tool wanted

if you have too many name a price.

have any of those (that is good)? I've seen keychain type ones die cast out of zinc alloy, but they look pretty useless.

Well, my keychain item says 'Jamestown, NY' and 'Made in U.S.A' and a recent catalog shows the same company and product. It doesn't detail the manufacture site this week --"Specifications subject to change without notice".

Handy little buggers though!

Outside the U.S. I've bought European made 4" "Crescent" wrenches, Swedish ? Finland? I don't remember but I sure that they were Scandinavian made. A bit strange as the thumb screw turns the wrong way and until you get used to one "opening" the jaws close them :-) But nicely finished and while I don't use a 4 inch "crescent" wrench daily they have held up very well. They look very much like:

I got my 4" from the local MAC tool dealer on wheels, then modified the spinner to let it open out to 9/16". Default was ~13.5mm. It's a damned handy tool, and is kept in my EDC pouch (in the truck.)

I also cut a 12" crescent down to about 2.5" and it helps with tough threads on larger nuts/bolts which don't demand a full wrench for torque. It was used on wheel bearing nuts back in the day, too.

This just in: A Nesting Falcon. Awesome photo:

I'd love to see what would spin out first in that photo was real life.

I need to call them to see if the little ones are still domestic. I did get a 6 inch on with the padded grips that seems ok. The first one was complete defective and went back to amazon.

I have a pair of SnapOn 5" channel locks, too. Wonderful.

I've got a couple 4" adjustable wrenches as key fobs. It used to be a major affectation for me when I was younger, but now they are just there. My tractor key, and the spare key for my son's car still have them. After reading your post I decided to look and see. One is a Master Mechanic wrench stamped USA. It reminded me that back in the around '80 when my dad opened his hardware store Master Mechanic tools (a TrueValue brand) were still made in the USA. The other was an S-K wrench. It is also stamped USA. I know S-K basically went out of business and then was recreated, but they might be worth a look.

SK is owned by Ideal now, but they claim this on their website:

"BRINGING IT HOME Today, SK continues to manufacture each of our nearly 3000 products in the United States, with forging facilities in Colorado Springs and a brand new manufacturing and distribution center in Sycamore, IL. And as we've grown, so has our commitment to providing quality, American-made innovation to the toughest tradesmen in the world."

I found a old Williams on ebay, should arrive today. The normal current normal sized wrenches from Western Forge (they're don't seem to sell stuff as themselves, but make tools for everybody else) are nicely made, but I don't see any with a a really nice dull chrome plating these days.

By far the nicest adjustable wrench I have is a 10" Armstrong of unknown age. Perfect fit, perfect finish, perfect balance. It doesn't seem to rust, the nut never binds or feels funny, and it never opens or closes on its own.

The colorado operation was a company called Western Forge. Any craftsman screwdrivers stamped WF are from them, the rest stamped PR are from Pratt-Reed, who Ideal also bought up.

So that's that- pretty much any "normal" type of screwdriver made in the USA is now from Ideal. I never could figure out who makes the drivers for Klein/Vaco. My other favorite were anything from Xcelite, now cooper tools.

I have a 12" Companion and it's nothing to brag about.

Have you seen my black slipjoint (channellock) pliers? I saw them at Searz back in the late 70s (while returning tools thrice a week) and nabbed them. They're great. They have a 5+" opening with a 4+" depth, and at 21" long, they have a good grip. I used them once to press a small u-joint together.

I've got some companion stuff for holding parts into a fire, and pulling junk out of drains. I think it's a sears brand without the lifetime warranty.

My only pair of authentic Channellock pliers (#484 I think) are 4.625" long, have a capacity of 1/2", and depth of 3/8". Of course I have several pairs of larger, knock off, slip joint pliers which I use regularly, but the little Chanellocks reside on my desk and heaven help any son who tries to borrow them. I also have a knock off Crescent wrench, 2 11/16" long, 3/8" capacity; and a "Monkey wrench" 1 5/8" long, capacity 3/16". Both of these are key chain tools that I inherited from a former landlady from whom I rented her sewing room plus single bed for ~12 years while I worked out of regional office. The guys in the office maintaned that I managed to stay in "travel status" for the entire time - there were times I didn't sleep in my rented room for six months.

Channellock has some real cute "ignition pliers", for playing with spark plugs or something like that. They have the real slip joint and all.

I kind of want those Knipex ones now too. I have the little vise-grips.

I must admit, if there's pliers in the back pocket, it's a pair of Knipex pump pliers with the pushbotton size adjustment. They fit in tigher places than the channellocks ever could.

Were they -usable-key chain tools? 99.9999% aren't. Or are tough enough to use only on large jobs, like changing eyeglass nosepieces. Speaking of which, I broke one of my nose pads and bought a replacement pair at Wally World for $2.99. I then came home and installed them, and ordered 50 more pair from China for $0.99, including shipping. Wally used to install them free after giving them to you, but that has stopped.

Heck of a way to make a living. Condolences. Flying around/screwing with your Circadian rhythm/living out of a suitcase can be hard. I tried it once and didn't like it.

Basically that was how I spent my working life, on several occasions I did manage to take the family along for the summer; my expense account covered campground fees, meals at the job, beer in the fridge plus about $50/week spending money for SWMBO. For this, I was on the job by

5 AM and one day I got back to the campground just before midnight, plus everyone knew how to find me, if neccessary, at 0300 sunday morning. I still hate eating in resaurants, I often threaten to walk into one and order a plate of fried sawdust. Retieing at 55yrs old with

Egad, you made the best out of the worst of all worlds. Congrats. Enjoy your retirement, Gerry. You've definitely earned it.

Don't worry, the waitresses will know which dishes taste like that and they'll serve 'em up right quick.

ABSOLUTELY!

I think flax seed dishes are about the next best thing.