Author Topic: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study ©  (Read 87171 times)

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Offline giants

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #90 on: February 23, 2019, 11:18:49 AM »
Thanks, Jim C., for your post!

I just found what I think is a Type 12 3/8" ratchet. Please confirm that. Also, I counted teeth twice and came up with a tooth count of 22. What is the correct tooth count for this model?

Also, would you compile a list of tooth counts for each of the types?

In your opinion, which of these types is most durable and why?

Thanks!

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #91 on: February 23, 2019, 04:16:10 PM »
 :cheesy:Hi giants,

Thanks for checking out the Type Study!  You asked a few questions so let’s take them one at a time. First off, I think your ratchet is a Type 11. (See page 5, reply #69)  As far as the tooth count goes for the 3/8” drive, Type 11, I believe original, unaltered, factory produced versions came with a 24 tooth gear.  If you’re coming up with 22 teeth that would be unusual, but not necessarily impossible.  Maybe you have something that’s very unique!  I guess the best way to know for sure is to disassemble the ratchet and visually count the teeth under magnification if possible.

Okay, you requested a list detailing the tooth count for each Type.  Here’s my best shot at it.  I listed the individual Types followed by three numbers.  Those numbers refer to 1/2” drive, 3/8” drive and 1/4” drive respectively.

Type 1:   40 (early) & 32 (later),  32 (early) & 24 (later),  24  (There may have been a higher tooth count gear on earlier versions of the 1/4” drive Type 1 ratchets, but to date I haven’t encountered one.)
Type 2:   32,  24,  24
Type 3:   32,  24,  24
Type 4:   32,  24,   -
Type 5:   32,  24,   -
Type 6:   32,  24,  24
Type 7:   32,  24,  24
Type 8:   32,  24,  24
Type 9A:   32,  24,  24
Type 9B:   32,  24,   -
Type 10A:   32,  24,  -
Type 10B:   32,  24,  -
Type 11:   32,  24,  24
Type 12:   32,  24,  24
Type 13:   32,  24,  24
Type 14 -V-:   -   -  30
Type 14 -VE-:   32,  24,  30
Type 14 -VF-:   32,  24,  30
Type 14 VF:   32,  24,  30
Type 14 -VG-:   32,  24,  30

As far as durability goes, well, they’re all durable for the most part.  I have a set of Type 13 ratchets that I’ve been using almost exclusively since the mid 1980s.  They’ve been great workers.  That being said, I keep them clean, well lubricated, and I really AVOID USING THEM AS BREAKER BARS.  I think these particular ratchets work best with a thicker viscosity lubricant.  I personally like Super Lube.  In order to apply a heavier lubricant, the ratchet really needs to be taken apart. The little oil holes found on the tops of the ratchets aren’t too useful for allowing an appropriate amount of lubricant into the head.  As for overall feel, I like some of the older Types.  Type 2 versions are plentiful.  I have a couple and I do use them when I’m working on a vintage machine and want to use a similar era vintage tool.

Thanks again for stopping by the thread!

Jim C.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2024, 04:53:18 AM by Jim C. »
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Offline giants

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #92 on: February 23, 2019, 06:46:09 PM »
Thanks.

You wrote, "I have a couple and I do use them when I’m working on a vintage machine and want to use a similar era vintage tool." Is there an advantage to using same-period tools for repairs?

Also, how do you deal with rust and chrome loss from external surfaces of the ratchets?

Thanks.

Offline Northwoods

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #93 on: February 23, 2019, 08:41:06 PM »
Rust will come off with a little oil and a brass brush.  Take it easy.
Chrome, when it is gone, is just gone.
The ORIGINAL Northwoods.

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #94 on: February 23, 2019, 08:59:59 PM »
Hey giants,

I’ve been interested in old Corvettes and woodworking for a long time.  Somewhere along the line I got the idea that working on 1960s cars would be fun using similar era, vintage tools.  I guess it was just an excuse to buy more tools.  So, I started collecting 1950s and 1960s hand tools, mostly Craftsman.  Nothing like turning a 1960s bolt with a 1960s ratchet!  My interest in woodworking eventually lead me to old Delta machines from the 1940s through the 1960s.  Nothing like restoring old machines with old tools!  Right?  Anyway, to answer your question, I’d generally say, “No, there’s probably not any real advantage to using similar era vintage tools to work on old cars, machines, etc.” Now, if you have an OCD personality, it’s the only way to go!   :smiley:

Jim C.
« Last Edit: February 23, 2019, 09:07:35 PM by Jim C. »
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Offline Yadda

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #95 on: February 24, 2019, 12:18:23 PM »
Hey giants,

I’ve been interested in old Corvettes and woodworking for a long time.  Somewhere along the line I got the idea that working on 1960s cars would be fun using similar era, vintage tools.  I guess it was just an excuse to buy more tools.  So, I started collecting 1950s and 1960s hand tools, mostly Craftsman.  Nothing like turning a 1960s bolt with a 1960s ratchet!  My interest in woodworking eventually lead me to old Delta machines from the 1940s through the 1960s.  Nothing like restoring old machines with old tools!  Right?  Anyway, to answer your question, I’d generally say, “No, there’s probably not any real advantage to using similar era vintage tools to work on old cars, machines, etc.” Now, if you have an OCD personality, it’s the only way to go!   :smiley:

Jim C.

Any excuse to buy more tools is good one.  :grin:
You might say I have a tool collecting problem....

Offline p_toad

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #96 on: February 25, 2019, 10:59:29 PM »
Any excuse to buy more tools is good one.  :grin: 

Wait, you need an  excuse?   why didn't i think of that?   :tongue: :grin:

Offline giants

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #97 on: March 01, 2019, 12:29:32 AM »
Did Craftsman make rachets during this era in its Craftsman Industrial brand? If so, is there a difference from the regular Craftsman?

I happen to have a set of Industrial and non-Industrial flare wrenches. Comparing the same size wrenches, each of the industrial weighs two grams less than the non-Industrials. Makes me wonder if the Industrial has better metallurgy?

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #98 on: March 01, 2019, 07:52:08 AM »
Hey giants,

I really don’t know if the Craftsman Industrial line was around prior to 1993 (which is the latest date of the Type Study).  So, I can’t really answer your question.  Now that I think about it, I can’t say that I remember seeing a Craftsman ratchet from the Industrial line that falls within the parameters of the Type Study (1956 - 1993).  As for the metallurgy, I have no clue.  Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

Jim C.
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #99 on: March 01, 2019, 09:49:48 PM »
When I started to post this Type Study on the website, I was fairly confident that I had all the basic 1/2" drive, 3/8" drive and 1/4" drive, raised panel Sears/Craftsman ratchets produced between 1956 and 1993.  Like so many times before when assembling this information, I was wrong.  After I had published the whole thing on this website, all 14 Types, I learned that the Type 1, 3/8" drive was originally offered with a 32 tooth gear.  You may recall that the Type 1, 1/2" drive was initially offered with a 40 tooth gear that was later reduced to 32 teeth.  Well, the 3/8" drive was later reduced from 32 teeth to 24 teeth.  When I originally wrote the Type 1 post, I did not include the 3/8" drive, 32 tooth iteration because I didn't know it existed.  Anyway, if you go back to page 1 of the thread, I updated the post and pictures to include my newly acquired 3/8" drive, 32 tooth Type 1 ratchet.  The updated photos now depict the 40 tooth and 32 tooth 1/2" drives, the 32 tooth and 24 tooth 3/8" drives and the 24 tooth 1/4" drive.  To date, I'm not aware of another Type 1, 1/4" drive ratchet with a higher (or lower) tooth count than 24.  Still, it's not impossible, with 30 or 32 teeth, or maybe 18 teeth not being out of the question.  If I find one like that, I'll be sure to update the Type Study.

As for acquiring that tough to find Type 1, 3/8" drive, 32 tooth ratchet, well, I turned to a guy I met on eBay.  He goes by "needmorewrenches."  His auctions are top notch and during the last few years, I've purchased more than a couple ratchets from him that are featured in this Type Study.  He was familiar with the Type Study prior to me finding out I was missing a ratchet.  When I finally discovered I was in fact missing one, I reached out to him for help, offering to pay for the ratchet if he had it in his collection.  In response, he said he had what I was looking for and volunteered to donate the ratchet to me for purposes of updating my project.  A few days later, a package arrived in the mail that not only had the Type 1, 3/8" drive, 32 tooth ratchet I was looking for, but also another 24 tooth version as well.  It was more than generous and greatly appreciated!  Thanks again to "needmorewrenches."

Upon receiving the two ratchets, I took them apart for purposes of cleaning them and checking out the 32 tooth gear in a side-by-side comparison to the 24 tooth gear.  Recall that I already had a Type 1, 3/8" drive, 24 tooth gear iteration.  After getting the ratchets disassembled, what I noticed was that the pawls are slightly different, specifically in terms of their teeth.  As one would expect, the teeth on the pawl that came out of the 32 tooth ratchet are slightly smaller to mesh better with the finer teeth on the gear.  Unless one is comparing a 24 tooth pawl to a 32 tooth pawl, side-by-side, it might be easy to mistake one for the other.  That being said, this is what I really found to be interesting.  If you take a close look at the first photo below, you will see three sets of gears and pawls taken out of three Type 1, 3/8" drive ratchets,  The set on the left is from the 24 tooth version I had when I started the Type Study.  The set in the middle came from the 24 tooth ratchet I received from "needmorewrenches" and the set on the right is from the 32 tooth ratchet I also received from "needmorewrenches."  Look at that pawl in the middle set.  See it?  Stamped right there on the pawl is the number "24."  I'm surmising that refers to the 24 tooth gear.  Notice how the pawl on the left has no such stamp, yet it is also a 24 tooth gear version.  Why is one 24 tooth pawl stamped and one is not?  Here's my guess.  What if the pawl stamped with the "24" is from a repair kit?  Back in the day ratchets broke, just like now.  If there were Type 1, 3/8" drive ratchets out in the world with 32 teeth and later with 24 teeth, repair gears and pawls would have to exist for obvious reasons.  Going back to what I said earlier, without a side-by-side comparison, one could easily mistake a 24 tooth pawl for a 32 pawl and visa versa.  Perhaps stamping the number of teeth on replacement pawls made sense in an effort to avoid confusion.  Anyone else want to venture a guess?

In an effort to test my theory, I turned to my little collection of Type 1, 1/2" drive ratchets.  I have five that are outfitted with a later offered 32 tooth gear, and one with the earlier offered 40 tooth gear.  So, six ratchets in total.  (See second photo below.)  After taking all six 1/2" drive ratchets apart, my expectation/hope was to see perhaps one or two of the 32 tooth pawls stamped with a "32" and possibly the 40 tooth pawl stamped with a "40."  What I found was that one of the five 32 tooth pawls was stamped with a number "32" (See third photo middle pawl and gear set) AND one of the five 32 tooth gears was also stamped with a number "32." (See last photo)  These two stamps were on different ratchets and not found in the same example.  As for the 40 tooth ratchet, neither the pawl nor the gear was stamped with a number "40" tooth count.  (Looking at the second photo below, the 32 tooth pawl and gear sets go from left to right.  The pawl and gear set to the far right is the 40 tooth version.)  Again, do stamped pawls and gears indicate parts from repair kits?  Again, who knows?  The trouble is that these Type 1 ratchets are hard to come by and I've never seen a repair kit so I don’t know if the parts were stamped with a tooth count or not.  In particular, I've found that the 3/8" versions seem to be the most scarce.  I'll probably never look at enough examples to conclusively make any determinations.  For now, at least know that pawls and gears inside Type 1, 1/2" drive and 3/8" drive ratchets have the possibility of bearing stamped tooth counts on them.  Why?  Well, maybe they’re repair kit parts.

Jim C.   
« Last Edit: April 09, 2019, 09:19:02 AM by Jim C. »
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Offline p_toad

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #100 on: March 01, 2019, 11:15:34 PM »
Interesting!   Thanks for the update and good to see you got some "help" with that.

Curious, though, as to the "glittery" surface on that last toothed gear...???

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #101 on: March 02, 2019, 07:48:17 AM »
Hi Peter,

Thanks for checking out the thread.  I’m always trying to keep the information accurate and up to date, so getting a little help is appreciated.  Those ratchets from “needmorewrenches” are tough to find.  While I needed the Type 1, 3/8” drive, 32 tooth version, it was the extra 24 tooth example he sent me that got me looking at the pawls and gears for tooth count stamps.  When I was cleaning the extra 24 tooth ratchet, I noticed the “24” stamp on the pawl.  Well, you saw the results.  I have a couple Type 1, 1/4” examples too.  I’ll take a look at them.  Who knows what I might find?

You know, I agree with your observation regarding the finish on the stamped 1/2” drive gear.  It does look a little different than some of the others.  I also took that particular photo with a flash, so the finish does look bright!  Still, it’s different than the others without stamps.  Maybe the stamped gear really is a repair kit replacement. 

Jim C.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2019, 08:34:22 AM by Jim C. »
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Offline Jim C.

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #102 on: March 02, 2019, 06:17:31 PM »
Now I gotta put them back together....

Jim C.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2019, 06:31:33 PM by Jim C. »
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Offline Northwoods

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #103 on: March 03, 2019, 10:08:08 AM »
Wow!  I hope Mrs. Jim C. didn't decide it was time to do the laundry while all those rats were disassembled.
Oh, the humanity!
The ORIGINAL Northwoods.

Offline Jim C.

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Re: Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet (1956-1993) Type Study
« Reply #104 on: March 03, 2019, 08:10:08 PM »
Wow!  I hope Mrs. Jim C. didn't decide it was time to do the laundry while all those rats were disassembled.
Oh, the humanity!

Nothing to worry about.  She knows where the measuring tape, pliers, screwdrivers and hammer are located out in my shop.  After that, she pretty much leaves everything else alone.  Now, she would probably notice six disassembled ratchets on my bench and might ask, “How many of those do you have/need?”  My response is usually something like, “How many pairs of shoes do you have/need?”  That typically ends the discussion and she goes back in the house.

Jim C. 
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