Glad to be of service
No worries mate!
Actually had been to those markets a few years before but not looking for this type of stuff. Of course now mower-spotting (nothing good this time) but may have to get up early next time...
Have you tried the Victa spanner yet? I have two different sized Victa plug spanners around here somewhere.
I was afraid you'd say that! No I haven't tried it yet.
Hercules socket setJack,
I was looking for Hercules tool info myself, the closest I could come up with was the Hercules Pneumatic Tools made by "The Buckeye Portable Tool Company" out of Dayton, Ohio. One of their paper brochures (on ebay) shows a similar branding stamp on their tools. The ad for the tools had changed by 17 Sep 1933 to...
"Hercules" Socket Sets for all American Cars. Comprising 6 Sockets and a tommy bar in a metal container.
...so either they wished to downplay the Oz manufacture or they were from overseas. "Hercules" with its implication of strength would have been a commonly sought name for tools of course. I suppose this is all plausible, but not at all conclusive. Actually, more like sheer speculation!
I must say if it really does go back to the 1930's I'm impressed as I hoped it would go back to ~WWII.
What attracted me was the excellence of design and build to meet a function and last so long.What I love about the set is that, given a clean up, it would do exactly the same job and be no less efficient than a modern unit. The design is pretty well optimised- you can't really imagine six sockets and a lever in a smaller, self-contained, self-storing package. And it's no taller, no wider and only 1" longer than the Victa spanner.
What I find poignant is the item forms a bridge back to the past that says "your stuff is a relevant today as it was back then", to persons who probably are no longer are with us.
I hope the same can (and will) be said of my stuff & work in the future once I'm gone, if only just once by one person, somewhere, sometime!
