here is socket set from 1923. i live in an area that used to be the machine tool capital of the world, central massachusetts, so this stuff shows up in garage sales here and there.

That pic is great. Looks like at least the visible ratchet and deep sockets even have serial numbers or maybe part numbers? Are there unique on the other parts?

Do you think that the Frank Mossberg company is the same as the maker of Mossberg rifles? Oh, that company is probably long gone by now.

Thanks,

Bob

:>)

Did a little digging, the link below should answer a lot of questions. From what I can tell, this is a very different mossberg outfit from the firearms company. What I find to be stunning is that Figure 11 in the following link is 100% identical to the initial pic posted in this thread, not implying anything, after all, the set could have been sold at a garage sale, or the poster may have very well created the website (link below). Personally, I thought it was cool that the sockets appeared to be stamped steel tube, very very interesting, and an art that has been lost for decades!

http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/frank-mossberg-company.html

jorrell


--
92 245 250K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

Interesting!
I used to have a socket set that my grandfather gave me that had a ½" Allen
wrench for a handle and the sockets fitted on it. It also had a ratchet that
looked a lot like the one in your pic but with a hex hole.
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

Interesting. Who made it, and where? How do you know it's 1923? (the only things legible in the picture are "U.S.A." and "No. 60.") Snap-on claims to have invented interchangeable sockets (hence the company's name) in 1920, but this picture would suggest that is not actually the case, as would something I saw at a local flea market today. It was a catalog from the Goodell-Pratt company, dated 1920. In it were several different socket wrench sets. One of them included an extension and a universal joint. They were quite different from this one, in the form of the ratchet handle, and the way the sockets attached.

Amazing, just think what it may have been used on all those years ago?

I'll bet that among us old bricksters, we could come up with an impressive collection of cool stuff like this. Might be fun.

You bet!
I worked auctions in the most rural parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia and have a number of interesting things like this, and have seen several sets like this one.

My favorite claim by a modern tool company was once when reading that Craftsman had invented "the first self-adjusting adjustable wrench" - I promptly showed them a 1930's version of the same devise and never heard the claim again.

There are strange, antique, specialty tools out there the likes of which have been largely forgotten. Recommend going to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA - it's a 6 story warehouse of this stuff and well worth driving long distances to see. The library there is great, too, for this stuff.

I have boxes of this stuff, formerly had a foot powered treddle lathe, and still have a variety of old tools including a 1/2" 1920's craftsman ratchet that stills sees regular service.

Jim

I bet you're right. For whatever reason, there seems to be much less collector interest in vintage mechanics tools than in woodworking tools, so neat stuff can often be picked up on the cheap.

It seems to me that the whole world of tools deserves a forum of its own, in which one could ask questions about what tool they should use for specific Volvo repairs, which tools to buy (or avoid), general shop practice etc., and debate the relative merits of the various brands. I'm sure there is a wealth of knowledge on this subject out there among the constituents of the Brickboard, and it would be useful to gather it all in one convenient place.

I second the idea of a tools forum. It would be great to create a database of what tools are needed for the normal brick jobs. Which size sockets, do you need lots of extensions (starter bolts), or special tool or procedure required (TABs) etc.

I also try to keep a 1986 Jaguar XJ6 going and on that forum they get pretty specific in their posts like "whilst holding the shaft with a 15mm crowfoot, adjust for minimum play using an adjustable spanner..." etc.

Brian Mee
1990 240 DL
1991 240
1986 Jaguar XJ6