Question about old impact sockets

[odelay01]

Hi everyone, I am a long time lurker but first time poster. I use Snap on tools in my daily job and try to pick up any Snap on tools when I come across them. I recently purchased a set of Snap on impact sockets that I thought were 3/4 inch drive, but turned out to be 5/8 drive. The problem is I don’t have any ratchets or adapters to be able to use these sockets. I was wondering if there are any collector’s or user’s markets for these sockets. The sockets are marked SP and SPHD and are from 1951 and 1952. I was able to find them in the 1950 catalog on page 36.

Here is a link to the photos of the sockets:

http://s1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj562/eddiejparker/

Thanks!

[Frank Murch]

First – I suspected you were –lurking- out there. Welcome into the sunlight!!!

5/8 drive was really replaced with the 3/4 drive. The 5/8 lived on in industrial applications as a cheaper alternative. It was a special cheaper set for industrial customers.

The problem IS finding ratchets or adapters. The older ratchets are out there, but they are from the 1920-WWII or they come from the industrial markets. Finding ratchets not from the 1920s and 1930s is going to be difficult. This makes them collector tools. Normally people, who use tools to make a living, will stick with the current standards (1/4, 3/8, ½, ¾, 1 and 1&1/2).

A set of industrial sockets (SP and SPHD) from 1951 and 1952 is probably worth about $100

[odelay01]

Thanks for the reply. When I bought these sockets I thought they were 3/4 inch drive, and since I found out they were 5/8 drive I have been looking around for 5/8 stuff because it is historically interesting. I did see where someone sold an adapter, but it was very rare and expensive. I think I will try to sell them to someone that would use and appreciate them more than I can. I also was pretty amazed that they are impact sockets, I didn't realize impact wrenches were in use back then.