Ratchets (with pictures)

[Branson]

Well, I found them all interesting.

I have a number of wrenches with red paint or traces of red paint on them.  I've always thought the red was for visibility in the shop, since it isn't just a vague spray of color that some use to identify tools used on a job site.  When you've got a bunch of tools lying about, red is easy to find.

[kxxr]

I broke down and treated myself to some new ...

[rusty]

You won't like them.
They are too shiny.
Send them to me.
I'll take care of them....;P

[Papaw]

Those Armstrongs are beautiful!

[kxxr]

Those are beauties, and now ... the beast: I saved this big ol' half inch drive from the pawn shop and an unknown fate and brought it to a good home. I guess not so big for a 1/2" at 10 and a quarter inches length, but it just has that old school 'heft' to it. It looks like it has served well. Anybody know the maker right off the bat? (same ratchet, different distances) Patent 1,902878 comes up under the Duro/Indestro info on AA and is referred to as the "pressed flange design", which makes sense, as I see no way to get it apart short of 'unpressing' it,  which I won't be trying. I'm counting maybe 36 teeth?

[kxxr]

1/4" drive Tru-Test T1060-1 MFD. U.S.A. 4 and a half inches long. Anyone know the maker? Era?

[kxxr]

J-H-Williams & CO. U.S.A. S-52 "SUPERRATCHET" PAT D.
I will try for a whole picture later, but this one gives the idea. 1/2" drive 11 and 1/4" long, round, knurled handle.
Barely visible, where the 'satin' section tapers to a point on the right side is a forge mark "B". Or 8, or maybe 6, could be E. Yeah, barely visible.

[KeepinOldBolts]

Anyone know the maker? Era

I have seen that deep knurling before in a Dayton (Thorsen) rat in 3/8dr, and have seen one 80's era Japan 1/4dr rat, that I keep picking up in my hands at the flea market and keep putting it down. Other than that, it's all I have to offer.

[kxxr]

Here's the full length of the JH Williams S-52, as promised, nasty marks and all.

And the TrueCraft 20149 that I think I showed one side of before; here's both sides. The underside says Japan 8-3 (that '3' is in a smaller font and could be a 5 or possibly some other symbol...very difficult to read even with a magnifying glass. 1/4" drive, about 4 and 7/8" long. I guesstimate about 44 teeth.


An Allen USA 1/4" drive, about 5 and 1/2' long with 36 teeth I think. The marking on the underside is "FORGED 10900" and that tiny mark next appears to be a tiny "3" with the legs pointing downward. Also very hard to read with a magnifying glass. That is some kind of unfortunate chemical tint on the handle.


Matco (this one also made an earlier appearance) on the back and AR3T on the underside with another very difficult to decipher symbol, possibly a stylized roman numeral V or some other letter with an X through it. I can't tell, too tiny. I need a jeweler's loupe. Any way, the symbol is followed by -U.S.A.-  I count 34 teeth and the length is just 4 and 1/2". It's a tiny little thing with a really thin handle.

[kxxr]

Three more for today. I think a couple of these have also made earlier appearances, but these are a little closer, more detailed photos. First are a couple of 4749s; old and older. A 4749 PROTO MFD. U.S.A. front and back. Original selector, or no? I measure 4 and 15/16" long and count a different number of clicks almost every try - mid 20s will have to do:)


PLOMB MADE IN 4749 U.S.A., also about a 25 click count. (note to self: trim screws or find new ones) 5" long. A favorite.


A round head Craftsman with quick release and thumbwheel. One of those where they wrote a book on the underside handle. The book says:
-FORGED   IN   U.S.A. ----V--
U.S.  PAT. 3467231,   AND OTHERS
Just a couple of tenths over 5 inches. 72 clicks? I don't know offhand what the mechanism looks like but you can feel the difference in every other click. click Click click Click click Click .... like that.

[kxxr]

Craftsman 1/2" drive FORGED IN U.S.A.=V= Can't see the oil hole in the picture but there is one. This one looks about as nice as I've seen, short of NOS.

[kxxr]

I posted this one before, but not close up. It is a MAC X3R 3/8" drive. I have seen a similar ratchet stamped A-R-T-I-S-A-N, with dots instead of dashes. I can't remember if I have seen this design stamped SK or if I just heard it was made by SK. Possibly both. I don't see any sign of any date code on this one. No other stampings at all. It's about 6 and 3/4" long and I count about 42 clicks around.

[kxxr]

MAC offset flex 3/8" drive. The head has 6 positions and measures about 10 and 3/4" along the spine and about 3 and 1/2" from the end of the handle to the middle of the bend. I count 30 clicks around. The back of the head has the fancy, almost triangular version of the logo and the underside is marked with XR1 1FS   USA   02
It may be of interest to some, that it appears the XR1, the 1FS and the USA 02 are of incrementally smaller fonts.   

[kxxr]

I got my hands on some Craftsman Premium Grade ratchets, set number 29498. They are tough to photograph indoors. I'll try for some better pictures tomorrow, outside. Here's a preview. I really like them. I see some things in the finish that I probably would not have even noticed before I knew there was such a thing as a tool forum. In a way, that is a bad thing. The surface is mirror smooth and there is no knurling or other texture to disguise defects, making them very easy to spot. A bold move on Sears part. I can imagine a lot of room for argument in how 'defect' might be defined on these.
I can also definitely see where they might feel bulky to anyone used to a lighter, slimmer tool. I wonder if the 1/2 drive is disproportionately larger than the other two would seem to dictate, or if it just seems that way because these are hefty ratchets all around. I look forward to trying them out.
I can't think of any criticism of the mechanism, it's flawless on all three.   Their picture:

mine:

[OilyRascal]

Those new craftsman ratchets are a beauty.  I wanted to buy a set but I've been unable to find anything but non USA made in the retail stores.