Tappet Wrenches Only: History, Use, and Examples!

[Stuart in MN]

I found a Plomb #3425 1/2 x 7/16 tappet wrench at a garage sale today. It's not plated, and has a date code that appears to be BC. The price was 50 cents.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks for posting. I'll enter that in the Letter-Letter code database, too.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a Williams Chrome Molybdenum tappet wrench that’s seen plenty of use.
-Don

 

[MisterEd]

Craftsman Long C No. 3 Tappet Wrench 3/8-11/16

 

[d42jeep]

I found a rather large Lectrolite tappet wrench in quite good condition yesterday.

-Don

 

[PSCo1867]

Williams Tappet Wrenches

Working on a complete set of each of the usual DOE tappet wrenches. Just need a couple more.

Shown also are the five long SOE tappet wrenches offered.

This logo is my favorite era that spanned from the 1960’s to 1990’s approximately. These were the wrench of choice in one of the plants that I really enjoyed working at. (Sorry English majors.)

The top 5 wrenches are all the same: 1096H 1 1/16" X 7/8", and the bottom one is a 1096 1" X 15/16". If anyone needs one to fill out a set, let me know.

 

[PSCo1867]

New Britain NDF-80 is reasonably long 17/32 and 1/2

These New Britains: NDF-82 9/16 & 1/2 and NDF-83 5/8 & 9/16 are close in style to your NDF-80. However, the reverse is different for all 3: MADE IN U.S.A vs. ALLOY STEEL FORGED IN U.S.A vs. FORGED ALLOY STEEL U.S.A.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was disappointed this turned out to be a Williams when I first spotted it at the flea yesterday. I was hoping for one of the three (3) missing Herbrand LT- series I need. I have some older Williams DOEs, but this 9/16" (A-100B) is the first Williams XL SOE Superrench I have found. (@leg17 has a near complete set of these with the 50's logo posted upthread!) This is a natural steel finish "ALLOY" with the wartime logo, which is cool, but looking at the 1943 catalog, I have a long way to go for a set.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up this tappet wrench this morning. If you follow the thread, you know only a few mfgrs made them in this configuration. I am working on a set. Slowly. That's a pair on the bottom with each size opening afforded a 0* and a 22-1/2* angle. Loooong way to go.

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks to eBay, I’ve accumulated several of those for the shrine. They don’t come up all that often and it’s been over a year since I’ve seen one that I don’t have.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well, they're even scarcer in the wild, but the fun is always more about the finding than the having for me. Looks like you only need one more to complete the set. If my patience runs out, and nobody puts a 7/16"-0* x 17/32"-22-1/2* on eBay before that day comes, that one has your name on it.

 

[PSCo1867]

Here is a Williams Chrome Molybdenum tappet wrench that’s seen plenty of use.
-Don

Here's another Williams 1090D tappet wrench, but this time it's designated "alloy", rather than "chrome-molybdenum", and says only "USA" under the scrolled "Williams". Later version than Don's?

 

[d42jeep]

Yeah, the Chrome Molybdenum stuff was pre WW2.
-Don

 

[PSCo1867]

Well, they're even scarcer in the wild, but the fun is always more about the finding than the having for me. Looks like you only need one more to complete the set. If my patience runs out, and nobody puts a 7/16"-0* x 17/32"-22-1/2* on eBay before that day comes, that one has your name on it.

Here's a few more Barcalo Buffalo tappets. The bottom one is a 7/16"-0* x 17/32"-22-1/2*, but unfortunately the straight end was ground a bit, and has the strange inverted lettering?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...the strange inverted lettering

Hate is a strong word, but I HATE when they do that! I've lost count of the sets I have where one upside down marking ruins the whole visual and offends one's sense of order (especially if one is slightly OCD, a malady or genetic predisposition I think an overwhelming majority of collectors seems to have)!

 

[d42jeep]

I found this treasure yesterday at an estate sale. I would have left it behind if it wasn’t for the markings.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I would have left it behind if it wasn’t for the markings.

Nice find, Don! They certainly are irresistible. I opened the thread with one circled in a photo of several eponymously marked tools. I now have a pair of them, thanks to @leg17, who sent me a second, and devoted a whole post to their still unresolved source, here.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As I was saying on the Bonney thread, I recently traded a rare hard to find Milwaukee Tool & Forge 3-drawer chest to fellow GJer @Steven 33. I was tired of looking at it and he needs it more than me for his large MTF collection. In exchange, I got a bunch of cool miscellaneous stuff that I will be showing on various threads, including a "RAYTHEON" marked wartime wrench in the aforementioned Bonney thread, and these Keen Kutter K-3 (11/16" x 131/6") and K-4 (7/8" x 3/4") tappet wrenches. They're a little gnarly with age and box rot scars, but there's just enough of the K.K. logo on the face of the K-3 to identify them. Undoubtedly came originally with missing pairs, and also pairs of K-1 and K-2, probably in a pouch. The K-1 and K-2 are likely 7/16" x 1/2" (or 17/32") and 1/2" x 9/16", based on typical sets produced by Herbrand (H-1 through H-4), Duro (D-1 through D-4) and many others. I'll be keeping an eye out for them now. Not sure of the manufacturer, but the hex throats are odd.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a lightly used #4 Craftsman V tappet wrench found at a garage/moving sale yesterday AM.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Back in 2021, on page 1, post #40, I posted a couple Lectrolite tappet wrenches. This morning I found a few more at the flea, so now I can pair them up at least. I have never seen anything but these size combinations, so I'm starting to think that was the set.



The most interesting thing about these wrenches - and their DOE and Combo cousins with the same markings, is that they were the subject of an FTC "Cease and Desist" order! I've posted this research before on the Lectrolite thread, but I will repost it again here.

For years the collecting community had no idea what the ".05" figures on the flip side shank signified. Whenever it was speculated that they signified an alloy composition, I said that it seemed that way, but didn't make sense. It was far too low. Not even close. And I was right. The FTC agreed with me!

 

[d42jeep]

I found this Wizard tappet wrench recently.
-Don

 

[JMP]

My little collection of Tappet wrenches. Duro made Wizard branded and a pair of Lectrolite's.

 

[30-30remchester]

Just posted this on another thread but figured it belonged here instead.

 

[30-30remchester]

Opps, still learning.

 

[B Halverson]

I like this set of Williams tappet wrenches because they are in their original roll;

 

[leg17]

A pair of Old Forge tappet wrenches. Sizes are marked with screw size indicating 1920's era,

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked up a few Bonney stragglers this morning at the flea. The 405 has some box rot stains and someone who didn't think the 15* angle jaw on the 402 was thin enough ground it down even thinner, but I was happy to find them. Although I've had a whole No. 412 set in its original pouch, posted upthread back in 2021 here, I started building another set after finding several more at the flea back in in 2022, posted upthread here. So now I have a near-complete No. 412 set (just need another 403) and a 406. (The beam on the 406 is the widest tappet wrench I have!)

 

[Ayrhead]

I purchased a P&C 2916 7/16-1/2 tappet wrench. Length is about 9 inches. Condition is rough. I almost passed it up because of that.

 

[Milton Shaw]

I found a non automotive use for one and purchased it back when I was a teenager. Bicycle pedal bolts were so narrow on the flats you couldn't get a regular wrench to work. As I worked on bikes and lawnmowers as a teenager I bought 1/2 x 9/16 wrench for them . Still have it but don't use it much.

 

[matthew]

Proto of Canada 3430 5/8”x9/16”
Proto of Canada 3425 1/2”x7/16”
Proto Los Angeles 3426 9/16”x1/2” (2x)

 

[JMP]

I found a non automotive use for one and purchased it back when I was a teenager. Bicycle pedal bolts were so narrow on the flats you couldn't get a regular wrench to work. As I worked on bikes and lawnmowers as a teenager I bought 1/2 x 9/16 wrench for them . Still have it but don't use it much.

In the bicycle world those are called cone wrenches and are often more narrow than many tappet wrenches. These days they only come in metric so a tappet wrench might be the next best thing for those older bikes.

 

[Provincial]

A Chrome Molybdenum tappet wrench turned up last month at the swap meet. It has no brand name, just like one posted by Lugz in the opening post of this thread. I assume it was made for a retailer. It is very similar to older C-M Barcalo and Billings designs. 5/8 x 11/16.

 

[d42jeep]

My vote is for Barcalo.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A Chrome Molybdenum tappet wrench turned up last month at the swap meet.

Nice find.

It has no brand name, just like one posted by Lugz in the opening post of this thread.

I'm not sure which post or wrench you're referring to, Jock. If you mean the miscellaneous pile in post #2, none of them are unbranded. While I have seen these before, I don't think I have one.

It is very similar to older C-M Barcalo and Billings designs.

Its 22-1/2* x 15* configuration was used by several mfgrs (Bonney, Armstrong, Barcalo, etc). Billings was not one of them, though. Billings uniquely used 22-1/2* x 22-1/2*, no doubt derived from their loom wrenches. While it's true that Billings used and marked their wrenches with the same composition name, it was always with a hyphen ("CHROME-MOLYBDENUM") as far as I know. The marking is most similar to Barcalo, but it was not in italic font, nor do I recall ever seeing a Barcalo C-M wrench with the little "MADE IN U.S.A." marking.

I have this one in the TBD category.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some bonney cv tappets

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some long c tappet wrenches

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some really old plombs

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some riverside tappet wrenches

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Some riverside tappet wrenches

Nice! FOAK for the thread. (Made by Herbrand.)

EDIT: Classic tappet size pairings, and same as Herbrand's H-1, H-2, and H-3 (and others' x-1, x-2, and x-3), with Ward's leaving out the H-4 (3/4" x 7/8") equivalents in the standard 4-pair 8-wrench sets.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

When I was poking around in my folders I noticed this image and I don't think I have posted it before. I am not sure where I got it, so I apologize for not being able to cite the source. It dates no doubt to the 1920's. (By 1931, Snap-on, its incestual distribution arm (Motor Tools Specialty Co), and its second subsidiary line were a little more organized and consolidated and a little less confusing with all the singular/plural and hyphen/no hyphen branding variants (i.e., Blue Point, Blue Points, Blue Point, and finally, Blue-Point).)