Vintage Xcelite or other Nut Driver Sets

[Arne73]

Arne,
Would you transcribe the marking on that pouch, please? Hard to read.

Here's a better picture but its hard to read in person.
Top line reads " Socket Wrench Set"
Contract number and the NSN are tought to make out but the last line looks like "VACO PRODUCTS CO".

 

[d42jeep]

An old friend dropped off some tools this morning. I assumed that these were Xcelite but I don’t recognize the brand.
-Don

 

[CoogarXR]

Those are Malco branded Xcelite drivers Malco makes tools mostly for the HVAC field. They're still around.

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks. I figured that you would know if anybody would. I wonder if they were a price line? They look a little more presentable now.
-Don

 

[RTM]

Malco is the group that reintroduced the nifty new vise grips? Eagle Grips?

 

[CoogarXR]

Thanks. I figured that you would know if anybody would. I wonder if they were a price line? They look a little more presentable now.
-Don

I'm not really sure how they were priced. I know Malco stuff isn't usually inexpensive.

I wonder sometimes about the logistics of how Xcelite managed to make drivers (or at least the handles) for SO MANY manufacturers... I can think of probably a dozen brand names I've seen on the Xcelite handle molds.

Nice set, and nice job cleaning by the way. I've seen a stray Malco here and there online, but they are way less common than their Xcelite contemporaries.

 

[bonneyman]

Those sure cleaned up nice!

Not sure, but I think nutdrivers for Malco is a newer thing.
My dad was a tin knocker, and had alot of Malco tools. Their pukey orange screwdrivers and tinners hammers with handles made of leather rings slid on come to mind. But I don't ever remember seeing him use their nutdrivers. (1970's era). Maybe he just didn't have any?
I see Malco nut drivers every once in a while but spend my dollars on VACO's and Xcelite Orchard Park varieties.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a brand of nutdriver I hadn’t seen before except possibly an odd shorty ball shaped 9/32” drive spinner. These are Deco Deluxe
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

Deco / Deco Tool (?) Deco Supply (?) / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8009760#post8009760 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...er-nut-driver-sets.368925/page-7#post-9220488 /

 

[d42jeep]

I got my magnifiers out and double checked the very faint marking. Looks like they are actually Peco Deluxe which leaves me equally in the dark.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

not a clue. those images in the other thread sure look like "Deco" to me. :

 

[d42jeep]

The 9/32” drive spinners ARE Deco but these nutdrivers are Peco. Probably why I’ve never seen another.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

I've got a "PEC" (Products Engineering Company) but nothing for "PECO".

:

 

[bmwrd0]

Products Engineering Co.

 

[RTM]

Could it be the same people?

1961 PECO DELUXE 6 FT 8 IN CHRISTMAS ALUMINUM TREE | #45721305

BIDDING ON A 1961 PECO DELUXE 6 FEET 8 INCH CHRISTMAS PINE (SILVER) ALUMINUM TREE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. IT HAS 118 POM POM BRANCHES WHICH ARE 24 INCHES LONG. IT COMES WITH IT'S 2 ORIGINAL WOODEN POL

www.worthpoint.com

Tool for assembling above.

Found a few items at Walmart that we'd rather not discuss in polite company.

 

[RTM]

Products Engineering Co.

They don't seem to mark their stuff that way.

PEC Tools

Shop precision measuring tools from PEC Tools, a trusted American manufacturer in California since 1960. Browse high-quality steel rulers, squares, calipers, gauges and more. Premium quality tools at affordable prices—shop direct!

pec.tools

 

[bmwrd0]

No, they always do PEC, but it is a possibility. But, I think your Xmas tree is a better fit.

 

[four.cycle]

name's right, but it's a long ways between nutdriver and Christmas tree.

but.... it's a long way between a wrench and a Barcalounger too.... :

 

[d42jeep]

I’ll always regret passing on a pretty nice BarcaLounger at an estate sale in Berkeley.
Both the Christmas tree and the Nutdrivers are marked Deluxe so that must be it!
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

 

[bmwrd0]

Picked this almost complete set up today for a couple bucks:

This is after cleaning and derusting, as they had been sitting in a barn for who knows how long.

 

[d42jeep]

They all look to be the same color. I wonder if that means that they are really early?
-Don

 

[bmwrd0]

They show both in the '42 catalog, so I don't know.

Xcelite : Quality Tools Preferred by the Experts : Catalog No. 1142 : Park Metalware Co., Inc. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

13 p., illus., 27.3 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks for the catalog link. Looks like the colored handles proved more popular over time.
-Don

 

[3jakes]

De Lux Multi-Purpose Set No 99
Metal latch on right.
Swings open on hinges.
Missing I suppose a reversible Phillips.
From a ham radio enthusiast estate.
The handle logo printing is mostly worn off, but most of the nut drivers look little used.
Rear of case pre-drilled for wall mounting.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Sweet set! And best of all - pre-name change. So, no later than 1951.

 

[bmwrd0]

Very nice!

 

[Mintgrun]

I've decided to keep an eye out for Hunter nut drivers. I like the size/shape of the handles. I found a black oxide blue handled 3/8" driver that matches the other two better than the chrome plated one.



The orange/black one is a screw grabber with a USN ID number stamped on it. It is also marked SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA.

This handle is marked Quick Lock and the hex shanked drivers snap into the handle. To release them, you push the aluminum sleeve up into the handle. It has an adaptor for the more common insert style.



I did not see a Hunter thread, but here's one that shares a similar screwdriver, along with patent information and such.

Hunter Screwdriver U.S. Patent 2324153

Here's a pretty nice example of a tool I haven't seen previously. Looks like the patent alludes to a "screw holding screwdriver" It features a spring loaded shaft that travels about 5/8" in total. Hard to tell if it were ever magnetized.

www.garagejournal.com

Tom

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up this antique jobbie at the flea this morning. As I was saying on the Garage Sale thread, I thought it might've been a screwdriver with the ferrule missing when I saw it at the bottom of a toolbox under a mess of other tools. It has a 3/8" hex opening. That coating is soft brass. The patina and the scoring on it from use almost makes it look like it's wooden, but it's steel. No markings, so it's going to go into the drawer with the rest of the unknowns.

 

[four.cycle]

^ you have some interesting pieces there in that drawer!

Mintgrun those are some great examples of Hunter.

Hunter was kind of hard to pin down. They had two different locations, and then later "Hunter" branded Screwdrivers, Hex Drivers, and other tools were manufactured by Easco.

Hunter / Hunter Tools, Huntingdon Valley, PA / PO Box 7395 Lugo Station, Los Angeles, CA / patent 2912891 Nov 17 1959 Ted Neff & patent 2324153 Jul 13 1943 J. Hagness / "Magic Tip" screwdriver - "Adjust-A-Box" wrench / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110686 / http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2016/01/vanished-tool-makers-hunter-tools-los.html / see also https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/neff-adjust-a-box-wrench.393538/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/hunter-screwdriver-u-s-patent-2324153.445562/ /

Hunter / Hunter Tools, Sante Fe Springs, CA / (see Hunter Tools, Huntingdon Valley, PA) / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/hunter-screwdriver-u-s-patent-2324153.445562/ /

 

[d42jeep]

I found this mysterious 1/2” nutdriver at an estate sale yesterday. It may have simply been immersed in Plasti-dip but if so it’s the best job I’ve ever seen. I thought of trying to remove the plastic coating to see what’s underneath but I think I’ll just leave it as is.
-Don

 

[driftpin]

I cleaned out a storage locker and found these. The generic Vise Grips are the only one's I've seen with interchangeable jaws. I suspect they were a gas co. credit card purchase from back in the early 1970's.

 

[four.cycle]

^ "Alltrade" was an Asian-made line of hand and power tools that started coming in the 1970s, if I'm not mistaken.
I repped the line when I was working for Joe Stroum as an outside sales rep. They made air-powered tools like impact guns and such.
My buddy is still using of my "salesman's samples" from back then - 30+ years later. (Go figure.)
The little Channellock set is cool, but that Alltrade package is really over-the-top awesome - that belongs in the "gimmick" tool thread also.

 

[CoogarXR]

I cleaned out a storage locker and found these. The generic Vise Grips are the only one's I've seen with interchangeable jaws. I suspect they were a gas co. credit card purchase from back in the early 1970's.

That Channellock set is made by Xcelite. Xcelite actually occasionally put a blue TA-2 handle in some sets (usually the PS-44 scrulox set). I sometimes wondered if it was extra handles that they made for Channellock that they just printed "Xcelite" on, lol.

 

[alinc100]

Yesterday I found a partial set of Stevens Walden Spintites at an Estate Sale. Today I found the thread on GJ about nutdrivers .I just finished all 7 pages. I picked these up as the case was legible/mostly intact. Missing pieces but I'm hoping someone may need them as fill ins.

 

[d42jeep]

I cleaned up three Vaco nutdrivers I found at an estate sale yesterday..

Today I took a look through the Xcelite box to see which of the early nutdrivers of that brand I’m missing. It looks like I could add the 1/4”, 3/8” and maybe some larger ones.
-Don

 

[driftpin]

^ "Alltrade" was an Asian-made line of hand and power tools that started coming in the 1970s, if I'm not mistaken.
I repped the line when I was working for Joe Stroum as an outside sales rep. They made air-powered tools like impact guns and such.
My buddy is still using of my "salesman's samples" from back then - 30+ years later. (Go figure.)
The little Channellock set is cool, but that Alltrade package is really over-the-top awesome - that belongs in the "gimmick" tool thread also.

That Channellock set is made by Xcelite. Xcelite actually occasionally put a blue TA-2 handle in some sets (usually the PS-44 scrulox set). I sometimes wondered if it was extra handles that they made for Channellock that they just printed "Xcelite" on, lol.

Thanks for the info on the tools. I haven't looked at the internet for any Alltrade info. The set appears to have performed little, if-any work. I did try the different accessory jaws, and they fit tightly, and seem as-if they would perform acceptably. Yes, I like the packaging. They were in a closed toolbox for I estimate 34 years in a storage facility, that is when the customer rented it to store some household stuff (I bought the contents of the storage unit), and this:

Not matching numbers, but who cares? 327 4-bbl (block, heads, and intake all cast at Tonawanda NY, which is where the 1960's/early '70's GM aluminum blocks for Can-Am racing were cast) & a TH400. Deep in the restoration mode at the moment. I'm retired but this is my new job. Yesterday my 8 y.o grandson helped me to remove the wheels/tires using a cordless impact gun, and to remove all the brake lines from the chassis. His attention span has improved from when the project first began. Now he spends part of his allowed computer time searching for parts for us, and looking up things he thinks are 'cool' to add to the build. I have great hopes that he's headed in a good direction, because he knows American Racing makes different types of Torq-Thrusts, which he's decided would look good on the car. I agree.

A side-advantage of the project is I get to use my rarely-used clutch-head screwdrivers and clutch-head hex-drive tips.

 

[piehammer]

Picked up off FBM this week. Needs a little clean up, but overall very nice, I'm excited to have it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm guessing this 4-way, found at the flea this morning, is a gadget-y marketing giveaway, but I don't really know.

Anybody know how old the logo is before I have to figure it out? (As old as tube tech, obviously.)

 

[four.cycle]

^ I have seen various iterations of that tool in ebay ads. I think they were carried in the tool boxes of the guys who came to your house and repaired your television set.
That one is one of the nicer ones I've seen - graphics are great on that.