Came home today with some nice stuff:  four big Plomb Pebble box end wrenches, two older Plomb single head tappet wrenches--and one Proto LA , a little Plomb Pebble open end, a Proto brass hammer No. 1430, and a nice little Proto 1/4 drive ratchet.  Is $10 too much for that haul?  http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/Smileys/popos/grin.gif

But what I want to ask about is the numbering system on the Plomb Pebble box ends.  Here is what I got:

1137 Made in U.S.A  11/16 by 25/32
1141 Made in U.S.A  7/8 by 1 1/16
1140 MFD U.S.A.  13/16 by 7/8
1145 MFD U.S.A.   15/16 by 1

I know there is a tangle of sizes within and between the Made's and the MFD's, and AA does not try to sort it all out.  For example, I see that two of the MFD,s have one end with a 7/8 opening: No. 1136 and 1140.  Both the 1131 and the 1135 have a 3/4 opening and both the 1141 and 1147 have a 1 1/16 opening.

I am sure that some of you fellows collect the Pebbles and have noticed this; have any of you figured it out?

Quote from: Northwoods on August 04, 2016, 10:22:30 PM
Came home today with some nice stuff:  four big Plomb Pebble box end wrenches, two older Plomb single head tappet wrenches--and one Proto LA , a little Plomb Pebble open end, a Proto brass hammer No. 1430, and a nice little Proto 1/4 drive ratchet.  Is $10 too much for that haul?  http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/Smileys/popos/grin.gif

But what I want to ask about is the numbering system on the Plomb Pebble box ends.  Here is what I got:

1137 Made in U.S.A  11/16 by 25/32
1141 Made in U.S.A  7/8 by 1 1/16
1140 MFD U.S.A.  13/16 by 7/8
1145 MFD U.S.A.   15/16 by 1

I know there is a tangle of sizes within and between the Made's and the MFD's, and AA does not try to sort it all out.  For example, I see that two of the MFD,s have one end with a 7/8 opening: No. 1136 and 1140.  Both the 1131 and the 1135 have a 3/4 opening and both the 1141 and 1147 have a 1 1/16 opening.

I am sure that some of you fellows collect the Pebbles and have noticed this; have any of you figured it out?

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to figure out?  Plomb changed the "Made in U. S. A." to "MFD. U.S.A" in late '46 or early '47.  The sizes / types of tools has no bearing.

I think he is asking about the 4 digit numbering system.
A lot of other companies used a 4 digit number based on the size of the wrench in 16th's, as in a 1214 SK DBE would be a 3/4 x 7/8 (12/16 x 14/16).
There seems to be a different pattern to the Plomb numbering scheme.

Thanks for the info.  I had never read about the difference between the Made's and the MFD's being date based.

But, still, why would both MFD's numbered 1136 and 1140, for example, have one end sized at 7/8"?  Does that suggest that two different sets were offered, and the two wrenches belong to different sets? 

And what is the mystery of their numbering system?  Is it simply arbitrary, based generally on size, or is there a more specific system?  For example, is there a way to look at the size of a wrench's openings and calculate what its model number will be?

Maybe it is so simple that I am overlooking something.

Quote from: Northwoods on August 05, 2016, 08:53:46 AM
Thanks for the info.  I had never read about the difference between the Made's and the MFD's being date based.

But, still, why would both MFD's numbered 1136 and 1140, for example, have one end sized at 7/8"?  Does that suggest that two different sets were offered, and the two wrenches belong to different sets? 

And what is the mystery of their numbering system?  Is it simply arbitrary, based generally on size, or is there a more specific system?  For example, is there a way to look at the size of a wrench's openings and calculate what its model number will be?

Maybe it is so simple that I am overlooking something.

I'd suggest taking a look at the catalogs.  Particularly 1948 as it should have a complete list of their DOEs and model numbers.  I have up to '49 on my site, but 39-49 are hosted on mediafire, which I can't get to from work or I'd snap a screenshot of the page for you.  Those were posted to mediafire by someone else and I simply linked to them, I just haven't gotten around to scanning and hosting mine yet.

The best I can do is the 11xx series = double box. The second 2 numbers are just assigned?
12xx are combo wrenches and the second 2 numbers are the size in 32nds.


In everything I've found the first 2 numbers = the wrench type, box, doe, combo, spud etc,