Tool Talk
Classic Auto and Motorcycle Tools => Classic Auto and Motorcycle Tools => Topic started by: jimwrench on May 12, 2012, 05:57:15 PM
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Got this Thorsen drag link socket witha bunch of older C-man and Indestro sockets at garage sale yesterday. My question is whether the circumferential rings denote vintage or tool type. Alloy shows 382 socket as early Thorsen socket but no rings. Alloy doesn't show early drag link socket thus the question. It is 1/2 drive.
I ain't got no Thorsen catalogs.
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Doesn't seem like many catalogs exist - not that I can find - been looking for 6 months. I could sure use more than the ONE I have access to (not that I don't appreciate the ONE).
If ANYBODY has access to Thorsen catalogs and could find it in their heart to share - I'd not only be very appreciative but I'd pay any reasonable cost involved.
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Oily,
I can only provide a little piecemeal info about your 582 drag link socket:
I have a PDF copy of a 1975 Thorson tool brochure with a list of the tools available at that point in time. The only 1/2" drive drag link socket was a number 574 and the socket had the Thorsen Hot Forge Tools logo on it and no grooves.
I also have a PDF file of the 1958 catalog that shows the same 574 drag link socket with no grooves and an earlier Thorsen logo on it.
I suspect your 582 drag link socket is older than 1958, perhaps as early as 1940's. But this is just a semi-educated guess on my part.
Hope this helps some.
BTW-- What year catalog do you have access to?
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What year catalog do you have access to?
unknown year - guessed to be in the 80s. posted here
http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/index.php?topic=3749.msg23297#msg23297
EDIT - and 1975 posted here: http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/index.php?topic=3741.msg23047#msg23047
Would it be possible for me to gain access to the 1958 you have?
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Oily,
I can only provide a little piecemeal info about your 582 drag link socket:
I have a PDF copy of a 1975 Thorson tool brochure with a list of the tools available at that point in time. The only 1/2" drive drag link socket was a number 574 and the socket had the Thorsen Hot Forge Tools logo on it and no grooves.
I also have a PDF file of the 1958 catalog that shows the same 574 drag link socket with no grooves and an earlier Thorsen logo on it.
I suspect your 582 drag link socket is older than 1958, perhaps as early as 1940's. But this is just a semi-educated guess on my part.
Hope this helps some.
BTW-- What year catalog do you have access to?
Lauver,
Is the 1975 catalog you are looking at the one referred to as "3-75"? If so, and just for the sake of clarity, I don't think the "Hot Forged" logo appears in that catalog, does it? I see the number 574 drag link, shown on page 0-4, but I can't tell that there is any logo on the piece itself. The logo that appears on that page and throughout the catalog is very much like the "Hot Forged" logo, but slightly different. Also, the "Thorsen" address, shown on the last page of the catalog, is in Dallas. Here's the catalog logo:
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/kxxr/tools/TAT.jpg)
The "Hot Forged" logo, registered in 1957, with Thorsen in Oakland, is this one:
(http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/kxxr/tools/ThorsHotForged.jpg)
I would also like to have a look at the 1958 catalog, but then again maybe not, as it seems the more you see the less you know when it comes to tool company histories.
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kxxr,
I made a mistake or two in my earlier post so let me clear them up:
1) Yes the 1975 catalog is labeled 3-75. If you look thru the catalog you will see examples of both the "Thorsen Hot Forged Tools" logo and the "Thorsen Made in USA" logo on the catalog pages and the tool displays shown in the catalog. You are correct, neither of these logos appear on the tools themselves. The company address is listed as Dallas Texas. The attached price list is effective 1977 and has the name Murray Wallace listed under Thorsen Tool Company. Murray Wallace is reported to have bought Hydrometals (owner of Thorsen Tools) in 1977. So there is some dispute regarding the date of the catalog. It may be a 1975 catalog with 1977 price list attached, or it may be a 1977 catalog. It's really unclear.
2) The 1958 tool brochure shows only the "Thorsen Hot Forged Tools" logo on the pages, tool boxes, and tool sets. The illustrations are too small to show the logo on the tools themselves. The company address on this brochure is Oakland Calif. and the tool prices in the catalog are listed as effective 1958.
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I see the "Hot Forged" logo in there after looking again. Thanks.
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Would it be possible for us to gain access to the 1958 you have?