Tool collectors

[john.k]

Healings was a giant,who fell to earth .....I went to the auction of the CIPE bathtub factory in Brisbane in the mid 70s.....500 ton presses ,enammeling ovens,ten acres of stuff ..............still have a workbench and 6" Dawn vice I got there ........vices were unused ,for some reason.............Anyhoo,the first bit of Sidchrome came in the post today ,some combi spanners .........unfortunately the seller didnt disclose one had a ground ring...........everything you get online now is some kind of fail.

[R]

That would/should be grounds for a return or partial refund ?

Seller noted that the chaincases he was sending me had a crack, and included a $50 refund - unasked.
Top marks to that man ....

Interesting about AG Healing.
There were a heck of a lot of aussie tool manufacturers in the past, when you tot them all up.

[Rex]

Pre-war BSA (for instance) was part of a huge industrial conglomerate, and when odd-sized hexagon nuts turned up on BSA bikes it was because someone somewhere had ordered too much of a certain hex bar, and the accountants then wanted to make sure it was used.
People were more clever in those days; they just gone on with any repairs and didn't take to social media to complain that it took more than three spanners to work on their bikes. 

[iansoady]

I'm not sure why combination spanners are denigrated. I find them useful in the workshop as the flat ring end gets where the usual cranked ring spanner won't. For example, the cylinder base nuts (pre-UNF) on small Triumph twins are tricky beasts. I just ground a small amount off the outside of the ring end of a combi and it worked perfectly.

[Rex]

As with most things, there are times when some designs are an advantage, but as said, with this type of spanner you need two sets or one set and a socket set to undo nuts and bolts.
I used (and still have) a ground down O/E spanner for those tricky nuts, although didn't they change to bi-hex nuts in later years?

[iansoady]

Yes, that's why I mentioned pre-UNF.....

[Rex]

I wasn't contradicting you, just mentioning that in later years Meriden found a solution to that particular problem

[john.k]

The other thing I wasnt too happy about was the loose bihex broaching in the rings .........small Sidchrome rings always had the problem of iffy manufacture ,..Ive got some Stahlwille combis to compare ...and there aint no comparison ...............However ,back in the day ,Stahlwille was about 10x  more expensive than Sidchrome.

[john.k]

OK ....called a halt to the spanners ......odds and ends for insane prices .....no way ..........Nice little collection IMHO ,   5 DE rings ,4 combis ,set of 8 sockets ......just on $100.............and a small  Sidchrome toolbox tomorrow for maybe $20 ,or less.

[R]

You really have caught the bug ?

Have you noticed that quality tools start with S ?
Stahlwille, Snapon, Superslim, Samtag, Sidchrome (maybe) etc etc.

I bought this little set for a military bike, quite inexpensive (or were).
Finding/assembling an authentic set is near impossible these days ?
With a coat of army green, they look the part.
The toolroll they are in is a bit useless, all the heads can bash about ...

https://www.trojanclassics.com/assets/full/TLS0037.jpg

[john.k]

Lotta years ago,I worked with a pommy who had a Norton Atlas............he borrowed one of my Sidchrome spanners to tighten up something and it broke straight off ...and he was cursing the 'too long spanners " that were made here for the sole purpose of breaking bits off British bikes.

[john.k]

Hard to imagine that 1970 was more than 50 years ago.

[R]

Torque wrenches were invented for a reason.

[Rex]

Yep, to get precise and universal settings on production lines etc rather to stop "pommies" breaking bits off Nortons and blaming the spanners.

[iansoady]

Funny that the people who built bikes at Bracebridge Street etc managed not to break things despite not having torque wrenches. I have one but very rarely use it as I think my "mechanic's feel" is good enough. And the only fixings I've ever broken have been ones irretrievably rusted in place.