Westward Socket Sets

[Jmellc]

I started a new job recently at a factory, after a lot of years in electrical construction & service. Loving the job & coworkers. Having to learn a lot of new stuff late in life but all is good.

Our dept has several Westward socket sets. These are huge sets with 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2 drive and both 6 & 12 point sockets. Great to have all sizes & variations but the case leaves a lot to be desired. Pick it up by the handle & many of the smaller sockets tumble out of place. Does anyone know a quick easy way to fix this? I thought of laying rags or foam strips in the space gaps but that wouldn’t last. These get grabbed & carried all over. Anything not glued in would get lost. I carry & lay them flat when I can but that’s not always doable.

I can’t find the company address online to complain. Their website gives no contact info. I see other comments that these are mediocre quality, but they are what we have at the moment. I hope to fix this. I hate poor design.

 

[Citation]

Westward is a Grainger house brand. No idea the OEM

 

[jd_1138]

I'd suggest using socket rails. The plastic ones at HF are cool. Also, I'd probably put it all on a roller cart. Even a basic one that's open on top.

Those plastic boxes might be good for a homeowner who opens it up once a month for one or two sockets, but in a busy work environment no way it's going to survive.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I have a case with the same problem. If you put a rag o, paper towels , or even paper napkins across the sockets, they stay put a little better.

 

[Coach James]

Years ago, I remember seeing a lot of Westward tools marked Made in Canada. No idea what company manufactured them then.

Coach

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Interesting about the made in Canada tools . They were house brand of Acklands, the largest industrial supplier in western Canada, so it was brand of cheap tools that companies supplied. I remember them being made in Japan, then Taiwan , and I guess China now. It's called Acklands-Granger now.

 

[Noworries]

I bought that westward set (in the blue blomold case??) About 15 years ago because i needed some tools "right now" for a job... no disrespect to grainger but.... you will probably pay 20% more for the same quality husky or kobalt stuff...

 

[mrborohachi]

Chinesium trash, but holds up better than current PROTO which is 'murican trash. Man I can't call Craftsman (USA) Crapsman any more.

I work in conveyor maintenance and my coworkers all use current Chinese Westward and PROTO chrome sockets in M12 and M18 cordless impacts and I have to give it up to Westward for holding up better than current PROTO (2015<)

I have yet to have seen a WESTWARD reversing ratcheting wrench with a broken selector, but I have personally used and broken Proto selectors that were days old out of the packaging.

Honestly even Autozone Duralast sockets hold up better than current PROTO.

Get a socket board from Lowes (GJ approved), Hahah it's Craftsman branded now.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-Plastic-and-Steel-Socket-Storage/1000595563

 

[Jtels85]

Chinesium trash, but holds up better than current PROTO which is 'murican trash. Man I can't call Craftsman (USA) Crapsman any more.

I work in conveyor maintenance and my coworkers all use current Chinese Westward and PROTO chrome sockets in M12 and M18 cordless impacts and I have to give it up to Westward for holding up better than current PROTO (2015<)

I have yet to have seen a WESTWARD reversing ratcheting wrench with a broken selector, but I have personally used and broken Proto selectors that were days old out of the packaging.

Honestly even Autozone Duralast sockets hold up better than current PROTO.

Get a socket board from Lowes (GJ approved), Hahah it's Craftsman branded now.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-Plastic-and-Steel-Socket-Storage/1000595563

Ditto. My former job was at a giant pharmaceutical warehouse and the maintenance guys there used Westward hand tools and DeWalt power tools almost exclusively. They loved them and many times I would see them taking apart racking or putting together a conveyor line using a chrome westward socket on an impact. I got to nose around some their tools one evening. I can honestly say I’d put westward on the higher end of Taiwan and Chinese made tools.

 

[Jazz1]

They changed their boxes no doubt
I have all Westward impact sockets given to me 15 years ago. Sockets stay put in these. Westward is very decent quality. Never any issues

 

[WittHay]

Westward was very common around here up until a few years ago. Sold in a lot of parts stores. Decent raised panel wrenches that went to 2" and really good made in Taiwan and formerly Japan impact sockets. Also had a interesting screwdriver handle

Acklands-Grainger closed a lot of branches in the last couple of years and changed the name to Grainger Canada. As a result all the parts stores have changed over to Jet. A locally based tool importer sorta like Tekton but no online sales

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I think Jet is out of Seattle, I guess that's sorta local, I've seen Jet tools that date from the '80s. A big industrial supply is phasing out Proto for Jet. I was disappointed when I went looking for Proto.

Midland Liquidators have a bunch of Jet surplus cheap right now, WhitHay.

 

[WittHay]

Actually the Jet Group is based in Coquitlam, BC with the head office and a big warehouse there. Now called SureWerx which includes Jet and Strongarm jacks.

Westward tools as far a I know was based in Edmonton, Alberta.

 

[blackwire]

I have a case with the same problem. If you put a rag o, paper towels , or even paper napkins across the sockets, they stay put a little better.

Yes, a folded rag or a foam pad on top of the sockets works pretty well at keeping things from moving around.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I wonder about the corporate structure/history of Jet, but not enough to look it up. They own Powermatic, BTW. and have office in the mid-west.

Industrial suppliers were my retailer of choice, mention your employers' name and you would get a healthy discount on millwright quality tools, like Proto. Gray and J.H. Williams.

 

[Jmellc]

I emailed Grainger today with a complaint. I figured thatÂ’s the next best thing since I cannot contact Westward.

Grainger is a story in itself too. Boss sent me there years ago for supplies. We normally used electrical supply houses but he wanted to try Grainger. I needed 1/4 inch toggle bolts and all they had were 3/16 and they were a good deal higher. Grainger has a store on a university campus here & electricians are forced to use them. Simple things like appliance or equipment cords are often a special order and twice the price. Plus, they used to be strict about selling only to businesses. Now they advertise on radio for any customer they can get.

 

[bsaint]

Westward is like autozone quality stuff. Im sure they arent expecting anyone to complain. More like loose it and come back to grainger and buy Proto.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jake_J.]

There's actually two separate Jet tools companies. The Jet tools out of Washington state is mostly known for heavy stationary power tools, and the Jet tools (owned by Surewerx) out of BC is mostly known for their hand tools. They might divide the trade name by the border as Surewerx omits Jet tools from their US page.


I'm not really impressed by Westward, the quality is ok but the regular prices (if you're not buying with a big discount on a corporate account) are high. I had one of their blue plastic molded case socket sets, and the layout and selection was great but the ratchets where a let down and the plastic hinges would occasionally pop off.

 

[Fedwrench]

Back to the original question, one technique you can try is to get some 1/2 inch to one inch wide peel & stick velcro (or hook pile tape).
Figure out which sockets are loose in the blow molded case, and slap a small piece of velcro in the spot. This will take up some slack and keep the socket in place when the lid is closed.
A easy technique is to use a piece of bubble wrap across the face of the case but, that might get lost in the shuffle. Good luck.
Most blow molded cases ****. You might feel better emailing westward or grainger but, they won't do anything about your issue.

 

[measuredtwice]

If the box is one sided, you could use adhesive foam for the lid. It is widely available.

Chinesium trash, but holds up better than current PROTO which is 'murican trash. Man I can't call Craftsman (USA) Crapsman any more.

I work in conveyor maintenance and my coworkers all use current Chinese Westward and PROTO chrome sockets in M12 and M18 cordless impacts and I have to give it up to Westward for holding up better than current PROTO (2015<)

I have yet to have seen a WESTWARD reversing ratcheting wrench with a broken selector, but I have personally used and broken Proto selectors that were days old out of the packaging.

Honestly even Autozone Duralast sockets hold up better than current PROTO.

Get a socket board from Lowes (GJ approved), Hahah it's Craftsman branded now.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-Plastic-and-Steel-Socket-Storage/1000595563

Why does your employer buy chrome hand sockets for impacts?

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Chromes work. Some of the import brands impacts are little more than black painted unchromed sockets. I found a set of 1/2" SK sockets that were made in that pattern from '58 to '62. I don't think there is a virgin in the set. They all show tracks.

 

[Jazz1]

OT but SIL gave me Westward ratcheting wrenches 15 years ago. No complaints

 

[Jmellc]

We tried a double layer of foam matting & that works surprisingly well.

Grainger replied that they needed our account info and/or receipts. I replied that they didn’t need that to provide feedback to the manufacturer.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Ive been around this problem, as well I sell surplus westward and proto hand tools,... no comment on either, because I really never actually use them, just sell them.

Myself in my shop, I use Tekton, if you need " cased sockets ", give them a try, the best designed cases Ive come across of all the common brands sold in the states.

Really well laid out, easy to find, only the top half actually has detentes on each tool, everything stays put.

I do some " service work " onsite, and need cased socket sets and Id buy Tekton again, just for the cases, I like my stuff in its place when I open the tool cases.

 

[Jmellc]

Ive been around this problem, as well I sell surplus westward and proto hand tools,... no comment on either, because I really never actually use them, just sell them.

Myself in my shop, I use Tekton, if you need " cased sockets ", give them a try, the best designed cases Ive come across of all the common brands sold in the states.

Really well laid out, easy to find, only the top half actually has detentes on each tool, everything stays put.

I do some " service work " onsite, and need cased socket sets and Id buy Tekton again, just for the cases, I like my stuff in its place when I open the tool cases.

Don’t think I’ve heard of these before. I’ll look them up. Thx much.