Underlined Craftsman Compressor

[johnsironsanctuary]

Because of all of the furor over old air compressor tanks, I bought one this morning that does not have a tank. I looked through all of the Craftsman Power Tool cats that I have and can't find it. Sears used to have things in the store that were not in the catalog and vice versa. Any help dating this would be appreciated.   The vendor number is 149. The part number is
283 1850. It is in very good shape, runs smoothly and has a Packard Electric motor that appears, at least from the paint color, to be original. At last, I have air in the basement shop for blow off.

[Nolatoolguy]

I dont know much about it but I have one very similar.

Like you said its great for blowing off the work bench.

[johnsironsanctuary]

I got to looking closer at it today. I don't think it was ever used.  There was no sign that anyone had ever filled the crankcase with oil. It shows a little age from sitting in a garage, but that is all. Both the crankcase breather and the air inlet filter are not dirty and the paint is nearly flawless. I am still hoping that someone can date it.

[rusty]

I love streamlined tools, very kewl :)

no clue on date, wild guess from style 50's-60'??

>The vendor number is 149
Which is AMCo/AM&T/  American Machine & Tool Co, Royersford, PA
But that doesn't help dating it much, anywhere between 1928-2002

The packard electric motor doesn't help either, 1902-LastWeek
(In case you were wondering, it was the same Packard that made cars, the company split off  an electric motor company in 1902..)

[JessEm]

johnsironsanctuary, I really like that compressor. I have a little, vintage power tool collection going and I'm thinking it would fit right in. I need to be selective about what I acquire because of space constraints, but if I ever run across one, I would have a difficult time passing on it.  I'm curious, what HP is the motor?

[johnsironsanctuary]

Thanks, but LOL finding one like it.  I can't find it in any of the power tool pdf's and no one here has ever seen one like it.. The motor is 1/3 HP.

[JessEm]

So it's a smaller guy, cool!

[johnsironsanctuary]

Happy hunting Jess.  Understand that it only woofs out about 40 or 50 psi.

[JessEm]

Happy hunting Jess.  Understand that it only woofs out about 40 or 50 psi.

Thanks! .. Now this is REALLY going to show my ignorance but... Does "underlined" mean the "C" underlines the rest of "aftsman"? What is the significance of it? Thanks...

[Neals]

Differences in the markings date it to within certain years. Someone else can explain better as I am not very craftsman literate.

[johnsironsanctuary]

Jess,
Don't feel like you are the only one that doesn't know what the underlined Craftsman logo means.  Up until I signed on here last year, I didn't know either.  In the early 30's, Craftsman used the underlined logo like the one on the compressor and it was still used in the late 40's. They phased it out as inventory was used up and tooling wore out. By about 1951, it was gone. The reason I got such a kick finding it is that I have put together a modest collection of underlined hand tools over the past year.  Happy hunting! There are many other brands of little paint sprayer compressors. Speedaire, Thomas, Binks and DeVilbiss to name a few.

[JessEm]

Thanks, johns. Learning things like that is one of the reasons I enjoy this site!

Now here's the irony of it. I moved a bookcase to my wife's co-workers house for her yesterday, only to find out that she was selling some tools from a machinist relative who had passed. I bought a couple things, including this box. I was really stoked as soon as I spotted it because it compliments my old C-man drill press.

[johnsironsanctuary]

Nice piece Jess.  If you are interested,there are quite a few of the old Craftsman catalogs available for download at Rose tools. If you search the catalog forum here you will find a few more. If you REALLY want a complete reference of Craftsman, the is a set on dvd, but at $99, I haven't pulled the trigger yet.

This is the complete catalog on dvd.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110872250753?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Here is Rose Tools
http://www.roseantiquetools.com/id116.html

[JessEm]

Thanks again for the info! $99 IS steep, at least for what I need it for. That's almost half of the PC Power Planer I want on eBay right now (but will never buy at the sellers asking price). :)