Info needed. CARD #6 die wrench / stock handle.

[EVILDR235]

A recent trip to the Habitat Restore i picked up a Card No.6 die wrench / stock handle. It is marked CARD-USA No.6   It is 17-1/2 inches long. It holds 1-1/2 inch dies. The only info i could find was a larger one for sale on eBay. It has a thin parting line which makes me think it is a casting rather than a forging that would have a wide parting line. It has little rust and after i clean it up it will find a home with the rest of my threading tools. It appears to be well made. Any info would be helpful. It came with a 1/2-13 NC die in it.

EvilDr235

[wvtools]

I have an old Card catalog (no pun intended).  I will try to remember to look at it in the morning.  My wife does not like it when I climb the creaky steps to my collection/tool book room when she is trying to sleep.

[wvtools]

I could not find a No. 6.  Their nomenclature may have changed after my catalog (approx. 1920).  There are dozens of different die holders listed.  A photo of your holder would help me narrow it down so that I can send you the catalog pages or post them here.  Is there anything written on the die like Paragon or Favorite?  Please make sure the handles are screwed in all the way before you measure the length.  I could not find one 17 1/2 inches.

[Bill Houghton]

I have an old Card catalog (no pun intended).

You realize, I trust, that whether or not folks understand your pun will depend upon their age.  When did card catalogs go out in libraries?  20 years ago?  30?

[leg17]

A recent trip to the Habitat Restore i picked up a Card No.6 die wrench / stock handle. It is marked CARD-USA No.6   It is 17-1/2 inches long. It holds 1-1/2 inch dies. The only info i could find was a larger one for sale on eBay. It has a thin parting line which makes me think it is a casting rather than a forging that would have a wide parting line. It has little rust and after i clean it up it will find a home with the rest of my threading tools. It appears to be well made. Any info would be helpful. It came with a 1/2-13 NC die in it.

EvilDr235

What do you want to know?

[EVILDR235]

I would like to know where and when it was made appox. Maybe some of the history of the company. This tool is for 1-1/2 dies, not taps. I just watched a video on You Tube where Adam Booth had one.

EvilDr235

[wvtools]

My Catalog #30 (1920)  for S. W. Card Mfg. Co. in Mansfield MA says they are a Division of Union Twist Drill Co.  The EAIA Directory of American Toolmakers (1999) give a date of 1874 to 1908 and says Union acquired them sometime after 1900.

The catalog says they were founded in 1874 and incorporated in 1894.

[EVILDR235]

I wonder when they went out of business ?

EvilDr235

[wvtools]

I googled it and found something that said they operated until the mid-1980s (Union Twist Drill Co., that is).

Here is the link to the Davistown museum page on Card Mfg.

https://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioCard.htm

[EVILDR235]

I wonder how long Union Twist  Drill still made tools with the Card name after they bought the company ?  Thank you all for your replies and thoughts. A $1.50 well spent.

EvilDr235