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PROfessional TOols!

Posted by 141drew Posted onJun 8, 2012 at 1:14 PM and filed under Reviews & Features
Updated onUpdated on May 28, 2021 at 11:37 AM


Just an old back cover ad from “Hot Rod Builder” published in 1952. I’ve always felt that an “American Made” company could go leaps and bounds if they went back to their roots from both a marketing and customer service standpoint. Somethings REALLY should be how they used to be… Either that, or maybe the novelty of the vintage just makes it seem so. In either case, I love this ad.


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wnstwolf

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Unfortunately Jamestown NY is not the same as back in the good old days...
Funny I have a bunch or Proto Tools and a friend comes over and always grabs the stray SO or Mac wrench over the Proto. refers to it as imported.. I just printed your post to hang on the wall.. ;-)
Thanks
 
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SCscoutguy

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What ratchet is that pictured in the ad? It doesn't look like the standard pear head ratchet nor does it looks like the fleet version pear head either. It is one cool old advertisement that is for sure. Thanks for posting it Ryan. :thumbup:
 
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wornoutoldman

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This was the type of advertising that seduced me as a young man. Obviously this old master mechanic knows what he is talking about. I'm gonna search the couch cushions for a dime or knock out a squirrel and send his tail in to the Mepps company for my Roosevelt (or Mercury) bounty, then I'll wait for my Proto catalog to arrive in the mail...
 
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WWIIjeep

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SCscoutguy said:
What ratchet is that pictured in the ad? It doesn't look like the standard pear head ratchet nor does it looks like the fleet version pear head either. It is one cool old advertisement that is for sure. Thanks for posting it Ryan. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it's just a regular 5449 (or 5249 3/8"). It's just the artwork that makes it look a little odd. Example of same from a 1953 catalog:

75e06c3e.jpg



+1 on the cool ad, especially since I'm a Plomb/Proto nut. Here's one of my favorites from the cover of a 1950-ish Proto puller manual.

4613bdb2.jpg



And detail of the "Killer-Diller" PROTO OCTOPULLER at the lower left:

2ccb214b.jpg
 
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jvitez

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Awesome ad! Thanks for posting.

A simpler and more honest time to be sure. Mail in cash, and not expect it to be stolen? A dime was worth something? Taking pride in your tools, and it's simply a given that they're made in the US? Wow. Modern life has given us so much, and taken away so much too.

I've got my dear departed Dad's Proto open end metric wrench set and 3/8" drive socket set he bought in 1979. He was a power electrician, and more things were becoming metric, what with our Quebecois prime minister Pierre Trudeau forcing metrification in Canada in 1978 to make us more like Europe. The power company wanted each electrician to have metric tools, so they paid for part of the purchase. The local tool dealer had such a run on inventory Dad couldn't get the combo wrench set he wanted, so he took an open end set. Some of these are made in Canada too.
 
F

Fedwrench

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I still lust after Proto tools. 500 series full polished wrenches, what's not to love?:D Great pullers still made in the USA too.
I remember as a kid in the early 1970's the auto shop tool wall boards were all proto. Definitely simpler times, no pink or green tools, just lots of US made steel.
 
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KPSquared

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jvitez said:
with our Quebecois prime minister Pierre Trudeau forcing metrification in Canada in 1978 to make us more like Europe.
Click to expand...

I become well aware of my Western Canadian breeding when I read a phrase like that and it makes my blood boil . . . I was raised to hate that stupid old ******* with my whole heart. . .:lol_hitti

That ad is so cool. I think the vintage stuff makes us remember a time fondly, but the demand for "more for less" forces companies to outsource everything.

I found one of Dad's old 1/2" Craftsman ratchets from the 60's and a couple of SK socket sets of the same vintage. . . everything is still in great shape and that old ratchet has performed flawlessly my whole life. Old tools are just cool and old tool ads, doubly so! :thumbup:
 
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jvitez

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KPSquared: spoken like a true Westerner. Well done! :D

I agree about old tools. My two ratchets until only a few years ago were a Craftsman V series, and an old Indestro of my Dad's, plus an assortment of the same 3/8 sockets. That Indestro feels fabulous in the hand, very ergonomic, and it's a smooth fine tooth one to boot. It's either from the late 60's or early 70's. It's semi-retired now, but I still reach for it when I wish for some nostalgia. If it wasn't for GJ Classified's, they would still be my only 3/8 ratchets.
 
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mzbk2l

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The only time I've used Proto tools was in the Navy; we always had a lot of them on the ship. They seemed to me to be a bit clunky and cheap-looking, so I never gave them any thought after I got out.
 
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gatewaysysop

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Another Proto fan here. I have the 5449 ratchet and an insanely stout breaker bar of theirs, both are on my 'go to' list of tools when attacking something stubborn. I love the whole 'no frills', totally unpretentious vibe you get from their stuff, purpose built and tough as nails. :bowdown:
 
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junkyardjeff

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I never had any Proto tools but my dad did have a few along with the many Craftsman,his tools are now my junkyard tools and will use them now.
 
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nyrapscalion

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Reston, VA
Proto is awesome stuff...I have a bunch. Flea markets, garage sales...even Grainger from time to time will have proto stuff on clearance. I think even amazon has stuff ...buy it...someday it may be made by the chinese prison labor for $2 a month.
 
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Falcon67

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The page damage on the guys face was driving me nuts. :lol_hitti
 

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Toolman12

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My dad had some proto stuff basic things i liked them very much but i was seduced by the SO darkside at an early age and now i don't own much proto anymore but he still has his and still going strong
 
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camarotoolman

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You can get roto warrented at Grainger. The 1/4ratchet and 1/2 long handle ratchets are very good. was Plumb tools before, changed name in early 50s because of law suit with plumb hammer Co.
 
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barcalo

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camarotoolman said:
You can get roto warrented at Grainger. The 1/4ratchet and 1/2 long handle ratchets are very good. was Plumb tools before, changed name in early 50s because of law suit with plumb hammer Co.
Click to expand...

Not to nit pick but it was PLOMB and sometimes seen as PLVMB (the V is closed at the top with a straight line)
 
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midnite kid

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proto made some long wrenches,i have a lot of proto tools from my dad,great stuff but who do you have wratchets fixed now because all these companys merged with someone and you cant get them to stand behind their tools
 
M

Mmfh

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That's a great old ad! Fun looking at it. I still use Proto a lot. Just as good as the other top end tools.

Mm
 
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WWIIjeep

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midnite kid said:
proto made some long wrenches,i have a lot of proto tools from my dad,great stuff but who do you have wratchets fixed now because all these companys merged with someone and you cant get them to stand behind their tools
Click to expand...

Stanley Black & Decker owns Proto® now. Also MAC Tools®, Blackhawk, Stanley, and several brands of portable power tools. Stanley Black & Decker still stands behind Proto® tools, but it's not now--and never has been--quite like just walking into a Sears store with your broken hand tool and walking out with a new one.

The Proto® warranty has always been a "limited" warranty, even when Proto® was owned by other companies. The Proto® warranty covers defects in workmanship or materials, but does not cover what is defined as "normal wear and tear." At the same time, Proto® tools have been generally of such quality that they rarely break in normal use, and not even in heavy industrial use.

Here's the warranty information:

http://www.stanleyproto.com/default.asp?TYPE=STATICLEFT&PAGE=warranty.htm&LEFT=left_warranty.htm

You can get ratchet repair kits and they're very easy to install. Here's the 1/2" repair kit:

http://www.stanleyproto.com/default...ROTO&SDesc=1/2"+Drive+Ratchet+Repair+Kit

It will fit any Proto® or Plomb 5449 made in the past 70+ years. Kits for other sizes are also available.

FWIW, I've been using Proto® tools professionally for over 40 years. Most of my work tools are Proto® brand, with Snap-On® being the next most used brand in my tool box. In that time, I've only broken 2 Proto® tools (a 1/2" flare nut wrench, and a 3/32" pin punch, and the latter was entirely my fault), and that's not for lack of trying to break some of them sometimes, :) especially 3/4" drive and larger tools. I've broken a few Snap-On® tools in 40+ years too (mostly pliers and screwdrivers). Not a comparison of the two brands, nor a complaint about the latter, just my experience.
 
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rustybucket

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Proto has been working on a new identity it incorporates a touch of their heritage.
 

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MQ Unlimited Media

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I have a ton of Proto Tools that my dad passed to me. I even have an old tool box with the badge...made out of metal. When I went to Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa from 1999-2002, they only sold Proto and I believe they still do.
 
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Weekend_warrior

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I have a proto tool that I found in the street a long time ago. It was sitting in the middle of a road in Hurst, Tx. I stopped to pick it up. I guess it fell off someone truck. Maybe a bumper of a lineman or ATT truck. It was a 1/2 inch drive with an extention and a large socket with a serial etched in it. It's been in my tool box since the 90's.

Has not broke on me yet!
 
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