History Tool availability back then

I remember the first time I ever heard anyone use the term " adjustable spanner ". I was working with a welder almost as good as I am and he was telling me about welding pipe on a barge somewhere offshore in E. Africa. He sent his helper, a local fellow, to the tool crib to get a Crescent wrench. After two trips and no Crescent, he proceeded to chastise the helper severely about the head and shoulders. The big boss came around to see what the trouble was all about, and my welder buddy told him the helper wouldn't get him the tools he asked for. When the helper explained his side of the story, the boss told my friend there was a language problem. The helper had never heard of a Crescent wrench, all he knew was adjustable spanners.

 

Those damn things shake the crap out of my arms.

 

Using your brain and desire will take you along way.

 

When I was a teenager, my dad bought me my 1st took set for my birthday in Sept. It was a Husky 1/2" drive socket set, it came with one of those flip top tool boxes with the socket tray. For Christmas, he bought me a 3 piece set of off set box end wrenches. I think his goal was to get me to quit using his tools on my bicycle. A hammer and some screw drivers were added to the list.
At 15 1/2 I started working at the gas station. Not just any gas station, it was one of the top repair shops in town. There were 3 mechanics working there that had the biggest tool boxes I'd ever seen, and they were stuffed full of tools. The boss would let me use his tools when I was at work. While I was there, I invested in a 3 drawer Mac top box, and would buy a set of tools every so often. I used my tools at home, and the bosses tools at work. It took me a few years to outgrow that 3 drawer Mac box before the 12 drawer Craftsman box came along. A few years later I added a 4 drawer bottom Craftsman when I got a job where I actually had to use my own tools. The bottom box has been replaced a few times, but that Craftsman top box is still here. My tool box has never grown like some guy's do.

When I opened my welding shop, I have purchased a lot of metal working tools that I had to have, they either sit on a bench, are hung on the pegboard, or have their own wheels or legs. My advantage is for the last 25 years I've lived in my own little world, the stuff I've been working with all these years still works, and I don't have to rush anything. Gene

 

My father gave me a small handyman tool set as a child. I'm not sure what age, but it was used fixing bikes. The local kids were always stopping by for help with their 2 wheelers. ( pop left the state when I was 12 ) I started to spend my days at my uncle's Gulf station. The titles I carried were helper, car washer and gas jockey. After 5 years I was put on the payroll.
Tools were available by asking the two older mechanics for the loan of theirs. One night I left a 9/16th 12 point deep under the hood of a car. Next morning I agreed with the mechanic that I'd make it right when the Snap-On guy came by. Well the wake up call meant 1/3 of the days wage to replace it. I was however happy to place the tool in his hand and make it right. At that time, that money would have been able to by lunch for EVERYONE.
In the early '80s I carried a top box in my delivery truck, as I was in between addresses. One morning The drivers window was open??? The vent window was jimmied open. Need I go on.

Today My tools are for personal use. Some were picked up to do a one ( so far ) time chore. I've got 2 roller bottoms and 2 top boxes. plus a file cabinet and shelves for storage. A lot of this was picked up from Big Lots store. they used to have give away prices on job specific items that almost equaled scrap metal worth. (haha)

A good way to obtain items is to watch ads for estate sales. Not yard sales thats different. If the estate ad includes tools, often the heirs are mostly seeking to clear out the real estate so they can sell it. Be sure, however, to be first come. The flea market dealers are up and attem early. They can sweep up, if the goods are right.

 

I think that when I was in my teens someone gave me a small 3/8 ratchet set for my birthday or Christmas. Probably my 16th Birthday. I used that and a few basic tools I bought up though when I started trade school and bought a Duplex top and bottom box and set of Challenger tools from the Napa store in a group buy for students in the class. The Store had a list of students enrolled in the class and if you bought your tool set from them they checked you off the list. 187 bucks out the door. I still have a few of the wrenches and sockets. I used that box though trade school and my first mechanics job and then traded the box to the Snap On Man for a new Snap On top and bottom box that I still have. Over the years I bought tools as I needed them for work and those were usually specialty alignment wrenches. Most of my wrenching years I did front end and brake work and worked in shops where each mechanic specialized and I just bought what I needed until I started more tools to work on hot rods at home with.

When I did the body work on my 48 in 1973 I had one Craftsman body hammer and a couple of dollies that I had picked up here and there and a sanding block and long board. I borrowed a little home made air compressor and cheap paint gun from my father in law to shoot primer with after it got to spendy to buy the custom mixed spray cans of primer.
If I needed to weld something I'd do all the fitting at the house and tack it together with a little 110 Monkey Wards welder that took special rod and had one heat setting and then haul it down the street to Paul Charles to have him weld it. Cost me a lot of Budweiser for the welding he did over those years.

Now I have way more tools than I ever had when I worked as a mechanic. Four welders, one Plasma, one Acetylene torch, and a lot of toys for big boys. I've got a nice set of body hammers and dollies but my go to is still that Old Craftsman that I bought in 1973 for very expensive 8 bucks.

I still haven't got my shop done due to life getting in the way but I was thinking about a buddy who years ago built his hot rod in a rather narrow one car garage. To have room to work he would put the car in the garage with about six inches of room on the side he wasn't working on and work on one side and when he was done with that side he would turn it around and work on the other side.

 

Been working on mechanical things since I was 7 years old. I got my first set of my own, REAL, tools at
16, the day I got my driver's license. It was J.C. Penny's 3/8" 20 piece socket set. It was awesome. That
was 60yrs ago and I still have that set, which works great. Take care of your tools and they will take care
of you for a lifetime.

 

For my 16th birthday my dad gave me a nice set of 1/2" drive sockets, ratchet and breaker. Fast forward to my late 30's. I was running a commercial sign company and while up on a ladder preparing a pole for a sign I dropped one of the sockets down inside the pipe where it fell approx. 15-18 ft to the ground inside the pipe.....my helpers asked why I was wiping tears away.

 

In my van and at the shop
Does not include what I have at home.
To say I’m a tool whore is a bit of an understatement!!!!!
I get lots of my stuff used now and at estate auctions etc for pennies.
I like tools and if there is a tool that will make the job faster or easier I want it !!!

I work with a phillapeno guy who started with no tools, just a basic set and did just about any job we gave him with that basic set, I have given him lots of my duplicate tools over the years and he loves it when I do.

 

The whole idea is to "Work Smarter" If there is a tool out there that will make you a profit (time or money) then you buy it. As a kid I did the drill holes to clearance a frame section for the headers

 

Back in the days of industrial tools, company's like the original Williams tool company, really gave you good value for your money, check out this example of what $152.50 would buy you back then.

 

My dad was a scientist and wasn't much of a tool guy. Luckily I had 2 uncles that looked out for me. My Uncle Al worked for Ingersoll Rand in NE PA. He gave me a set of Williams Super Wrench combo wrenches when I was in Jr. High. Still have them in the tool box in my RV. The set includes a 5/8" wrench that I found on the auction site to replace the one that was lost by the guy my mom lent it to when I was in HS. He replaced it with a no brand one. Took a while but I did find a Williams one to replace the lost one. My Uncle Paul was a contractor in Philadelphia and he advised my mom on my first Craftsman 1/2" drive socket set. Still have it. He made sure I received a tool each year at Christmas. As time went by my dad realized I was a tool guy. I still have the Sprunger drill press he got me when I was 14. The Craftsman rollaway for Christmas when I was in HS finally gave up the ghost but it served me well for years.

 

This is my box at work, I have more tools that this at home. I’m with Vandenplas, I’m definitely a tool whore. I collect all the major brands. My Grandad got me started with Craftsman.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

still use some of the williams tools my dad and granddad gave me 55 years ago think of them every time they are very good tools

 

My story as told before: At 16, I was standing in the tool aisle in a Sears store in Springfield, MO looking at sets. An old guy near me said "Pssst, wanna buy some tools?" I thought he was selling stolen stuff but he assured me that he had just retired from the railroad and wanted to sell his tools. Went to his house and bought a set of Craftsman stuff..... 1/2 drive, extensions, 3/8 thru 1 1/4 sockets, open wrenches thru 1', box wrenches thru 1 1/8", screwdrivers, tool box, etc. He was asking $15 for all....darned near broke me but I was able to scrape it up.

 

My dad was a precision wind tunnel model maker that owned own machine shop so I grew up seeing good tools. Before WWII he ran 2 different Western Auto auto repair sections. When he tragically died I was 19 and kept everything I could and still have and use many many of his 1930-40’s tools. I continued to acquire good tools also. My son wanted to go to a JC and take auto repair and every Christmas I had added to his tool box. Before he started we went to Jones Hardware in Long Beach where my company got a discount and I bought him a Proto upper and lower roll-away. He still uses that today 35 years later. My Craftsman roll-away became an AN fitting storage cabinate and I’ve got a HF which is to big and to f**king full.

 

Not sure what year that is from but I randomly selected 1956 for a dollar value to compare to today. In today's dollar that's about a $1950.00 tool set.

 

My dad was an electrician (and I followed in his footsteps) so his personal work tools were rarely very useful for working on cars. 'Specialty' tools (and that included sockets and wrenches) were furnished by the contractor on a 'as needed' basis. Power tools were always supplied. Channelocks are not a good choice for removing/installing bolts... LOL.

My first tool set was a JC Whitney 'toolbox' with a 1/2" drive 12 point socket set, 3/8 to 1 1/4, 13/16" plug socket, with a ratchet and breaker bar. No extensions through. Included was a offset box-end set (which I still have as I've never seen another set like it and they proved to be useful time and again), a open end set, a cheesy screwdriver set (one handle with interchangeable shafts) and a hacksaw frame. I saved my allowance and neighborhood 'help' money and bought this for the princely sum of $29.90 not including shipping. The socket and box set were chrome, the rest was galvanized. The screwdrivers quickly proved themselves as useless and my dad pulled the hacksaw frame away as soon as he saw it ('you'll hurt yourself with that...') but the chrome tools were pretty good quality (Industro brand) and I used those for years.

There were misfires over the years. I wanted a gas welding setup badly, but couldn't afford a oxy-acetylene set initially so bought this funky mapp-gas thing that burned 'pellets' to furnish the oxygen (anybody remember those?). What a PITA... I then bought a Craftsman oxy-acetylene set but after some time tips became NLA because the company Sears contracted to furnish it went out of business. That's when I found out their 'customer satisfaction' guarantee was worthless. I never bought another Sears tool after that except in dire emergency.

But being a broke young guy, you made do with what you could figure out and/or afford. Some of the scary rube-goldberg contraptions I came up with to accomplish things I wouldn't think of doing today. But I always tried to get the right tool for the job if possible, so my collection grew over the years.

A sidebar about Craftsman tools... I know a lot of guys swear by them, but they're really only 'homeowner quality'. Over the years in the trade I'd get brand-new electrician apprentices who would show up with a full set of new Craftsman hand tools including a pouch. I'd tell every one of them to start saving right away for new tools, they'd look at me like I was crazy. But by the end of their first year, usually all that was left was the pouch and the hammer, everything else had been replaced either from breakage, poor performance or hurting themselves with the Sears stuff. Sure, Sears offered 'free replacement' (or did; is that still true?) but it didn't take long to discover that spending a bit more for a tool that didn't break was cheaper in the long run. In 35-plus years in the trade I can only recall one instance where a contractor supplied a Craftsman tool and that was a special circumstance. We were drilling 4" holes (a lot of them) through plaster/metal lathe with a hole saw and if the saw hung up on the wire lathe, the usual Milwaukee 1/2" drill would destroy the plaster and/or try to throw you off the ladder. We switched to Craftsman 1/2" drills, their less-powerful motors could be stopped. We also burned up about one a week over the course of the job....

I've used/owned countless brands of hand tools over the years. Craftsman, Husky, Challenger, S-K, Thorsen, Penncraft, Industro, K-D, Klein, Snap-On, Mac, Matco, Ideal, Gardner-Bender, T&B, Proto, Blackhawk, Williams, Stanley, New Britain, Crescent, and Greenlee off the top of my head. Many of these are more known for their trade-specific specialty tools but many times also offered more 'general' items. In terms of sockets/wrenches, there's two brands I won't buy; Craftsman and Snap-On. Craftsman because they have the most uncomfortable handles of any hand tool I've ever used. Snap-On because of their full polish. Those are knuckle-busters when your hands are greasy/oily, and their wrenches are too thin and cut into your hands. I'm also not impressed with their quality. My son-in-law is a Snap-On user (for maintaining his fleet of FedEx trucks) and admits he replaces broken tools on a monthly basis. But for professional use, it makes sense; the truck comes to your shop when called, you can order stuff and get it delivered quickly, usually free replacement for broken stuff. And you can write off the expense....

About 15 years ago I underwent major back surgery and was told that disability retirement was in my very near future. So I decided to 'upgrade' my tools while I was still making good money and officially became a tool whore. Now, being the cheapskate that I can be, I bargain hunted on Ebay and CL. I had already settled on Proto as my favorite hand tool brand after discovering years before that they were an almost universal choice for 'supplied' tools on large industrial jobs due to their bulletproof reputation and I really liked their handle design, so I filled the 'gaps' in my collection. There is one caveat; these are 'industrial' and as such have thicker socket walls and 'beefier' wrench ends so every once in a while I'll have issues getting one in some places. I did keep a handful of 'other' brand wrenches for those times. But their reputation is well-deserved; over all the years I've used Proto hand tools, I can count the number of broken tools on my fingers and get change. Only one failed under 'normal use, all the rest failed under extreme abuse (small 12 point sockets on a impact wrench, 4' cheater bars on ratchets, etc) and they'll free replace for breakage. I figure I bought roughly $10K worth of hand tools for about $2K over 2 years after it was all averaged out. And it wasn't all Proto, I did buy some 'tool truck' stuff, but it was specialty stuff like a battery/starter/charging system tester, vacuum/pressure gauge (Snap-On), fancy timing light (Mac) and cooling system pressure tester (Matco), I got these for about 30 cents on the $, some new, some excellent used. Put most of it into a $1K offshore 21-drawer 60x20x60 rollaway/chest combo with a stainless exterior and ball-bearing drawers that even impressed my Snap-On fan son-in-law. The overflow went into a used Kennedy box (machine tooling) and a used Matco lower (press brake/shear/slip roller mounted on top) for my sheet metal/bodywork/buffing tools.

Watch for damaged tool boxes also. I picked up a couple of bashed cheaper Craftsman boxes for cheap with good drawers and cut one down into two bench-top-sized boxes, one that holds my tap-and-die sets, the other all my pipe taps, large (over 1/2") drills and helicoil supplies. The other one I salvaged just the drawers/slides and built a new shell out of 3/4" plywood. This holds most of my electrical/carpentry tools. I need to look for another one, I've got overflow again....

Penncraft in those days was basically re-branded Proto at 1/3 the price. Great tools.... I had a Penncraft 'clik' torquewrench that I used for years before passing it on to one of my kids. He still has it! Proto made a lot of tools for other people over the years; Pennys, NAPA when they still had the US-made 'New Britain' brand, and the first-generation 'Husky' tools that Home Depot sold before they went offshore. In some cases the tools were virtually identical except for the brand name stamped in.

Sad to say, but right now is a good time to look for tool bargains. With this Covid and many folks hurting for money, stuff is getting sold off for food/rent and if a guy has spare money you may be able to find some real deals.

 

As I was reading Crazy Steve’s reply, I was getting kind of indignant about his remarks on Craftsman Tools. Then I stopped and started really thinking about my stuff at work. I started off with a lot of Craftsman stuff at work (been at this trade for 30 years in a few days), but as I think about it, most of the Craftsman stuff has been replaced and come home to the Farm. Most of my chrome 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2” sockets at work are Craftsman, but that’s about it. My impact stuff is all Tool Truck stuff. I have also started collecting Proto as well. Great tools, they are actually the industrial arm of Stanley-Black&Decker. Just as Mac is the automotive arm of the same company. Just don’t let this Proto stuff get out, the prices on the bay of E will go up!


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I agree/disagree with Crazy Steve's comments about Craftsman tools. My old stuff, pre 1980s that I have are quality tools, and were afordable. The few times I took old tools back for replacements after the 70's those tools are not the same quality. Like mentioned somewhere above, Sears contracted with many manufacturers over the years, and whoever was making them in the 60s-70s did a good job. When outsourcing became "The" thing starting early 80s and Sears like so many others to follow started using manufacturers who went offshore, the quality went with them.

Having said that, have any of you noticed that even SnapOn is from China a lot? We bought tools from the truck guys for our labs, primarily as a government agency wanting to buy American, until we saw that a lot of the tools from those tool trucks were coming from China. Even Starrett. We bought a Starrett digital vernier caliper thinking it would definitely be USA made, instead of Mitutoyo (Japanese and very good quality), and guess what? its made in China.

 

I've still got a few of my dad's Craftsman tools, I am past 75 and he had them as long as I could remember. My first socket set was "Bon-E-Con" if I remember correctly, thinking back it was probably Bonney tool's entry level brand. It had an extremely fine ratchet wrench that quit working many years later, if I had it now I'd take it apart and clean it but had no idea about that "back then". My grandmother evidently knew I wanted tools and evidently bought this at an auction somewhere. Grandma was a sharp old cookie but I didn't realize it when she was alive I used it to change tires on my Ford Fairlane The box was always in the trunk

 

My main beef with all Craftsman mechanics hand tools is I hate their handle designs. That trademark sharp-edged raised bar with 'Craftsman' embossed on it would cut into your hand if you were really reefing on it. I had one combo wrench that actually cut my palm because whoever buffed it for plating didn't 'break' that edge. Some S-K tools had a similar handle design but theirs wasn't as pronounced. With that said, their value wasn't bad for the money. Yes, they would occasionally break which could be a PITA in the middle of a job, particularly when the nearest Sears store is a 60 mile round trip away. Free replacement doesn't save you any time and they don't reimburse you for gas. When Craftsman started selling stamped-steel 'gimmick' tools ('fits all bolt sizes, all you need is this tool!), I knew it was over for them as a serious tool maker....

One downside to the Proto/Stanley merger is Stanley dropped all of the automotive 'specialty' tools that Proto had. Now they never had as much coverage as Snap-on and such, but a loss nonetheless. The biggy for me was they also switched to re-branded Stanley screwdrivers and quality/comfort took a nose-dive. The original yellow-handled Proto drivers were the best I ever used as they fit my hand very well and the tips held up very well. The plastic handles on those were all-but-indestructible. I bought at least one of every size I could find during my eBay buying spree and they are among my most prized tools. Klein makes an excellent quality screwdriver these days with a hardened tip but I'm not overly fond of the handle design. Craftsman screwdrivers were a joke in the electrical trade...

And while I'm up on my soapbox, let's talk about 'thinwall' sockets. These became all the rage, with all of the 'tool trucks' promoting them as well as 'consumer' tool makers and on the face of it seems like a good idea. As far as I'm concerned, they're junk. These things commonly split/crack; my SIL replaces broken ones on a regular basis (Snap-On), I had a set and had several break.

 

My vintage Williams tool catalog , on a variety of pages in red ink says" this item discontinued for the duration " So that tells me it was printed during the WW2 years. Pretty amazing!

 

Sometimes, the old tricks work better in spite of the new technology. For example, for some smaller repairs, I still like using an acetylene torch for welding, because the metal is much easier to work once it has been welded. You also have the option of shrinking or stretching areas with a little bit of heating and judicious hammer work. When necessary, you can also weld dirty metal with a torch, that can't be welded with a MIG or TIG.
I made it a lifetime habit where I could, to catalogue tips from the old artisans, with the idea that I never knew when they were going to come in handy. I made a lot of one off tools for my lathe, by using ideas from articles written in the 50s Popular Mechanics magazines.
BTW, I once used the drilling technique you described to cut a 6 inch hole in concrete, because none of the rental establishments had a hole saw that large. It worked like a charm, just not a pretty.
Bob

 

So if we pick 1942 as a year that kits worth about $2300 today. You can buy a lot of tools for $2300 these days.

 

Getting outside of just hand tools, I have a few older power tools that still work like new. A 3/8 B&D pistol drill, 1 speed (1000 rpm, wrist breaker) all metal body. It's little brother, a 1/4 B&D variable speed reversible pistol drill all metal also, and a man killer B&D 9 inch disc grinder. I've had these since 1974, bought through work, paid for by deductions from weekly pay check. 46 years and only needed cords replaced. These tools were made when B&D made quality power tools.

 

You folks do understand that Sears , as well as MontgomeryWard , J.C. Penny & others like them were retailers , they never manufactured anything , everything they sold was manufactured by someone else . They would , in later years , specify materials & design changes to enhance their profit margin. Moist of their " good" tools were Stanley or New Britain , power tools were DeWalt or Sioux , Brunswick & others, some things " stolen ideas" spec'd with a Sears logo with minor changes....

 

In relative terms tools seem to be way cheaper today than when I started work and also started serious tinkering with old cars. I think all tools are cheaper but power tools especially have become much more affordable.

Thankfully the days of having to do almost every power tool job with an underpowered electric drill, often with some crappy badly designed 'attachment' which meant that it would be running too fast/too slow/would quickly overheat, etc. are gone.

So, in 1979 I bought a small 'industrial' 4" angle grinder for doing fabrication and repair work. This cost 70 Pounds Sterling (equivalent to $93 US at today's exchange rate) the internet says that the 2020 equivalent is 323 Pounds (or $430 US at today's exchange rate). When the grinder threw its commutator after a couple of years of use, I bought a new armature and a pair of brushes, fitted it, changed the (standard size ) ball bearings, repacked the gearbox with grease and went back to work.

Now, like most car people, I have a separate grinder for each disc type, cutting, grinding, sanding etc. when there's an internal firework display or when the magic smoke escapes, I just throw the grinder in the bin and buy another one for not much money -35 Pounds ($47) for a grinder with soft start and a 2 year warranty for the most recent changeout.

 

Crazy Steve, yes I agree with you on the Craftsman handle design, it can be a detriment. As someone else mentioned, in the later years, Craftsman quality nosedived. Their standard ratchets were absolute junk, they felt as if they only had about six teeth in them and would get locked up rather easily. When I’m hunting vintage Craftsman, I always look for the -V- series tools. They are considerably better that the newer stuff. According to my research, the -V- series is 1960s-70s era.
I did not realize that Proto dropped the specialty side when they merged. That is too bad, some bean counter figured that Mac had that covered. I like Mac too, but oftentimes Proto is/was more reasonable in price.
As for the thin wall sockets, I agree, they have their place, but most of the time, fixing heavy duty trucks isn’t it. I love a good conversation with other tool aficionados.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Old time guys with few tools turned out some amazing work. It took them a long time to do it, and they had that time because there weren't as many obligations and distractions as there are today. The idea that there aren't as many/any real craftsmen today though is not true. A craftsman is simply someone who can take the tools available to him and accomplish the purpose he wants.......correctly. Not everyone is interested in Lead Sleds. We may appreciate them and the effort it took, but thats not what some of us want to drive. I think that people who do the mechanical side of building a vehicle are also craftsmen in their own right. Often they make a part or tool or something in order to custom build a chassis or drivetrain. Not everything is ordered on line to just bolt in place. While many people work with their tools to make a living, they also ply the tools of their trade to conjure up all sorts of machinations for their own vehicles. Personally I consider people like Truck Doctor Andy to be "craftsmen" in their own right. He just isn't in to tooting his own horn. If it were not for multitudes of people turning wrenches, using torches and welders, and adapting and learning new skills along the way, our hobby wouldn't exist. "Craftsmen" isn't a term that should be limited to the well known builders, each builder is a craftsman in his own way, and I have the utmost respect for them.........