Tool Brands to watch for:

[Clayon]

Cool shirt! :thumbsup:

Markus, I've never come across a Matco tool rep around here. I never see any Matco tools here either so I guess they may not have a rep here. Lots of Mac and Snap On so that's what I try to buy.

We too have quite a bit of old SK stuff at home. Seems good. Only broken the larger 1/2" ratchets.

Gerry, that grey and red Craftsman box is real nice. Since taking my tools to work, I have been looking for a nice old craftsman box for at home and just missed out on a similar bottom box on Saturday at an auction.

I also like the old Beach boxes because they have more smaller drawers. Anybody familiar with these boxes?




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[Newoldstock]

Cool shirt! :thumbsup:

Markus, I've never come across a Matco tool rep around here. I never see any Matco tools here either so I guess they may not have a rep here. Lots of Mac and Snap On so that's what I try to buy.

We too have quite a bit of old SK stuff at home. Seems good. Only broken the larger 1/2" ratchets.

Gerry, that grey and red Craftsman box is real nice. Since taking my tools to work, I have been looking for a nice old craftsman box for at home and just missed out on a similar bottom box on Saturday at an auction.

I also like the old Beach boxes because they have more smaller drawers. Anybody familiar with these boxes?




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In the 80s I won an award in school and was given tools from a local dealer.
SK brand screw drivers.
I even went there and thank the business for donating these fine tools I still use today.

Home hardware had some years ago imported a line of plyers and cutters ect from a compnay in what I suspect was eastern german just after the wall came down.
These were UGLY tools with thick handles and crude forgings.
But they were tough as nails and has enough steel in them you could sharpen a set of side cutters when worn ( you cut a lot of wire when you wear out side cutters lol ).
I still have a pair of these nippers I use to cut nails and have sharpened them a couple of times.
Don;t curl your nose up at ugly tools.
A well made tool can often be sharpened and dressed as it wears.

 

[MoTo-BunnY]

My Fave Vintage Tool Brands + a Few Newer Ones!

I use older Craftsman as my main kit, I've been collecting them for 25+ years now and got some from both my Dad, who worked for Sears for like 20 years and from both of my Grandpas. Have a pretty huge collection of both SAE and metric now but I have to say I am now done with any new Craftsman as they are now shifting to made in China, ugh--shameful!

Now I buy up old classic USA made brands, mainly for collecting but for use too. Plomb is my fave and then Proto (which is what Plomb changed their name to after being sued by Plumb tools, lol). I also like P&C because they were made in Oregon, Vlchek, Lectrolite, Bonney, Powr-Kraft (Wards), Williams, Blackhawk, Diamond Calk & Horseshoe, and Indestro. :thumbsup: I put them all in old Kennedy clamshell tool boxes which I like a lot-I am a sucker for that old industrial wrinkle paint finish, lol.

As far as new brands go, I have a few Snap-On (nice but spendy), Klein, Bondhus (german), Channel Lock, Felo (german), SK, and Wiha (german) are all good. :thumbsup:

Here are a couple real nice Plomb wrenches, a 1930s "pebble finish" (top-my fave minibike wrench!) and a 1940s wartime finish (bottom). Antiques you can still use!

Here are what my tools look like, deep into a project.....lol.

 

[KustomKartKid]

You're OK Moto-Bunny.....:thumbsup:

I like that wartime finish Plumb wrench. In the old EXXON refinery we had black finish Williams wrenches that were pretty nice. They were streamlined.... not real bulky or clunky feeling like a lot of cheaper tools. And the temper was right in them, they would hold their size after many years of use.

I don't think anybody mentioned Remline yet...the older Remline tool boxes were cool. They were red and had chrome drawer pulls that looked like old beer can openers. There was a picture of a little cartoon guy engraved in each handle.

Someday I would like to find a nice example of one of these boxes.




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[markus]

no one has mentioned New Britain for the old stuff :shrug: Most all my 3/4" stuff was new Britain and Williams. I dunno how "good" the brand was, rarely ever had to pull them out and actually use them. They all came from a marina owner operator here in town that started the marina in 1950 and closed in 71 so I know the stuff was at least around that time period. I Purged recently and got rid of any tools that I felt I could live without and they got sold off, but they all went pretty fast and for decent money for rusty old tools.

 

[MoTo-BunnY]

Here are another couple of my favorite tools:

Here we have a real nice and collectible Plomb ratchet. It's a rare mismarked example with one plumb bob up and one down, 1940's wartime finish.

Here are what the Indestro tools look like-I just love their "streamliner" look, as they are from the 1930s. The metal isn't the best in the world though, best used as wall hangers though they have sets that bolt together in a stack (why there are holes in the handle) that are cool for vintage motorcycle tool kits.

Here is a cool old Diamond Calk & Horseshoe Co. c. 1920s (huge too at like 18" long!):

One more, here are a couple of old brands I like too but forgot in my earlier post, Crescent and Dunlap:

I love the old tools! Picked up the habit from my Dad, helping him out in the shop. :thumbsup: I can talk old kitchen collectibles too though! :girl: :laugh: I LOVE to cook on vintage USA made cast iron... Griswold and Wagner Ware (but that is for another thread....)

 

[massacre]

Love the pics guys I love old tools!

 

[KustomKartKid]

I used to keep one of those Indestro stackable sets in my old hot rod before I sold it...I let them go with the car. I had some kind of Indestro ratchet set too that was all incorporated into one little metal tray with a bale over it.

Interesting to note how the "Crescent" brand of adjustable wrench became so common that people referred to all adjustable wrenches as "Crescent" wrenches...kinda like how all flying discs are called "Frisbees".

 

[Clayon]

Cool pictures MotoBunny. :thumbsup: I never knew Proto started out as Plomb. Those wrenches have a nice look to them.

On another note, a good adjustable clamp to buy are the BESSY clamps made in Germany. New they are $400 for the big one but I picked them up at a farm auction for $40 for both plus a hand full of 6" C-clamps. The top jaw is the static jaw and the bottom jaw with the screw jack in it is moveable.

A newer tool I bought and use constantly would be the CompoCast dead blow hammers. I bought the Mac set because I like the handle and the way one end of the head is tapered for smaller objects. I also have the bigger sledge version for working on farm equipment at home.

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[MoTo-BunnY]

Here are some more! I'm getting these from my Instagram pix as I post old tools and small engine pictures there all the time. (gotta educate the kids, lol) :thumbsup:

Here is that stubby Plomb double box end wrench, "pebble finish". I use this wrench on small engines all the time as it can really get in there and has the two most common sizes on Briggs & Tecumsehs, 1/2 and 7/16. I just love the old Plomb stuff, especially the pebble finish, and buy all I can find at the swap meets. Pretty rare, I think I have like a dozen pieces now?

Here is a cool little Proto ignition wrench set though I end up using it most often for working on old pinball machines as they can really get into tight places. (another thing we do, restore and sell old pinball machines)

Here is a full set of Proto wrenches I obtained one piece at a time at swap meets! I love these wrench rings I pick up at Harbor Fright, helps me organize sets together. I like these Proto Challenger wrenches a lot as they are slim and have a nice light pebble finish on them.

 

[KustomKartKid]

......Here is a cool little Proto ignition wrench set though I end up using it most often for working on old pinball machines as they can really get into tight places. (another thing we do, restore and sell old pinball machines)

Wow pinball too.!!...I started collecting pinball machines in 1972 when Gottlieb wedge heads were a dime a dozen and people were throwing out wood-rails. Over the years I must have owned 200 pins plus as many arcade games and a bunch of jukes. I remember most of them, wish I had taken pics of all of them.

Prices really peaked in the mid to late 80's.. people were getting crazy money for stuff. Sold most of what I had left in the early 90's, but still have a few favorites.

 

[MoTo-BunnY]

Wow pinball too.!!...I started collecting pinball machines in 1972 when Gottlieb wedge heads were a dime a dozen and people were throwing out wood-rails. Over the years I must have owned 200 pins plus as many arcade games and a bunch of jukes. I remember most of them, wish I had taken pics of all of them.

Prices really peaked in the mid to late 80's.. people were getting crazy money for stuff. Sold most of what I had left in the early 90's, but still have a few favorites.

yep, Jana of all trades...lol. We do vintage arcade games too and even have a few on a route at a couple of local clubs and bars. Pinballs are actually getting trendy again and prices are spiking from what they were just a few years ago! There are quite a few well to do folk around here with a dozen of them in their private game rooms, they are typically our best customers. I've even done some repair on-site business, $60 an hour! :thumbsup:

I'm shopping an Elvira "Scared Stiff" right now as well as a World Cup Soccer. We just sold an older one, "X's and O's". We only run the 90s and newer ones on the route though but older ones we restore and resell. Some of them go for some real good money-enough to feed my minibike (and old tools) addiction! :drinkup:

 

[Clayon]

Cool stuff MotoBunny. :thumbsup: nice wrench sets as well.


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[KustomKartKid]

Nice arcade you got goin there....I was only capable of repairing the electro-mechanical stuff, when the early printed circuit board games like System1 Gottlieb came along I was lost.

Ooops...thread jumped the rails, back to the tools.:hammer:

 

[Axx3d]

I'll stick with my MAME box 4 player,6buttons each with a trackball.. 17K+ games loaded on it with 15 emulators.. and 1 cab is easier to move..

As far as tools go.. im not really much into any brand. I used to only buy Craftsman but as ive gotten older ive realized most tools will work and I rarely abuse them to the point of breaking. If i do break/cut/bend one it is for a specific purpose and ill put it in my box meant for "modified" tools.

Ive gotten bags of brand new no name sockets from a pawn shop for $10.00, it's nice to have doubles and triples of things. I tend to carry a tool bag in my Tahoe and in my boat so the no namers end up in there.

 

[Clayon]

Anybody familiar with the older Beach tool boxes? Are they decent?

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[MoTo-BunnY]

I'll stick with my MAME box 4 player,6buttons each with a trackball.. 17K+ games loaded on it with 15 emulators.. and 1 cab is easier to move..

As far as tools go.. im not really much into any brand. I used to only buy Craftsman but as ive gotten older ive realized most tools will work and I rarely abuse them to the point of breaking. If i do break/cut/bend one it is for a specific purpose and ill put it in my box meant for "modified" tools.

Ive gotten bags of brand new no name sockets from a pawn shop for $10.00, it's nice to have doubles and triples of things. I tend to carry a tool bag in my Tahoe and in my boat so the no namers end up in there.

We have some MAME boards we have rebuilt old arcade games with, the kind that you just can't keep reliably running anymore. We have a friend who is crazy talented with electronics and helps us out from time to time. He even burns his own chips, uses this crazy vintage oscilloscope to diagnose problems, and can find that one capacitor giving problems on a board like no one else I know!

I keep thinking about converting one of our spare cocktail games to just having a computer inside for the morning internet session...set your coffee right on the glass and use the combo keyboard/track stick to move the mouse around, lol. I love the really old cabinets with all the chrome and woodgrain on them, oh-so-'70s! :thumbsup:

I will say there are some tool brands I just can't get into. As much as I love Harbor Freight stuff, their hand tools aren't that great. My little stick arms can turn a 10mm wrench into a 13mm wrench, if I lean into it a bit too much. :scared: That doesn't happen with the good stuff!

 

[MoTo-BunnY]

Anybody familiar with the older Beach tool boxes? Are they decent?

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Can't say I have seen any of them, then again I am pretty fixated on old Kennedy and Craftsman tool boxes. :thumbsup:

Here are another couple of cool tool pics from my Instagram account:

This is one of my older tools, probably from the late 1800s? Kraeuter-the only other tool I have ever seen from this brand is a very small adjustable wrench I use all the time. Seems pretty uncommon for some reason? I have this wrench being used as wall art in my office now. I love the fonts and logo they used on it. This wrench was a lump of rust found in the bottom of a jumble of tools bought for $3 at a swap meet. I used the rust electrolysis technique to bring it back from the dead!

Here is another Diamond Calk Horseshoe brand wrench-I like collecting this brand because they were a blacksmith outfit in the 1800s that eventually went to tool manufacture. Made in Duluth, Minn. A very old tool being used to work on a fairly recent car, love it!

 

[Clayon]

Both cool wrenches, they cleaned up really well from what you said they looked like. :thumbsup: I do like the old craftsman and Kennedy boxes from what I have seen, but have never come across one. I like the numerous smaller drawers instead of all large drawers.


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[Clayon]

I just picked this guy up yesterday.

I really like the Starret tools but I like the Mitutoyo micrometers better because of the little lever to lock them instead of a thimble on the Starrets I've saw. My instructor at school told me that apparently the smaller Mitutoyo items like Center gauges and drill point gauges for example, are of lesser quality because Mitutoyo gets them produced elsewhere. Can't say for sure but I find the Starret better quality.

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