View Single Post
  #12  
Old 22-07-22, 02:43
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Posts: 3,384
Default BOXES, Tool, No. 1 WS Cdn No. 52 ZA/CAN 4727

Last weekend, Debbie wanted to visit a local Thrift Shop to look for some items to do a craft project with, so I tagged along, initially to soak up the air-conditioning, rather than sit in the car waiting.

While she grabbed a cart and went foraging, I decided to explore the electronics section where most of the electrical stuff hides. I have actually lost track of the number of wartime wireless equipment bits that have turned up in these shops over the years. I was also hoping to find an old lamp or electrical appliance with a vintage 2-prong cord I could use to replace one on a piece of test gear, as the original is starting to show signed of the rubber crystallizing.

No such luck for either items this time around, but as I was passing a shelf full of old tools, a couple of hammers caught my eye. I needed to find the right size and style of ball pane hammer for the 52-Set tool kit. Bull Dog Tools, a British company that still makes garden tools, made the wartime originals. One hammer was clearly far too large and the wrong shaped head. The second, smaller one looked very close to what was needed and although the head was covered in surface rust, the hickory handle was in excellent shape, so for $3.99, I tracked Debbie down in the shop and added it to her pile of treasures.

It took about an hour to clean nearly all of the rust off the head, oil and rub it down, and clean the handle. The trace of the name on the handle appears to be ‘Benchmate’ or ‘Benchmark’, either of which start with the correct letter, so I was quite pleased with the find overall.

Once cleaned, the next step, of course, was to see how well the hammer fits the toolbox. The hammer can really only fit in the tool box with the head to the right side and the handle resting on top of the wooden partition to the left, and when you look at the spacing around the two metal support brackets fitted on the right side, the head of the hammer best fits with the pane end towards the front of the box. The leaves a nice long area across the front of the box to store the three screw drivers and if you want to avoid accidentally discharging your flashlight by resting it switch side down. It best fits switch up and lens to the partition.

With the hammer in this position, notice how the handle, resting on the partition, keeps the handle of the soldering iron in place and how it would also help keep the hydrometer box in place when it is resting on its larger metal bracket and the partition.

I have not yet figured out how the rest of the tools were packed in the toolbox at the factory, but the various pliers likely went in the middle of the floor of the box, between the screwdrivers and flashlight.

It’s a pity that packing instructions for so much of the wartime wireless instructions have not yet turned up. Apart from the ones for the three wooden boxes/cases for the 52-Set, I would love to find the instructions for packing the small Spare Parts Box for the Wireless Set No. 19 at the factory.

David
Attached Thumbnails
HAMMERS, Engineers, Ballpane, 1-lb. 8-oz. 1.jpg   HAMMERS, Engineers, Ballpane, 1-lb. 8-oz. 2.JPG   WS No. 52 Cdn, Box, Tools AM.JPG  
Reply With Quote