Vintage Xcelite or other Nut Driver Sets

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up my second States Company nut driver this morning at the flea. Like the first one, no serial number in the provision for a serial number on the flip side. This one had a bit in it that took a different approach than the other one, but there's no doubt it was made for this receptacle with the split pin tang, and it's a different size (3/8"), so now I have two handles and two different bits (5/16" and 3/8"), plus the hex opening in the handles themselves (1/2"). These are really well made and I love the extra long black handles. I guess if I want all the size bits I'm going to have to find several handles!

 

[d42jeep]

Here are a couple of Stevens Walden blonde colored handles along with a similar dark colored handle I believe to be Stevens shown with a variety of attachments. The attachment area is pretty much the same as the bits on Yankee screwdrivers.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I’ve had this radio nut driver hanging around for a while. Today I noticed a small logo marked on it. Does anybody recognize it?
-Don

 

[IMCA38]

I got this set at an estate sale today. The arrangement looks somewhat like the #99 service master sets pictured in some prior posts. The stubby handle and stub shaft nutdrivers are new to me but shown in some other posts. However the really new twist is the two tapered reamer shanks.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice finds. This shows the reamers and the master set.
Here is the small set we found at an El Cerrito estate sale a couple of years ago. We teamed up with GJ member Shiftless.
I went through the early nutdrivers today. I need to find a matching 3/8” Park Metalware marked example.

 

[IMCA38]

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.)

I’m helping my Dad get ready for a sale and found one in a drawer. Guessing it may have been my Grandfather’s (Dad’s FIL). Grandpa was an electrician and appliance repairman for many years. The place he worked sold GE as their main brand, so that makes sense.

 

[d42jeep]

I found this nutdriver marked Spin-type at an estate sale yesterday. HeelSpur mentioned some that he had back in post #25. I wonder who was the manufacturer? I initially thought it was Stevens but that seems unlikely.
-Don

 

[IMCA38]

Had an old metal toolbox stashed in my attic. Was looking around for some other stuff and opened this box to discover some odds and ends and this pair of pliers.

 

[powerwagon63]

Vaco, metric Facom, and oddball Excelite

 

[CoogarXR]

Vaco, metric Facom, and oddball Excelite

Nice. That stubby Xcelite wouldn't happen to be an S-6 (3/16") would it?

 

[powerwagon63]

Nice. That stubby Xcelite wouldn't happen to be an S-6 (3/16") would it?

Sorry, it’s an S-8

 

[CoogarXR]

Sorry, it’s an S-8

Dangit! LOL. I've been looking for an S-6 forever. The S-6 typically has a black handle, but early stubbies like yours are all amber (not color coded).

I've seen a couple here and there, but I've never been able to buy one.

 

[CoogarXR]

While we're talking about the stubbies, as far as I know, there are were only 5 sizes of the fixed-blade stubbies (not counting the stubby combinations that could be made with the 99-3 handle and the 99PA50 blades). I have the S8, S10, S11, and S12. Like I said, I know they made an S6 in black (and maybe amber), but I've yet to get my hands on one.



If any of you have a nice S6, I'd be interested. Or if you are aware of any other sizes that were made, I'd like to know too.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ve been watching for those shorties but they are few and far between. Here are some Xcelite drivers from yesterday morning’s estate sale.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I found three Vaco and a Stanley nutdrivers today at three different estate sales today. I cleaned up the Vaco drivers and will get to the Stanley tomorrow.
-Don

 

[alinc100]

I found three Vaco and a Stanley nutdrivers today at three different estate sales today. I cleaned up the Vaco drivers and will get to the Stanley tomorrow.
-Don

Don, do you have a documented process for the clean up? I'm tempted to run the handles on my buffing wheel ,that I use in pen making but would hate to find I done messed up.

 

[d42jeep]

If they are just greasy I wipe the handles down with Formula 409 or Fantastic. For paint or sharpie marks on the handles, I put some O’Reilly’s brake cleaner on a paper towel and wipe the plastic quickly so the plastic doesn’t melt. I stay away from any factory markings. Sometimes I use dental picks to remove stubborn paint spatters before using the brake cleaner. When the metal shafts are too rusty for a hand wire brush to remove the rust, I use my 3M 220 rotary brush on a grinder. My techniques are not all that sophisticated, just time consuming.
-Don

 

[CoogarXR]

I typically just use windex and a microfiber cloth to polish the handles. If there's paint or anything that won't pick off with a fingernail, I usually use some super-fine grit sand paper, then windex.

If you soak rusty nut drivers in vinegar or evaporust, try not to submerge the handles if they are transparent. Just suspend them in such a way that only the shank is submerged. I have had situations where the dark-colored solution got up between the shank and handle and left brown residue that was annoyingly visible. That or it was some chemical reaction up in there that turned the shank brown/black. Either way, it was super-ugly, and I vowed to never again soak a transparent nut driver by completely submerging it.

 

[bonneyman]

Nice finds. This shows the reamers and the master set.
Here is the small set we found at an El Cerrito estate sale a couple of years ago. We teamed up with GJ member Shiftless.
I went through the early nutdrivers today. I need to find a matching 3/8” Park Metalware marked example.

Holy smokes! A set of Orchard Park marked drivers! You don't see those everyday.

 

[four.cycle]

FYI only: NO idea where this guy's prices are in relationship to "market rate", but he just posted a boatload of Xcelite 02/21/23

 

[alinc100]

This one is starting to clean up well:

 

[cgrutt]

These nut drivers were in my FILs collection. Anybody know what brand they are? Handle and shaft stamped USA. Obviously the screwdriver is Vaco.

 

[d42jeep]

I found these Ace Hardware nutdrivers at a garage/estate sale yesterday. They came home with me and will end up in my toolbox of absolutely unneeded nutdrivers.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

A 5 dollar score today! Needs some cleaning. I also need 5/16, It has an Easco 7/16 pretending to be one.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice. I like the ones with the larger handles. I may have a spare large handle 5/16” driver. I may be sending some other Walden sockets your brother’s way so I could send them together.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

Nice collection don! Thanks!

 

[d42jeep]

Thank you. I set this one aside for you. It has the previous owner’s name discreetly engraved on the shaft.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

That is fine. Have you seen what they are going for on ebay? They are more than I paid for the set.

 

[JohnDeere]

It is complete, Thanks Don!

 

[rogue321]

Bet you don’t have one of these! Snap-on Frankenstein

 

[rogue321]

My collection

 

[d42jeep]

Although it’s not a nutdriver, I found this nice Xcelite adjustable wrench at an estate sale on Saturday.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ that's different!

 

[LesserSon]

Today I doubled my collection of the flat-sided XceLite DeLux to six.
I can see patent applied for on two of them, but the red 1/4” one has melt marks.

 

[d42jeep]

I’m confused by your top yellow handled driver. It’s marked 1/4” but looks much smaller than the rest. It seems like neither of us has a 3/8” example. I wonder why?

 

[LesserSon]

I think it’s damaged. Maybe someone ground the socket off on purpose; but what purpose, I have no idea.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Normally I wouldn't have picked up this PS-120 kit but I was negotiating a Starrett mic set at a swap meet and the seller came back with a number $5 over my offer. I said sure, if you through in the nut drivers laying beside it. Done deal. Ed.

 

[d42jeep]

That’s a nice set!
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I spotted this 3/8” shorty on eBay. After a bit of clean up it’s in the nutdriver drawer of my user toolbox next to the 1/4” shorty.
-Don

 

[CoogarXR]

I spotted this 3/8” shorty on eBay. After a bit of clean up it’s in the nutdriver drawer of my user toolbox next to the 1/4” shorty.
-Don

You're getting there! As far as I know, they only made 5 sizes of the stubby nut drivers.

Your blue one is older than the red one, you can tell by the roundness of the end. The blue one is flatter, so it's older.