Tools found in 1940's Snap-on box

[sarge]

It was suggested that folks might like to see the more or less bizarre tools (even though many are not id'd to a maker and none seem to be Snap-on) found in a Snap-on toolbox I acquired for my workshop. Although some look like things we used to use on aircraft, they really aren't identifiable to me as to the guy's trade; he could have been a plumber for all I know. Grin! That said, have fun looking and throwing out your takes on what the guy did, the age of various things, and whatever trips your fancy. If you need more details, ask, and I'll try to include as much as I can here.

Here we go, then. First is an Army Air Force inspection light, contract dated 1943, seen first atop a bunch of modern tools in the top of the box (I won't bother with the modern stuff).

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Then, and older Craftsman 3/8" speedwrench

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[sarge]

Continuing on, the mark on the Craftsman speeder (yeah I know, Boo Craftsman, but this is a bit of a history capsule here)

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A 1/2" drive speeder I can't identify, older than the first one, no maker mark but "651 CN" on one side of the shank.

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A long-reach box-end, 9/16", #S105, Mac, USA

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It gets weirder from here...

[sarge]

Now, the bird-feet:

A set of crow's feet and a T handle, 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1-1/16", 1-1/8", 1-1/4". A mismatched bunch, a Bonney, the 1-1/4" is PWA #1585, and the rest are a bizarre code of a down-arrow, then PL, a down delta mark, MB, and another down arrow mark as is the handle. The handle is marked WF-22 and each of the feet have a four digit number. 3/8" drive.

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Next a couple views of a specialty tool, home-made. A 3/8" drive 5/16" Williams socket welded to a shaft 3/8" diameter then to a Wright 1-1/16 1/2" drive socket with the side cut away.

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[agmechjake]

The S105 is a distributor wrench for 1959 Buick, Chevy and GMC cars according to the No.62 Mac catalog

'

[sarge]

Aha!

Things are making more sense, then.

If folks are interested (either idle interest or out of morbid curiosity is good enough. Grin!) I'll post a few more up later today.

Oddly the contents are very "speciality" tools; other than some old cast open-end wrenches there are no real generic mechanic'ing tools like sockets or combinations. So, the guy's history might be actually easier to guess since what is there is pretty specific, like that distributor wrench.

Thanks so much!

[sarge]

A few more:

Wright tools 802581 3/8" drive 3/8" box:

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Bonney PWA1634 3/8" drive, 12pt with a side cut out, 9/16"

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No maker's mark, 3/8" drive 5 20714, 12 point with a side cut out, 1-5/16"

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[sarge]

These are 3/8" drive and about 6" deep from the square to the ring/box. The single angle is a 1/2" 12pt box, the double-bent a 9/16" 12pt box. The 1/2" one is KD #104, the other is not marked.

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Next a simple 3/8" female adapter, painted blue and unmarked. He was using it, for example, to adapt the previous tools to a male extension or a speeder I'm assuming, since it was on the KD wrench when I unloaded it all.

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Some 5/16" hex-drive bits, the long one a K-D 2304, the flat-blade an Apex 485 7A 1/2" blade, the short one a US made torx-45 so I bet it's quite recent.

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[sarge]

Last three, then, and nothing really unusual:

A brake adjuster, spoon on one end point on the other. Unmarked:

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A pretty standard 10" double end handle, 1/2" drive, a diamond with an "m" in it, then 322, then another diamond with an "m" in it, then "made in U. S. A," According to a site article on casting marks, the diamond "m" would be Frank Mossberg.

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Then, a pile of open-end cast wrenches. The single end is stamped with an E. W. Bliss Co., a cast 8 on one side of the shank and a diamond "W" (the casting mark for Williams) on the other side. Rather interesting, Bliss was a cousin to one J. H. Williams, one and the same Williams who was the toolmaker. Next down is Billings and Spencer, 1/2USS and 7/16USS, next is VLChek 1" and 3/4", next a Bonney 5/8" and 9/16", some nice thick ignition wrenches from back when they were nice and thick.

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That's pretty much the old and interesting. Thanks for making me do that and I hope they were at least semi-interesting. Thanks also for the help in getting a handle on what the owner was up to back in the day. I find it interesting, the people and what they were doing with these tools. It's not often a capsule like this comes across my path.

[sarge]

Now, the bird-feet:

A set of crow's feet and a T handle, 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1-1/16", 1-1/8", 1-1/4". A mismatched bunch, a Bonney, the 1-1/4" is PWA #1585, and the rest are a bizarre code of a down-arrow, then PL, a down delta mark, MB, and another down arrow mark as is the handle. The handle is marked WF-22 and each of the feet have a four digit number. 3/8" drive.

tools7.jpg

I found some info that tells us more about these. The mark series that is a down arrow, PL, a down delta, then MB, and another down arrow belongs to Plomb tools, who by the 50s became Proto. Further, the WF series handle was from a range called "Wright Field", specifically made for US contract during WWII.

The PWA stamp followed by a number turns out to be interesting as well. One of these crowsfeet is from Bonney, four from Plomb, and one unmarked, but most have PWA references regardless of maker. Digging further, PWA is a mark for one of the contracting authorities during the war, much like the WF series for Wright Field which was the major contracting authority for the Army Air Forces (if not the armed forces in toto). PWA is Pratt and Whitney aircraft.

[Bill_Houghton]

These tools:

and this adapter:

often came as a package. While you could use the adapter to attach either socket to extensions, handles, etc., you could also use it to attach the two parts to each other, using the right one on the bolt to be loosened and the other for leverage. If I recall correctly, they were marketed as distributor wrenches, although, of course, they also could serve as obstruction wrenches (to reach nuts/bolt heads that some engineer who'd never have to work on the car would place in ridiculous locations).