Picked up this tap set today, just because most of it was wartime WD marked ! Not that I need these sizes, though my BMW flywheel nut is 50mm thread (cant remember pitch etc..!!)
Box, liner etc dated 1944, and its supposed to be all metric but a few imperial sized have crept in there I guess over the years.
let me know what you think it was possibly for (as its British, but metric ?) or if you know what the reference codes mean.
Richard.

email (option): RICHARDPURKISS@HOTMAIL.COM

My father, who sadly passed away a few weeks ago now (bless him, and hence my quietness for a while) was ex-RAF and then worked for Vicker's for years..........he inherited much old stock for his work, some of which I have been fortunate to acquire over the years.......this included tons of old WD and AM marked taps and dies in every size and thread permutation possible........some extremely rare............

Since he passed, Mum informs me that there are still tons of tools unsorted in the garage.........they're mine if I want them but to be quite honest, not just now............too early to look............

Well there were weapons made in Switzerland & Spain both of which would have been metric.
Then we have French warships which I presume fought with the RN or were they a separate fleet ?
Ships made in France would also be metric.
Probably a few pieces of Husqvarna field artillary in use as well.
What threads were used on Belgian armourments ?

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

Sorry to hear of the passing of your father.
I inherited a lot of tools from both my dad & grandad and cherish them.
Every time I pick one up I see them in their respective sheds, in their work togs, usually cursing cause what ever they were doing was not working.
I fortunately did not inherit the regressive 10 left thumb genes both of them seems to have.

The screw driver bits for the brace & bit's in particular as I have both dads & grandads.
I use them for the crankcase nuts on the latter BSA's and can even hear dad calling me a temporary Australian every time I had to pull the old 10 down.

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

I was lead to believe that metric threads were used a lot on aircraft? Again I inherited a load of taps, dies and reamers, many metric from an aircraft mechanics family. Probably pre war stuff.... Regards Jon

email (option): jonsewell8@hotmail.com

I put C.O.O group 4 Didcot which is what that label seems to say? into Google , not much help but Didcot Berks is the home of the atomic energy commission, maybe thats a clue?

I'd check for radio activity.......:laughing:

The Central Ordnance Depot, Didcot was there for a very long time. It closed in 1964. Could be that ?

email (option): RICHARDPURKISS@HOTMAIL.COM

Didcot didn't close store-wise until the 1990's...........it was latterly home to the MoD Directorate of Clothing and Textiles and held an extensive archive of stuff going back a hundred years..............

I was very fortunate to get the chance to have a guided tour of the Clothing & Textiles archive in Didcot, shortly before it closed and moved to Bicester, to see things like the original 1st pattern Denison smock, WW1/WW2 uniforms, to a collection of dustbins and buckets (from the Boer war through current 1990 issue), basically the 1st pattern of everything you could imagine that the 20th century soldier might have worn or used. I believe that this collection has since been broken up, at the time of my visit, I was told that many of the UK's military museums (Imperial War/Army Museum etc) had been asked if they would like any of the items for their collections.
Regards Gary

email (option): garys339@hotmail.com