These are the forerunners of the modern tool chests. These are the ultimate sets offered during their time. The 1923 Catalog A shows a cabinet featuring “the complete socket wrench equipment for automobile mechanics and also for Plant Engineers of industrial, hotel, office and public buildings.” Identifying these sets is straightforward. The tools are described in detail within the catalogs, but the cabinets are not. The cabinets fall into 4 basic versions. The following differences identify the version of each cabinet:
– Paint finish – the earlier sets are green enamel and the later are Black Lacquer
– Tool Mounts and Locations. The location and type of hangers, clips and tabs change in each version.
– Labeling and Brass Tags. These changed from Labeling to riveted Brass tags and back again
– Hinge, Handle and Hasp layout. The earliest set uses different hinges and hasps, the post 1932 sets use different handles
The first cabinet appeared in 1923 and this version is unique in the following ways:
Paint finish – This set uses a green enamel finish. It is used only on the first two sets. Green means “early” and must be one of the first two versions.
Tool Mounts and Locations – On the left side there are 2 pockets. This is the only version using two pockets, in these locations. This is a pre-ratchet set so no place exists for a ratchet. The handles lay in shelves sized for each. The right side has 6 places to hang handles and extensions vs. 7 for all the other boxes. There are 5, independent socket shelves.
Labeling – Snap-on labeled these sets with decals. None have brass tags. Brass tags do not appear until 1926 and are used through 1932.
The Super Service Sets label location changed over the production run. The outside of the cabinet has no known label. On the inside, labels appeared on the right or the left side of the cabinets.
There are two known examples for label location: right and left sides.
The black lacquered cabinets in later versions always have the label on the left side. We speculate the right side labeled 1923 set is early in the production. The label located on the left are later 1923 and 1924 production cabinets.
The label is gold, showing the correct layout for these tools in this cabinet along with identifing the makes. See the photo above and to the right.
Hinge, Handle and Hasp layout – This first version is easy to identify by looking at the hinges. It uses two (2) individual hinges top and bottom. It is the only version to use these – all others use a full length piano hinge. These hinges screw into the cabinet, all others are spot welded in.
The type of hasp is also unique to this version. The hasp is spring steel. This flexes the female side. The hasp is riveted in. All other sets spot weld in a hinged hasp. Both the riveted and spot welded hasps exist in this first version. It must be the earlier cabinets had the riveted hasp, and later in the production run it was switched to the spot welded / hinged hasp.
The handles are “spring” handles – this is a signature mark of the first series and remains until 1932 with the start of the 475 and 477 sets.
All of the sockets in the 1923 and 1924 sets are “Strike Over” (S over O) and all the handles (No 3, The S-5, No 5 Brace and HD-5) have pinched shafts. These are vertically stacked.
Vertically stacked socket shelves are used in 1923 1924 and disappear until 1932.