Tony Opperman wrote:
> Marc -
>
> Please follow the following link to two photos of my TA crank extractor:
>
> http://idisk.mac.com/
>
> If the link doesn't work directly, copy and paste it into your browser.
> If that doesn't work I can send you the photos directly off-list, but I
> thought others might like to see them, too.
>
> You'll see a folder labelled "TA Crank Tools". Click on that folder and
> you'll see two photos, one of the set and another of the extractor
> itself. I've had these since the late 1970s for use with the TA crankset
> on my 73 Raleigh Competition. Note that neither of these
> beautifully-machined tools bears an identification as "TA". Instead, the
> extractor (23 mm) bears the stamps "VAR 408" and "France". Neither
> appears home-made in any way. The socket wrench is interesting because
> the socket includes a hex tab for removing the dust caps.
>
> Perhaps someone else on the list might shed some light onto what "VAR
> 408" means and whether these were definitively made by TA. I hope this
> is helpful.
The VAR #408 tool was made by the French tool maker VAR:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/
The official TA extractor tool has the TA logo embossed on the bolt head; the letters "TA" vertically superimposed over a depiction of the TA chainrings:
http://www.os2.dhs.org/
--
-John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA