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1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 6:19 am
by Wingnutt
I recently acquired Section IV, Federal Specifications, of the Federal Standard Stock Catalog, dated June 1939.

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Section IV is all three of these fat little nifty binders.

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It contains an alphabetical list (Part Ia) of everything the Treasury Department Procurement Division considered a standard stock item, from Acetone (O-A-51) to Zinc-Oxide; leaded, dry, and paste-in-oil (TT-Z-321), for all branches of the federal government, to include the Army, and the specifications for each item, grouped by category (Part 5).

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After a quick once-over, it looks like many of the tools and equipment found in Motor Vehicle and General Mechanics Tool-Sets and in the G503 tool and equipment set are included. But not all. Many of the specifications are even older than the date of the catalog, but still considered current, if no revision pages are present, for 1939.

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I wish it was wartime. Specifications may have changed and certainly other items were added between 1939 and 1941, but I'm hoping it's helpful in a close enough sort of way, since the Federal Specifications that have been shared here so far have been fairly little (excerpts from GGG-S-111 for Shovels and from GGG-A-926 for Axes, courtesy John Barton; and excerpts from GGG-W-636 for Wrenches, courtesy "Frank Smith").

As time permits, my general plan is to...

(A) review it more thoroughly,

(B) post an inventory of GMTK (e.g., Brush; sash-tool - H-B-491) and G503 (e.g., Fire-Extinguishers; chemical, hand, carbon-tetra-chloride type - O-F-351) oriented specifications it contains, and

(C) post scans or key fact summaries

I do have several pressing projects ahead of it.

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 6:29 am
by Tom Wolboldt
WOW !!!!

Great score!!!!

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 6:35 am
by lt.luke
tis a bit of light holiday reading!

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:12 am
by Fred Coldwell
Very nice! It's apparent Santa has the GPS coordinates of your stocking nailed to his sled. :lol: Congratulations on a fine acquisition!

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:10 am
by Kevin Lockwood
There will be a test on Monday! :lol:

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:23 am
by mudbox
Awesome! Where do you find the time?! :D
-Jason

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:27 am
by Mark Tombleson
Add my congratulations... great find! :D

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:48 am
by Tin Medic
So, you will have that all scanned in this weekend so we can print, RIGHT?

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 4:20 pm
by d42jeep
So now you can start working on a 1939 MVMTS specific Whiz for my next project. In your spare time, of course. :lol: I'm at the head of the line!
-Don

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 1:55 am
by Hartofoak
Great find Wingnutt! Should keep the doors shut from the winter snows. The screwdriver specs in the MVMTS 41-T-3538 seem to follow your list nicely, except 41-S-1400, the offset, is confusingly described as "machinists" type VI.

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:30 am
by Wingnutt
Hartofoak wrote:The screwdriver specs in the MVMTS 41-T-3538 seem to follow your list nicely, except 41-S-1400, the offset, is confusingly described as "machinists" type VI.
Cliff,
The double offset screwdriver is mainly known as a machinist's tool, in my experience, and I think that's the ORD trying to be more functionally, colloquially descriptive in their SNL than the Federal Standard Stock Catalog. Note that the ORD takes the same approach with respect to the 41-S-1225 and -1228 screwdrivers, referring to these "Type I" screwdrivers as "electrician's" screwdrivers in every manual from October 1942 to the end of the war. Note that the Federal Standard Stock Catalog refers to "Type I" screwdrivers as "cabinet" screwdrivers, instead.

All,
I've been delayed by a looming deadline of a more pressing project, and I really haven't decided the best and most convenient way to share this data, but I will try to have something in February.

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 4:05 pm
by Tin Medic
Looking forward to reading this.

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:39 am
by Wingnutt
All,

So I've finally made enough time to finish going through these binders.

I started by reviewing the index, in alphabetical order, which was located in the front of one of them.

Here’s a sample page…
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I looked for items directly related to the Jeep, GMTK, or other WWII militaria that has been a topic here, or just of interest to me. I made a list. Then I looked for the specifications in the binders, which were organized – as you can see from scans I already provided above – by group (e.g., Group TT is Paints, Pigments and Varnishes, Group C is Animal Products, etc). While Group GGG is Tools, a lot of items considered tools and equipment in the Jeep and GMTK were located in other groups.

Unfortunately, not all of the specs listed in the index were included in the binders for some reason.

* denotes that it was included in the 1939 Fed Specs books
() denotes that it was not included
Link following item takes you to specs for that item

Axes - GGG-A-926 *
Bars; chisel, crow, pinch, and wrecking - GGG-B-101 *
Bolts; Nuts; Studs; and Tap-Rivets; (and material for same) – FF-B-571a *
Brushes; sash-tool – H-B-491 * viewtopic.php?p=1494395#p1494395
Cots; folding, canvas – AA-C-571a *
Drums and Pails; steel, I.C.C. type 5E, five-gallon, single-trip-container – RR-D-761 ()
Extractors; cotter-pin – GGG-E-926 *
Figures and Letters; stamping, steel – GGG-F-311 ()
Fencing; wire (barbed, netting and woven) black and galvanized – RR-F-221 *
Fire-Extinguishers; chemical, hand, carbon-tetrachloride type – O-F-351 *
Frames, hack-saw – GGG-F-671 * viewtopic.php?p=1511367#p1511367
Gages; pressure and vacuum, (for) air, ammonia, oil, steam, and water – GG-G-76 ()
Hammers; Mauls; and Sledges – GGG-H-86 ()
Handles; ash (for) tools – NN-H-81 *
Handles; hickory, long (for) tools – NN-H-91 *
Handles; hickory, (for) small-tools – NN-H-96 *
Hatchets – GGG-H-131 *
Jacks – GGG-J-51 *
Knives; linoleum, plumbers’-chipping, putty, scraping, and shoe – GGG-K-481 * viewtopic.php?p=1511374#p1511374
Knife, Electrician's (I am sticking this link to me 41-K-380 deep dive here...) viewtopic.php?p=1246019#p1246019
Ladders (extension, sectional, and straight); and ladder-shoes – LLL-L-51 *
Muslin; bleached – CCC-M-911 *
Oil; linseed, boiled – JJJ-O-331 ()
Oil; linseed, raw – JJJ-O-336 *
Padlocks – FF-P-101a ()
Pliers; and Nippers – GGG-P-471 ()
Punches; bag, center, coopers’, coppering, cutting, tinners’, and drive-pin – GGG-P-831 * viewtopic.php?p=1520904#p1520904
Rope; manila – T-R-601a ()
Rules – GGG-R-791 * viewtopic.php?p=1520905#p1520905
Screw-Drivers – GGG-S-121a *
viewtopic.php?p=1493215#p1493215
viewtopic.php?p=1493216#p1493216
viewtopic.php?p=1493219#p1493219
Shears; tinners’, bench and hand (snips) – GGG-S-291 * viewtopic.php?p=1496445#p1496445
Shovels; scoops, spades, and spoons – GGG-S-111 *
Tape; friction – HH-T-101 ()
Tires; automobile and motorcycle, pneumatic – ZZ-T-381b *
Trucks; motor, gasoline or Diesel-engine (four wheels-four wheel drive) – ...-T-706 *
Tubes; automobile and motorcycle, inner – ZZ-T-721b *
Wrenches; pipe – GGG-W-651a * viewtopic.php?p=1515895#p1515895

I've reviewed most of them. My overall take? Mixed bag. Some of the specs are significant and exciting - providing details we don't have elsewhere and answering long-standing questions. Others are disappointing.

I already posted some bits and pieces or scans from some of these in answer to direct queries (e.g., strap wrenches, barbed wire) or as hot topics have come up (e.g., punches and chisels), but I’ll start posting scans of the specs I have more methodically soon.

I’m not going to post the axes or shovels, which John Barton’s efforts have already included snippets of.

I am trying to decide if it’s best to post all of the specs I have here, in one thread (which has the benefit of easy finding, but could get messy, with multiple overlapping topics and discussions), or start a thread for each item (which has the benefit of keeping the topics and discussions separate, but they’ll each need to be looked up separately later).

Before I get to that, here are some more scans for context…

A foreward:
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Some interesting comments on supply…
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And here is a page from the Changes section, where they kept track of updates. These handwritten notes indicate that these specs, dated June 1939, were being used as late as January 1940.

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Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:40 pm
by pjones
Greg,
FWIW I'm for separate threads for each item. Especially if it's not any additional work for you.
Phil

Re: 1939 Federal Standard Stock Catalog Specifications

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:24 pm
by Tin Medic
Ditto. Separate threads if it's not additional work.