Bell System tools

[rick carpenter]

Can I assume Bell System tools were generally good? I like quality older American hand tools.

[Mike Brady]

Rick, excuse me if you know this already: Bell System refers to tools that were specified for use by the phone company back when we had only one. They were not a "brand" as such. Bell Tel would approach say, Stanley, and look at their best auger brace and then say they want hard rubber handles instead of wood. These guys were needing to drill through telephone poles while standing on their boot spikes, in the rain.....the tools had to be good. There was a whole range of hand tools made to these specs: augers, bits, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. You asked about quality. The Bell System braces made by the North Bros. Co. are the best ever made. The rest of the tools were very rugged too. Even if they may not look very good, they often are perfectly good tools and can be refurbished with some care. Although these tools were never designed for hobbyist woodworkers, or even the professional carpenter of the time, they are prized by anyone who appreciates good hand tools today.

[Jim Barrett]

I am kicking myself for getting rid of my Bell System stuff...had a few of the braces. Not sure what I did with them...I "stepped" quite a few telephone polls using a brace and auger when I was a youngster...now that is hard work and a beer or two after work tasted mighty good :) Worked for NY Tel then transferred to Pac NW Bell...

Jim

[Joel Goodman]

The telephones they made in those days were pretty rugged too. Can't ever remember one that broke!

[Jim Koepke]

Many of the hand tools were made by Stanley and Klein. I worked for PacBell when I was young about 40 years ago. The story I heard then was the Bell companies bought top line tools because it all came into the cost of operations and they were guaranteed a percentage of return based on cost of operations.

Of course, that could have been someone grousing.

jtk

[Joel Goodman]

Many of the hand tools were made by Stanley and Klein. The story I heard then was the Bell companies bought top line tools because it all came into the cost of operations and they were guaranteed a percentage of return based on cost of operations. jtk

It's true they were guaranteed a certain profit level as a regulated monopoly. I think they purchased and made quality stuff because they were a well run company. They also invented the transistor, laser and a bunch of other cool stuff in their research lab.

[George Sanders]

I have a Bell system brace in my tool chest and without a doubt is the smoothest operating one that I have.

[Jon Toebbe]

I have a Bell system brace in my tool chest and without a doubt is the smoothest operating one that I have.
+1 ... The hype surrounding these braces is entirely justified. The smooth, almost clock-like clicking of the ratchet mechanism was mesmerizing the first time I tried it. My Stanley and Millers Falls braces felt coarse and jarring by comparison... not that they don't get plenty of use, too.

[Andrew Gibson]

Though not a Bell Systems brace, I did run across a Yankee 2101 brace with 10" sweep a few weeks ago at a flea market for $18. It is definitely a very nice brace and runs better then Any other I have tried. Considering it's general age compared to all the other rusting clumps of braces you find, these really have to be of better quality.

[Eric Brown]

Just for information, not all the Bell braces are the same.
There are two common versions. IMHO the one's that shift the ratchet
using a vertical pin are nicer than the one's that use a plastic rotating ring.
Most also have the hard synthetic handles (which I also like) and some of the earlier ones have wood. There may be another version with an even finer ratchet.

Much as I like the Bell braces, I still like the chucks on the Peck-Stowe-Wilcox Sampson
braces better. They were the original ball bearing chuck and it just seems easier for me to chuck up some of the older styles of bits.

Happy Holidays. Eric

[rick carpenter]

Rick, excuse me if you know this already: Bell System refers to tools that were specified for use by the phone company back when we had only one. They were not a "brand" as such. Bell Tel would approach say, Stanley, and look at their best auger brace and then say they want hard rubber handles instead of wood. These guys were needing to drill through telephone poles while standing on their boot spikes, in the rain.....the tools had to be good. There was a whole range of hand tools made to these specs: augers, bits, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. You asked about quality. The Bell System braces made by the North Bros. Co. are the best ever made. The rest of the tools were very rugged too. Even if they may not look very good, they often are perfectly good tools and can be refurbished with some care. Although these tools were never designed for hobbyist woodworkers, or even the professional carpenter of the time, they are prized by anyone who appreciates good hand tools today.

Thanks, that's the answer I hoped I would get. I knew Ma Bell picked others' tools to call their own, I was just hoping that collector-users of Bell Sys tools could confirm that they kept picking quality throughout the life of the company and didn't value-down their choices as time went by. I need the ruggedness.

[Joshua Clark]

Jim-

Since you have some first-hand experience with these Bell Systems tools, I'm wondering what you think of this Bell Systems docking saw made by Atkins:

http://hyperkitten.com/pics/tools/fs/s5_1.jpg

It's 30 inches long (!) and 6PPI crosscut. It is marked "46x32" Any idea what job it might have been intended for?

Thanks,

Josh

[Jim Barrett]

They were used for cutting cross-arms....

[Jim Koepke]

As a telephone installer, we had saws in our tool kits. They were for trimming trees when necessary.

It was a bit different than the one shown above. It was wooden handled. Of course, different procurement people at different times were likely to buy different items that met the need at the time.

Different trades in the old Bell System had different needs and different tools at various times.

jtk

[Joe Rogers]

I'd love to find the Bell System relay kit that has pin gauges and small feeler gauges with the tools for bending the relay contact arms. I've only seen one and the owner wouldn't think of selling it.
Joe