Reunited With Old Tools

[Swanicyouth]

I've been working on this one for a week or so. It's a Mac 76 piece tap & die set I bought from the Mac truck in the early 1990s. I think I payed around $300 for it - which was lot of money for a tool for me back then. I'm realizing I bought a lot of Mac tools compared to other brands. Why? Because I remember the Snap-On guy was an a-hole.

Boy, did I mess this restoration up. First, this thing was filthy and the taps/dies were covered with corrosion. This is the case after the first quick round of cleaning with brake clean; and the inside before I touched it.

Looks like some fungus might have been growing here:

So, I decided to strip these down to bare metal using chemicals (naval jelly) and a wire wheel. Took a lot of work. 3 taps were missing from the get go; but - all the dies were there.

STUPIDLY, I thought the numbers (sizes) on the taps & dies would survive the naval jelly. They didn't. The sizes were "laser etched" - not engraved. So, what I ended up with was a bunch of clean taps and dies - with no sizes on them. Taps and dies are useless unless you know the correct size.

This was a nightmare. Some were metric and some SAE. I mixed them all together. I knew 3 taps were missing. It took a while, but I was able to figure out the tap sizes with a micrometer and a pitch gauge. The dies - not so easy.

So, I found this layout of the set online:

And, proceeded to order all the available bolts (1 of each) to figure out the die sizes. However, some metric sized bolts I couldn't even find made - like 9mm-1.25 / 9mm-1. So, some process of elimination was involved. Luckily the bolts came marked for size:

Of course, in the process - somehow I mixed one up. Back to measuring ALL the bolts:

Here are the dies after they were stripped to bare metal:

Finally, I think I have almost all of them sorted. Only thing I'm not 100% sure of is 2 pipe thread taps. One is BSP (British) and one is NPT (American). A trip to Lowe's plumbing aisle with both taps should sort out which is the NPT pipe tape

Since the sizes were worn off everything, I labeled all the taps with a P-Touch. The 3 missing taps I replaced with Hanson taps - since their sizes are engraved - not etched.

Here is everything after lots of cleaning, stripping, scrubbing the case with solvent, and cleaning and re-glueing the stickers.

Because of all my screw ups, and not really knowing the best way to do this - I probably have 6 hours + work or so into this thing. I probably spent about $50 for the missing taps, the bolts to identify the dies, a can of spray glue for the labels, and a few cans of Brake Kleen. Cleaning the plastic was not easy, as grease had soaked into it. It took scrubbing with a metal brush and Brake Clean to get it all grease free.

All I have left to do is make labels for the dies (wrote sizes with a Sharpie) and figure out where I can get a big piece of foam that sat on top of everything to hold it stable when the case is closed.

Anyone got any holes with messed up threads?????

Anyone know where I can get clips for a blow molded case? I can't seem to find any online. The originals are broken.

 

[Swanicyouth]

Also got around to rescuing this one. This is a Mac Multi-Spline Extractor set to remove snapped bolts. Sadly, original label was gone - so I made a new one. We used to just call these Eazy Outs. This one wasn't greased up too bad...

But, two of the extractors were broken. Looks like I got a torch involved in breaking one.

The Mac site is terrible with an iPad - and I was too lazy to use my computer to order replacements. So, I decided to just replace them with Snap-On parts. But, one size was back ordered. So, I ended up going with Hanson for one. I think Hanson makes all of these for Mac, Snap-On, Matco, etc...

All done:

 

[Billy Jack]

I had some free time on Sunday, so I dug a few pieces out for some pics. This will be "Tune-Up week"

First up is a 50's era Snap-On toolbox.

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In the days before electronic ignitions, tuneups were a 10,000 to 12,000 mile regular maintenance item. Usual process was to replace the spark plugs, distributor points & condenser as well as the fuel and air filters. Inspect the distributor cap, rotor and plug wires, then adjust the timing and carb idle settings.
Since we didn't have a garage at home, my dad would often do tuneups at night in the customer's driveway or garage. He called this his "Ignition Box". It held all his 1/4" drive stuff, small wrenches, plus other necessary stuff such as feeler gauges, spark plug thread chaser tap etc. As a small child, I carried that box many a night while he carried a larger tool tote with the timing light, tach-dwell meter and other larger tools. When he passed away, I couldn't bear to see it go, so I distributed the tools to other family members and loaded it up with my own stuff. It's a bit crowded now with the addition of all the metric stuff, torx and inverted torx sockets etc.
I'll never restore it, but I think a good cleanup is in order. Maybe a bit of polishing with DG501 will get rid of some of the grease and add some protection for the worn areas without losing any of the character.

Bill

 

[Accumulator]

Swanicyouth- Yikes, that sure turned into a bit of a project! How you gonna protect them from future corrosion now?

Billy Jack- That's really cool that you're still using the "ignition box" and want to keep it, uhm...properly patinated instead of cleaning it up too much.

 

[TroyScherer]

This is cool. I love seeing all the old tools.

 

[Swanicyouth]

Swanicyouth- Yikes, that sure turned into a bit of a project! How you gonna protect them from future corrosion now?

Billy Jack- That's really cool that you're still using the "ignition box" and want to keep it, uhm...properly patinated instead of cleaning it up too much.

Great tools and story Billy. Love it.

I'm prolly going to rub them down with a bit of oil. Nothing but Castrol's finest - 10W60. But, I have to label the dies before I get them all oilly. Good thing is, the P-Touch labels stick really well.

Wait to you see the dinosaur tool I got coming soon....

 

[Billy Jack]

More tuneup stuff.............

To adjust the gap on a new set of points, you needed to get the rubbing block of the points on one of the high points of the distributor cam. Rather than running back and forth to the ignition switch, hooking up a remote switch such as this one directly to the starter made it a lot easier:

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Once you were up and running, next operation was to set the timing by rotating the distributor. The hold down bolt for the distributor was buried underneath the distributor, so a few unique wrenches made life easier on V6's or V8's . These three covered about any situation:

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Of course, carburetor adjustments were always involved also:

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The long but thin Craftsman screwdriver worked fine for most of the older cars, but by the mid 70's the carmakers were trying to make the idle mixture screws difficult to adjust (since they had them set extra-lean for reduced emissions), to the point of using odd-shaped screw heads and burying the screws in recesses, so it took a few different tool combinations to do a proper idle mixture adjustment.

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The wrench at bottom is the MAC S-141 1" open end, designed specifically for the fuel filter nut on GM carbs.


In the 70's and 80's, lean fuel mixtures made choke adjustment more critical, so you needed an assortment of tools for those ops also:

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The early 70's Stant unit on the left could open a vacuum break with one pull, but took two hands to operate, so by the 80's I had the plier-type Snap-On tool so I still kept a free hand available for adjustment.

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A few others: From top left 1) A choke angle gauge. Some mfr's had specs for vacuum break settings in degrees, so you had to stick the magnet on the choke blade, level the protractor, and adjust the opening to spec. 2) universal bending tool for adjustments requiring bending of links or tabs. 3) Clip puller. At the end of the long tube was a spring-loaded hook to pull and capture the miniature hairpin or e-clips that secured linkages. 4) Universal line plug kit, a necessity for running an engine with vacuum operated controls or devices disconnected.

So much for tuneups. Having a bunch of friends with classic cars and trucks and my own old Camino, this stuff still gets used occasionally. More to come later.

Bill

 

[Accumulator]

Billy Jack- Gee, I haven't seen some of those since I was a kid!

 

[Swanicyouth]

I remember a lot of those tools as well...I have the 1980s/90s versions. I have the carb adjustment tool where you turn the little nob on the end to turn the mixture adjustment screws. I also remember they started putting little plugs over those screws at one point so you couldn't adjust the mixture - you had to drill them out.

Then the starter solenoid bypass tool sure came in handy on Fords where the solenoid was on the firewall. But, a lot of times we just would use a screw driver. I have the plastic Craftsman version of that tool.

I also have a bunch of Mac air tools that have been sitting untouched for many years...Wonder if they are worth rebuilding??? I'll post pics when I get them degreased.

I also remember grinding down a 9/32" deep 1/4" socket to remove the GM HEI modules that often failed. If I recall, it was the only way to remove them before the special tool came out.

Then there was the Ford radio tools. Still got them.

 

[Billy Jack]

Billy Jack- Gee, I haven't seen some of those since I was a kid!

Heck, I've been using some of them since I was a kid; And I've hit the big six-oh mark!

Made in USA, costs a bunch, but lasts forever.........

Bill

 

[Accumulator]

Billy Jack- Heh heh, wonder if the young-uns ever even *see* such stuff! (OK, you do have a few years on me, but here at Autopia I often feel like an oldster!).

Swanicyouth- I'd consider rebuilding those Mac airtools just for the old school-cool factor; I'd rather use those than something newer as long as they function OK.

 

[Billy Jack]

Earlier in the thread there was a post or two about S-K tools. When I started buying tools in college I bought S-K stuff at the local hardware store, a few pieces at a time as funds allowed. Both my Dad and I liked the knurled handles on their ratchets and they were some well-made pieces.
Look at the two 3/8 drive ratchets in the picture. They're actually the same length; It's just the camera angle that makes one look shorter. One was originally my dads from the mid to late 50's and one was my original early 70's one. Both are still in use, but the older, slimmer one weighs in at 2 ounces less, 9.8 oz. vs 11.8 oz. It may seem trivial, but when you're swinging it all day, 2 ounces feels like a big difference.

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Back in the mid 90's I bought a box of old tools from an elderly retired aircraft mechanic. These are Snap-Ons from the 30's to 40's era. Both still function, but since they're shorter and the tooth count is much lower than later stuff, I never use them.

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Bill

 

[Accumulator]

Those earlier Snap-Ons remind me of my oldest 1/2" ratchet, it's the same general shape. I'm guessing that changed in maybe the '50s...

 

[Billy Jack]

Those were later variations of the original Snap On ratchet. Some of the earlier 30's models were stamped "patent applied for", but I believe that same style was manufactured into the 60's. Someday, when I'm old and retired, I'll start looking up the date codes on some of this stuff.

Bill

 

[Swanicyouth]

Awesom pics.... And tools.

Snap On date codes:

 

[Billy Jack]

Thanks for the code list!
It'll be too cold in the garage right now, but maybe by the weekend I'll be able to check a few of the older pieces I have.

Bill

 

[Accumulator]

Thanks for the code list!
It'll be too cold in the garage right now, but maybe by the weekend I'll be able to check a few of the older pieces I have.

Bill

Yeah, I want to see if I can find a code on the old 1/4" ratchet I have, gift from an elderly widow who liked that I'd put it to use the way her late husband did. That beat-up old thing still works better than any of my more modern ones.

 

[Billy Jack]

Did some looking up Snap On date codes tonight from Swanic's chart:

Oldest one I found was in a bunch of tools I bought from a retired mechanic, a 10" long 1/2" drive extension with a free-rotating hand grip--1929

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These are a few of the wrenches I kept of my Dad's- all from '53-'58

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At top, my Dad's favorite slip-joint pliers. 9" long, with "vacuum grip" handles, that were supposed to keep your hands from slipping. Almost every time I saw him work on a car, these were close by. Personally, I preferred my 70's Channellocks (lower pair), but when I split up his tool collection after his passing, I couldn't bear to let them go to anyone else.

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As I posted before, My Dad liked the knurled handles on ratchets. He had a similar 1/2" breaker bar in his box. Unique design, it was drilled in the handle for a T-bar and was also broached in the handle end to be used as a flexible extension. It bailed me out one time, when changing a pinion seal on a 70's 'Vette. I didn't have enough 1/2" extensions to go the length of the driveshaft tunnel when it was time to torque the pinion nut. The extra 18", combined with a few other extensions, gave me the length I needed for a straight shot to the torque wrench. After his passing, I had given his away to one of his grandsons. Later, I searched E-Bay and bought this one, date-coded 1959.

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This one's another knurled handle 1/4" breaker bar-1959, along with a ratchet adapter you could use with either the breaker bar or a spinner handle-1955.

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Thanks for looking. It's fun taking a trip down memory lane. I use most of this stuff on a regular basis, as everything's still very functional, but posting pics and writing text brings back memories from long ago, when the old man tried to teach me everything he knew about turning wrenches. Almost gets me choked up.

Bill

 

[Swanicyouth]

Thanks Bill for sharing that. Great stuff

 

[Billy Jack]

In the early 60's, I started messing around with HO trains and a new hobby of that era, model slot cars. I needed a soldering iron, as I was using the iron from a Woodburning Kit (remember those?) and it burned out on me. Saving my hard-earned odd-job cash, I bought this:

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IIRC, It cost $10-$12 at the time, which was probably more than a month's pay.

They still sell the same tool today, about $60 now, but the old guy still melts solder just fine, 50 years later.

Bill