Author Topic: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?  (Read 18056 times)

Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #15 on: January 10, 2019, 01:26:30 AM »
 Apparently they're not too uncommon on eBay, I just scored an 11pc doe metric set for $30 shipped.
They're used and there's a few spots of surface rust here and there , but that should be easy to take care of and these will go great with the SAE combo set that came today.
Always lookin' to learn

Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #16 on: January 10, 2019, 07:07:54 PM »

They seem like they'll be about as nice as my SAE combo's, not as minty but they should be good enough for me.
Always lookin' to learn

Offline four.cycle

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 108
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #17 on: January 10, 2019, 07:15:44 PM »
That Proamerica set you are looking at is one of many that seller has been peddling one at a time at that price -
$19.99 + $10.90 shipping "buy now"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/382721995732

There are several other Proamerica wrench sets listed on Ebay as well - a few double-end box wrench sets - unfortunately not a lot of metric stuff.


Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #18 on: January 10, 2019, 08:10:28 PM »
That Proamerica set you are looking at is one of many that seller has been peddling one at a time at that price -
$19.99 + $10.90 shipping "buy now"
https://www.ebay.com/itm/382721995732

There are several other Proamerica wrench sets listed on Ebay as well - a few double-end box wrench sets - unfortunately not a lot of metric stuff.
Oh I already ordered those yesterday, are you saying there might be something shady going on ? ???

Always lookin' to learn

Offline highland512

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1020
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #19 on: January 11, 2019, 08:06:31 AM »
He is probably buying auction lots off of government surplus auction sites and selling them on the flebay. I ran into a similar deal several years ago, scrap buyer won a scrap iron lot in a DoO auction. Turned out the scrap was dump truck loads of tools, we where carrying home buckets full of tools for pennies on the dollar. I have a few KAL and PROAMERICA pieces and thats where they come from. Most all surplus government tools have ID numbers scribed into them our a grinder spot where the ID was removed for disposal. 

Offline four.cycle

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 108
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #20 on: January 11, 2019, 08:59:57 AM »
Quote from: hickory n Steel
Oh I already ordered those yesterday, are you saying there might be something shady going on ?

Not at all. Just pointing out that the seller obviously has more than one of those sets.

Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #21 on: January 11, 2019, 12:30:59 PM »
Quote from: hickory n Steel
Oh I already ordered those yesterday, are you saying there might be something shady going on ?

Not at all. Just pointing out that the seller obviously has more than one of those sets.
Oh ok, maybe that's why they were a good deal.

I'm glad I was given the advice to look for sleeper brands because I had originally figured " I'll just get some Craftsmans, they made so many of them they should be cheap ",  boy was I wrong  ???.

If I wanted to spend that much id get a new S-K or Wright set
Always lookin' to learn

Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #22 on: January 12, 2019, 07:34:47 AM »
They're not scheduled to arrive today but the left the regional distribution facility 50 miles away an hour or so before I left for work this morning and should likely be available by the time I get off work hopefully.
Theres also a spokeshave I ordered that left an hour before that.
Always lookin' to learn

Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #23 on: January 12, 2019, 07:15:18 PM »
Got off work to find a couple package slips in the PO Box.

Surprisingly there was a roll with these which I didn't expect.
There's 19 different sizes in all, starting at 6mm and ending at a whopping 32mm.

Always lookin' to learn

Offline lauver

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 230
  • Proto Bet'R Grip Whore
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #24 on: January 12, 2019, 11:29:16 PM »
HnS,

Well, it looks like you got metric wrenches covered.  Good move on your part.  You done good

Think how many combo wrenches it would take to cover this same range.  That's the beauty & efficiency of DOE's   :-\
When my wife leaves me, my dog dies, and they repossess my home, I'll still have my tools.

Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #25 on: January 13, 2019, 08:10:35 AM »
HnS,

Well, it looks like you got metric wrenches covered.  Good move on your part.  You done good

Think how many combo wrenches it would take to cover this same range.  That's the beauty & efficiency of DOE's   :-\
Thanks
It definitely does seem to be an efficient set.
There's some strange ones though.
For example there's say an 8 mm on one wrench and another 8 on the next wrench up, with a larger head of course .
I suppose this would add versatility if  at any point I felt I needed just a bit more leverage to get a fastener off, it only happens with 4 of the smaller ones and the difference is marginal at best though.
Always lookin' to learn

Online goodfellow

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4321
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #26 on: January 13, 2019, 08:36:34 AM »
Not uncommon for DOE sets to have the same sizes on several different wrenches in the set - especially in the metrics

Offline Uncle Buck

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1402
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #27 on: January 13, 2019, 10:12:28 AM »
Never seen, nor heard of this brand myself.
You boys better hold on cause I'm gonna have to stand on it!

Offline hickory n Steel

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #28 on: January 13, 2019, 10:19:35 AM »
Never seen, nor heard of this brand myself.
Never ? They're By Kal tools and are I'm told mostly made for contracts GOVT or otherwise.
Always lookin' to learn

Online goodfellow

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4321
Re: How common are PROAMERICA wrenches ?
« Reply #29 on: January 13, 2019, 10:41:41 AM »
Never seen, nor heard of this brand myself.
Never ? They're By Kal tools and are I'm told mostly made for contracts GOVT or otherwise.

KAL was a bigger brand in the 60s and 70s -- besides a full line of hand tools they also offered budget automotive test equipment and IIRC some basic homeowner grade body repair tools and kits.

That said, I don't think KAL ever produced anything in any of their factories, because they had none. All they were was a brand that contracted with US, Korean, Japanese (and I also think Taiwanese) manufcaturers to make the stuff. I have KAL wrenches from the US, Japan, and Korea -- damn good stuff, but very basic fit/finish.  I used to buy them on ebay for very little money and outfit all my family fleet toolkits with them.

One think I will add -- the Korean wrenches are awesome. Like many of you guys if I have to do some questionable torquing with a pipe or hammer on a wrench i tend to grab the cheap stuff. Well, I once used a 1" KAL combo and put a five foot cheater over it to loosen a control arm bushing on a truck -- the damn thing took it and asked for more. Needless to say I was pretty impressed with KAL's Korean tool line -- whoever the manufacturer was; they produced a great product.