Tool Talk

Wrench Forum => Wrench Forum => Topic started by: coolford on December 01, 2021, 03:36:02 PM

Title: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: coolford on December 01, 2021, 03:36:02 PM
Millers Falls has mostly been known for their braces, hand drills, breast drills, planes etc.  For as large a company as they were (they started in 1868) it is sad that they didn't survive.  Over the years they didn't get involved with mechanic tools except for screwdrivers which were mainly made for wood workers.  However, toward the end they started making mechanic tools.  As I collect socket sets I have tried to find the 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch sets for years.  I found a 1/4-3/8 set about 10 years ago but the 1/2 inch set evaded me until last month.  Here are pictures of both sets.
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: lptools on December 01, 2021, 05:14:35 PM
Very nice!! Thanks for sharing!!
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: gibsontool on December 01, 2021, 09:23:13 PM
Nice, I did not know that MF ever produced socket sets. Do you know if they made them in house or were they farmed out ?  Any chance you could show us a close up of the script on the ratchet and sockets ?
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: Northwoods on December 02, 2021, 03:41:32 PM
That was my question.  Tooling up would be a big process--just before they expired.
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: coolford on December 02, 2021, 05:08:29 PM
From the appearance of the 1/2" drive set I would say they were made by S-K.  The smaller set ratchet is more like Proto.  I agree, I am quite sure they did not make them in house.

I also have crescent wrenches with the MF trademark in sizes 4, 6, 8 and 10 inch which appear to be made by Crescent Tool Co.  I'm still looking for the 12".

My phone camera is not up to making a clear picture of the markings on the tools.  The mark is MF in a rectangle followed by MFD U.S.A.  The marks are not strong and are small.  Here is a picture I made of the mark.
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: Yadda on December 02, 2021, 06:58:59 PM
Great finds!
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: geneg on December 03, 2021, 12:11:18 PM
The drive tools in the 1/2" set resemble Wrights with the rubber tootsie roll on the handles.  I tried to blow up the photos to see more detail, but they distorted.  The era is possibly correct. Wright also made sets for Wards as PowrKraft.   I
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: Bill Houghton on December 03, 2021, 04:06:06 PM
Company names get very complicated with mergers and acquisitions.  I've got a Millers-Falls Langdon Acme miter box branded "Ingersoll" (or "Ingersoll Rand," don't now recall/hard to reach in storage) clearly made during the twenty years (1962-82) that Ingersoll owned the M-F brand.
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: john k on December 03, 2021, 11:17:00 PM
Have collected millers falls items for some years,  never seen any sockets of theirs,  and I would have noticed.  Thanks for posting.
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: mikeswrenches on December 12, 2021, 07:05:16 PM
Don’t forget their "buggy wrench". It’s not marked but is in their catalog.

Mike
Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: four.cycle on December 15, 2021, 01:10:37 AM
George Roberts currently has a Millers Falls 6087 3/8" drive ratchet listed on Ebay. I was kind of surprised when I saw it - I wasn't aware they got into sockets and drive accessories either.


Title: Re: Millers Falls last days.
Post by: PowderKeg on January 02, 2022, 04:28:15 PM
FYI those ratchet/socket sets were made by Proto/Pendleton, have the same ratchets in different sizes branded for Fleet, Challenger, etc.  The grips on the 1/2" are shaped and and have a different feel/firmness from Wright grips, and the guts are completely different.