Dear Greg,
When I was young, my father gave me a small 3/8" socket set that was
labeled, "Idestro". It has performed very well for me and I wonder if they
are still made or available? Do you know who made them?
"Never ascribe to Malice that which can be explained by Ignorance."
John J. Peloquin, Assistant Research Entomologist
Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521
On Fri, 26 Mar 1999, Hutmacher, Greg wrote:
> Sorry, one more bit of trivia... Sidchrome is also owned and manufactured by
> Stanley Mechanics Tools (see, I told you there were a lot of brands :-)) It
> is Australia's equivalent to Proto. It was manufactured in Australia until
> this past summer when, in a worldwide consolidation effort, Stanley moved
> Sidchrome manufacturing to the same USA plants that make Husky, Proto, MAC,
> etc. Again, same steel forgings, same specs, same machines in the same
> plants. You begin to get the picture? Guys, I hate to tell you, but there
> isn't as much difference as you think between most Made in USA wrenches and
> drive tools (other than my earlier exception I mentioned on the ratchets).
> And, contrary to appearances, there is no difference in quality specs
> between the "less attractive" matte finish wrenches and the new, popular
> full polish wrenches. Its just fashion. Ironically, the full polish (shiny
> chrome looking) wrenches that are all the rage now were born decades ago out
> of the requirement by the nuclear power industry. They required wrenches
> that did not have any surface imperfections (like matte finish wrenches
> have) where any particle of contamination could remain after being cleaned.
> Bottom line: Most people are loyal to a certain brand as more a function of
> sentimentality and emotion. The warranties for the major brands are all
> basically the same. Now, Far East imports are a different matter...
> Regards, Greg Hutmacher
>
>
> >I've bought a few Metrinch sockets. They work very well on rounded bolts,
> >better than my Sidchrome sockets. Sidchrome is an Aussie brand and
> extremely
> >good, lifetime guarantee etc. I wouldn't buy a set of Metrinch over
> >Sidchrome but I'd certainly buy the odd Metrinch to get me over hassles
> such
> >as rounded flywheel bolts etc!
>
> >Cheers,
> >Neil
>
>
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