Quote from: lbgradwell on July 12, 2012, 02:27:42 PM

Quote from: HeelSpur on July 12, 2012, 02:20:46 PM
Heres a set that I have, I believe its from the 60's and not sure if its complete.

Are there any clues on the labels on the box that might confirm Reed as the manufacturer?

Nothing that says Reed anywhere on it. It has a # 9- 5390 and a price $31.99 on it.
Sears and Roebuck & Co. and Craftsman are all I see.

Man, your sets are in much better c0ndition than  mine.  I have yet to crack it open and see if the ratchet head will even spin.....

DM&FS

Quote from: dimwittedmoose51 on September 03, 2012, 05:14:29 PM
I have yet to crack it open and see if the ratchet head will even spin.....

Oh, it will. And if it doesn't, it will soon!

I can't imagine what would need to happen to make that ratchet stop working; it's a very simple machine and must be near bulletproof...

Wow, where are all you guys getting these?
I have 2 sets of square dies, one are solid dies and the other has removeable insert cutters.
But until now I never saw a ratcheting solid square die holder in my life!
Cool, very cool.
Both of mine have easily removeable handles so you have to keep screwing the handles on and off to keep going in a tight place.

  One of my square die sets is old, with a large cast iron frame stock and a thick brass swinging "trap door" to hold the dies in the frame.

  Square dies are a total pain to resharpen. Nearly impossible.
This is why insert cutters gained favor, even if they are more prone to chipping.
  yours Scott

Quote from: scottg on September 04, 2012, 01:33:34 PM
Wow, where are all you guys getting these?

My late grandfather's tool

$5 yard sale item at a farm house outside of Hudson Iowa.  BTW, my ratchet says Reese on it, but have yet to clean adequately to see if it also says Craftsman.  The gray tool tray certainly has remnants of an old vintage Craftsman logo on each side.

HTH

DM&FS

Well, I did get around to cleaning off the dies and inserts and wouldn't yo know, the ratchet is a Reed and so are like two of the dies.  The other 3 dies have that really old Craftsman(BE socket timeframe and font) logo on them, so I wonder if this is a bastard set, or whether that's the way they did things back when metal was scarce during the war?  I guess some of the thin ones could have broken and the replacements said Reed on them, but who knows.  The rat spins nicely, but is a bear to clean, so,  I may leave that for retirement.

DM&FS