Sears/Craftsman Whitworth Tool Set

[amecks]

Honestly I have tried and cannot remember how I got the first Superslims.  I think I found a few at flea markets.  At some point I began collecting the missing wrenches from eBay.  Some probably from USA and maybe some from Britain.  Not all shipping from Britain is expensive although the affordable charges seem harder to find.  I suspect many Brits do not understand their mail system regarding international shipments.  I have purchased products from Britain for considerably less than the same from USA!  I buy Royal Enfield parts from Hitchcocks and the shipping is no more than buying from USA vendors (but Hitchcock's has many items that cannot be found on this side of the pond). 

[Danks]

Here are a few more orphans from, T Williams - Superslim - England.
Cheers

[amecks]

The top Whitworth wrench is marked only in W for Whitworth while most T Williams' are marked in W and BSF.  Also that wrench is marked British Made instead of Made In England.  The other wrench is larger than any other Superslim I've seen - the 1-1/8W wrench opening is 1.88" or more than 1-3/4 wide.  Is that correct, Danks?  That's a big wrench.
I've often been tempted to try and collect a set of AF or Metric Superslims - but have resisted - so far.
Thanks for posting, great photos.
Al

[Danks]

Hi Al, that is correct, see attached photographs of each end of wrench.
Cheers

[Jim C.]

......I've often been tempted to try and collect a set of AF or Metric Superslims - but have resisted - so far......
Al

Why resist?

[Jim C.]

........Very simple cars compared to today. My Riding lawn mower is more complicated to work on....

Okay, so that's good to know.  I guess I'll come clean.  In my original post, I ended by saying that I needed to find an old MG, so I could use my little collection of Whitworth tools.  Well, I do have my eye on a "survivor" 100% original, unrestored, unmolested, still running, 1955 MG.  The car belongs to my uncle.  He bought it in 1959 from his college roommate, who bought it new in 1955.  I've talked to him about selling me that car FOR DECADES!  Now in his early eighties, I think he's getting close to parting with it.  My aunt keeps telling him to sell it.  He keeps telling me I'll have the first shot at it.  We shall see! 

Jim C.

  I bought it!!! 

Jim C.

[p_toad]

Nice.   Hope the undercarriage looks as good as the shiney side.   

[Chillylulu]

Your patience paid off!

Congratulations!

Chilly

[d42jeep]

I always wanted a TF ever since I drove a friend's at 15 yrs old. Congratulations.
-Don

[lptools]

Nice ride!!! Congratulations!!!

[Jim C.]

Thanks all for the well wishes!  I've been thinking about that car for a LONG time!  My earliest memories of it are from about 52 years ago.  I'm excited to finally have it.  It needs some mechanical attention but I expected that.  I'll keep you posted.

Jim C. 

[Bill Houghton]

Coming to this conversation late, with a couple of random comments:

I've never set out to find Whitworth wrenches, but have stumbled over a few now and again, and I've noticed that I've seen double-open-end wrenches (or, to be linguistically correct, spanners) in Whitworth far more often than either box end (ring spanner) or combination wrenches.  I have no idea why; perhaps it was all part of the British maintenance plan: best to round off the nuts right away to simplify future maintenance, something far more easily done with an open end wrench.

I am also entertained that the catalog page Jim posted way back up there in his initial post has a drawing of a VW bug right above the listings of Whitworth tools.  VWs bugs have their eccentricities, but Whitworth fasteners are not among them.

[Jim C.]

Hi Bill,

In an effort to clearly show the tools included in the Craftsman Whitworth set, I sort of zoomed in on it, resulting in a view of just a portion on the entire catalog page.  Back in 1960, Craftsman could advertise all of its Whitworth AND metric tools on just two thirds of a page.  Those were their very first offerings.  The Whitworth tools were gone from the catalog by 1962, and the metric selections only expanded.  Anyway, if you take a look at the full page from the 1960 catalog, notice the upper left hand corner.  I think that little car represents the British car/Whitworth market Sears was aiming for.

As for the wrenches, I have been on the lookout for Whitworth tools for a few years now, in anticipation of buying the MG.  I completely agree your observation.  I seem to come across DOE wrenches more often than DBE or combos.  I don't know why that is, but I do see a lot of DOE Whitworth wrenches.

Jim C.

[Bill Houghton]

It's possible that the frequency with which you and I have encountered DOE wrenches over DBE or combo wrenches is just part of British Tradition, although I find it hard to believe that a mechanic would allow that to get in the way of the superiority of box end/ring spanner wrenches for many applications.

It's also possible that they're just easier to forge than box-end patterns and that the market for Whitworth wrenches is limited enough that it won't support a full line of wrenches.

[Jim C.]

Bill,

I can always count on you for a perspective I hadn't considered.  I did think about the manufacturing process between the two styles of wrenches, but "British tradition" never crossed my mind.  Could it even be possible that was a factor in the production of DOE versus DBE wrenches?

Jim C.