Halsam American Brick Build - Blocked!

In the mid-1950s' Halsam offered interlocking brick building toys made from pressed wood. I'm assembling each of the models shown in the instruction booklet for their 60/1 and 60/2 building sets. I'm calling it the Halsam American Brick Build.

My first surprise with the Halsam Brick Build happened before I had even started. I wasn't sure I had enough bricks to complete some of the larger structures. So I went shopping on eBay. Halsam wooden bricks are easy to find. They're sometimes pricey, though. That's not because they're collectible -- they're heavy.

The bricks are made of pressed wood. Get a bunch of them together and you've got a package that weighs a few pounds! I found a set that was within my price range (including shipping) and awaited its arrival.

To store the bricks, I stacked them in small groups. It was then I noticed that some of the bricks didn't fit precisely together. When I looked closely, I saw the reason.

The bricks in my old set had slightly different dimensions than my new purchase. Specifically, the new ones were 1/16" shorter and narrower than the old.

Top: 1-11/16"W x 1/4"H x 13/16"D
Botton: 1-3/4"W x 1/4"H x 7/8"D

My suspicion is that a running change was made, possibly during the Second World War. Decrease the dimensions slightly, and you can get more bricks from the same amount of wood.

That 1/16" difference matters. It's just enough to offset the knobs
so they don't line up properly with the holes.

And it means I need to be careful not to mix the two sets.

It's a surprise, but not necessarily an unpleasant one. I learned a little bit more about the history of this vintage toy.