A discussion of everything 1/4dr

[Hickory n Steel]

A Williams driver I've recently acquired.

that's a very nice condition William's spinner handle.
They were always a bit chintzier since they just used a square shank with stops pinched in and the female drive end was a seperate piece but I haven't seen one before that was broken.

I have seen a few of the PROTO  spinner handles with busted female drives and had one from my grandfather that was broken, but WILLIAMS must have done something right that PROTO didn't.
Or maybe it's just because the M51 is / was such a small little ratchet.

I still need to get one of these William's spinner handles, but I'm not in too much of a hurry.

[Uncle Buck]

You talking about the ones that were all steel with a knurled handle that unsnaps and will freely rotate on the driver shaft?

[j.a.f.e.]

You talking about the ones that were all steel with a knurled handle that unsnaps and will freely rotate on the driver shaft?

This one?

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[Hickory n Steel]

You talking about the ones that were all steel with a knurled handle that unsnaps and will freely rotate on the driver shaft?

I completely forgot about those.

But no I was talking about these regular acetate handled spinner handles.

[Uncle Buck]

You talking about the ones that were all steel with a knurled handle that unsnaps and will freely rotate on the driver shaft?

This one?

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Yup, very best driver handle ever IMHO.

[j.a.f.e.]

I like them as extensions with a spinner sleeve. Williams also made them in 9/32 drive.

[Uncle Buck]

I like them as extensions with a spinner sleeve. Williams also made them in 9/32 drive.

The only one I ever found I bought. I think it is a Walden Worcester.  I think Blackhawk and several other of the early brands offered them too. Rarely found in my parts.

[j.a.f.e.]

They are hard to find for sure.

But if I ever find another it will go home with me.

[Hickory n Steel]

I definitely need to start looking for one.

[Uncle Buck]

These days I think they pop up fairly frequently on ebay.  O clue as to the cost.

[Hickory n Steel]

These days I think they pop up fairly frequently on ebay.  O clue as to the cost.

In this case $40


Right after my last comment I went on Ebay and found this one.
I posted a comment but somehow it disappeared.

$40 may have been too much, but it's the cheapest I found and the best condition example currently available too.

[Uncle Buck]

That seems very high cost to me. It's worth at most $20 to me. That guy is building a retirement nest egg in my opinion.

[j.a.f.e.]

That seems very high cost to me. It's worth at most $20 to me. That guy is building a retirement nest egg in my opinion.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. 40 seems way high. I'd have to really want for even 20.

[Hickory n Steel]

That seems very high cost to me. It's worth at most $20 to me. That guy is building a retirement nest egg in my opinion.

Sadly I have very few places near me to find stuff in the wild, and people always think everything old and interesting is gold.
Ebay is often my only option, but usually I don't pay this much more than things are worth.
It's something I'll likely never ever see in the wild, and the condition looks excellent.


Rarely ever do old tools cost me what they should, even when I do get to find them in the wild because literally everything cost more in California.
There is a lady here in town who's late father in law was a flea market tool vendor who left behind a whole storage locker full of tools.
Every couple of years they drag out a bunch of bins and have a yardsale,  that's every couple of years and one of the few occasions I get to find old tools in the wild for cheap.
Beyond that every yardsale is just cloths.
The 2 flea markets I know of are slim pickings after the shutdown, and lately the goodwill stores in my area have gone down hill the past year.

[Uncle Buck]

You are correct that finding one in the wild is quite unlikely. In decades of rooting through flea markets, junk shops, pawn shops, garage sales, etc. I think I have only ever seen one of them.