On 2009-12-03, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2009-12-02, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2009-12-01, Joseph Gwinn wrote:

[ ... ]
[snip]

BTW -- How many of you have one of the 115 bit HUOT indexes which hold
fractional, letter, and number sizes? How many of you have
wondered what the little bent-up hook is for in the letter size
section?

Well ... it is just right to hold a HUOT index for #61-#80 wire
sized bits, so I have just exactly that in mine. Presumably
somewhere it is documented that this is what it is for, but if
so, I haven't seen it yet. :-)

I don't have that index, but I do have a collection of individual Huot
indexes. I don't like the new Huot indexes near as well as the old
ones. Are there any better brands than Huot?

Hmm ... I've not seen better ones, but I have seen much worse
ones -- the ones with links to pull each layer up as the one above it
moves past a certain point -- but made of the cheapest tin can material
you can imagine, and distorting (and the hole sizes not very accurate).

Drat. That's my experience too.

Yes -- there can be *really* bad ones -- usually with Chinese
sets.


My 115 bit Huot is as good as the earlier ones for individual
sets -- other than being heavy with all of those bits in there. I guess
that I got it about ten years ago from MSC -- filled with good "Made in
USA" bits. About that time the cheaper sets were in similar looking
boxes, but which they warn were not genuine HUOT. Is it possible that
you've encountered some of these?

No, I quickly learned to order Huot, and they came with Huot embossed
into the metal. But new is not near as good as old.

O.K.

The difference is that the old indexes had a solid rectangular bar at
the top (with precise size holes all in a row) spotwelded to the
swinging sheetmetal layers, while in the new boxes the solid metal bar
is gone, replaced by a punched and bent over end on the sheetmetal
layer. For one thing, there is no easy way to catch a layer and pull it
up, and of course the holes are not nearly as accurate. And the hinges
upon which the layers swing don't work as well either.

Hmm ... none of mine (with the possible exception of the MT-3
set) has that. The earlier ones have the top end folded twice to make a
plate for the holes and a reinforcing ridge, and a bit down the hinged
plated is another 'L' spot welded on to make the second set of holes.
The newer ones have the second set folded out of the hinged piece, but
still pretty well punched and aligned. Some of those later ones have a
black plastic overlay with the sizes and numbers (and the metric ones
have decimal inch sizes in addition to the mm diameter). The index for
the screw machine length has another tab folded out to support the
shorter bits.

The only HUOT index which I find awkward to use is the really
old one for 3/4" to 1" bits with MT-3 shanks (a nice fit for the lathe,
but *really* heavy. :-)

Never met an index for MT drills, but never needed one either.

Obviously, the point end goes in first, and the MT shanks stay
at the outside end. But the weight of the plates loaded with bits
(especially the ones from 1" down to perhaps 7/8") is great enough so a
bump will pop one end or the other of the hinge pin out of the dimpled
hole which serves as a bearing. And this is probably the oldest one
that I have, painted OD. So every once in a while, I have to tilt
things until the hinge pin pops back in. (And sometimes I first have to
drive out and straighten the hinge pins. :-)

Of course, I also have a zinc die-cast index (stand) from GTD
(Greenfield Tap and Die) for fractional bits near the tailstock of my
lathe. That is pretty convenient for most things, with a small
number-size index of screw machine length drills of cobalt steel with
split points which are so nice that I use them whenever possible. (They
are also in a HUOT index, a bit newer, and it works well too.)

What year were these bought?

When did *I* buy which -- the GT&D stand or the number-sized
index of screw machine length bits?

*I* bought both perhaps ten years ago now, but the GT&D stand
was from eBay, and at a guess it is at least from the mid 1950s if not
later. It is shaped like the GT&D logo, which looks like the profile of
a tap much magnified, putting the drill bits in a zig-zag pattern which
makes them easier to reach -- especially the most common fractional
sizes, which tend to be at the crests of the threads. :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

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