generation thing. The older catalog first pics do not have the outer dimensions. The new SK lectrolite has the badge shifted to the right as Don has stated.


Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[txlonghorn1989]

So I was wrong it is a generation thing. The older catalog first pics do not have the outer dimensions. The new SK lectrolite ...

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

So any idea on the period these boxes with the shifted right logo were made?

 

[r_olson_06]

So any idea on the period these boxes with the shifted right logo were made?

It should be early 1950s the merger of SK with Lectrolite until they were bought by Wayne in 1962.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[d42jeep]

I bought this large lot of sockets along with some other tools at an estate sale in Santa Rosa, CA yesterday and there were quite a few S-K sockets in the mix.
-Don

 

[r_olson_06]

I bought this large lot of sockets along with some other tools at an estate sale in Santa Rosa, CA yesterday and there were quite a few S-K sockets in the mix.
-Don

That looks like the earlier diamond bar. I think they came with the S-K Chrome set. Anyone second that?

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[d42jeep]

I found it in the (slightly) postwar flyer on Twertsy's site. It's a little shorter than the 17" bar with the larger handle.
-Don

 

[r_olson_06]

I found it in the (slightly) postwar flyer on Twertsy's site. It's a little shorter than the 17" bar with the larger handle.
-Don

Smaller cross bar hole as well?

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[d42jeep]

Correct. As the pamphlet page indicates on the bottom left, the longer bar take a larger diameter crossbar than the shorter bar. The hole in the shorter bar is the same size as the holes in the early deep 1/2" drive spark plug sockets.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As I reported on the Garage Sale thread, I found a 3/8-inch hinge handle today, completely unmarked, that immediately reminded me of the unmarked 1/4-inch hinge handles some/many of us attribute to SK. After I got it home and cleaned it up and compared it to one of the 1/4-inch hinge handles, I'm not so sure.

The basic design, construction and shape of the head is the same, although the 3/8-inch drive is slightly different. The knurling on the grip is exactly the same, and they take similar (though not identical) approaches to the **** end. It's not uncommon for a Mfgr's midget stuff to be slightly different than its junior stuff, and it makes perfect sense that if they weren't marking their 1/4-inch bars they probably weren't marking their 3/8-inchbars either. I'm just not as sure as I was standing there at the flea market.

Has anyone found these before? Does anyone have a 3/8-inch SK set from this era? Are the breaker bars marked?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Came across this old sk speeder. Not sure of age...

 

[d42jeep]

As I reported on the Garage Sale thread, I found a 3/8-inch hinge handle today, completely unmarked, that immediately reminded me of the unmarked 1/4-inch hinge handles some/many of us attribute to SK. After I got it home and cleaned it up and compared it to one of the 1/4-inch hinge handles, I'm not so sure.

The basic design, construction and shape of the head is the same, although the 3/8-inch drive is slightly different. The knurling on the grip is exactly the same, and they take similar (though not identical) approaches to the **** end. It's not uncommon for a Mfgr's midget stuff to be slightly different than its junior stuff, and it makes perfect sense that if they weren't marking their 1/4-inch bars they probably weren't marking their 3/8-inchbars either. I'm just not as sure as I was standing there at the flea market.

Has anyone found these before? Does anyone have a 3/8-inch SK set from this era? Are the breaker bars marked?

Lugz,
I believe that both of those bars are S-K although since they are unmarked it's impossible to be 100% certain. Below are some comparison shots. The last picture I posted upthread.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks for the confirmation, Don. I'm convinced!

 

[ryan20021982]

Not sure if it helps but here is a 1/4" bar I have

View media item 78002View media item 78001View media item 78000

 

[Toothaker]

Here is my SK Wayne 3/8" hinge handle. I see a lot of similarities, too.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Tool free post

 

[r_olson_06]

As I reported on the Garage Sale thread, I found a 3/8-inch hinge handle today, completely unmarked, that immediately reminded me of the unmarked 1/4-inch hinge handles some/many of us attribute to SK. After I got it home and cleaned it up and compared it to one of the 1/4-inch hinge handles, I'm not so sure.

The basic design, construction and shape of the head is the same, although the 3/8-inch drive is slightly different. The knurling on the grip is exactly the same, and they take similar (though not identical) approaches to the **** end. It's not uncommon for a Mfgr's midget stuff to be slightly different than its junior stuff, and it makes perfect sense that if they weren't marking their 1/4-inch bars they probably weren't marking their 3/8-inchbars either. I'm just not as sure as I was standing there at the flea market.

Has anyone found these before? Does anyone have a 3/8-inch SK set from this era? Are the breaker bars marked?

Never seen one up here is SK graceland. I have several of the unmarked 1/4 and I have found them in complete SK set. The sockets are marked but not the bars. These are usually in the diamond era that has the painted logo and the SK Chrome marked sockets. Nice find.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks. Now all I need is, um, er, the rest of the set!

I'm still working on Williams and Hinsdale 3/8-inch drive sets. The last thing I need is another goal.

 

[Catfishdan]

I found a really clean box for my 1/4" set today. It'll replace one that's all rusty and covered in 3 coats of bad spray paint. Guy asked for 50 cents. I gave him a dollar.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[d42jeep]

The interior of that box looks like it never held a socket. What a great find!
I've been working on putting together a wartime S-K 1/2" drive spark plug socket set. Just need to find a couple more.
-Don