Show off your DOE's!

[Outlawmws]

Wow, I guess DOE's get less respect than even adjustable wrenches!

There is a thread (or more) for adjustable wrenches, and a strong one for DBE"S but for DOE's? Nada.

So lets get one going:

Just a starter for what I have (admittedly the Combos and DBEs do outnumber them in my shop, heck, the adjustables might!)

All but the bottom 2 are Long C Craftsman. mostly Tappets ('cause I can't hardly say no to a thin tappet wrench...), bit a few regular DOE's and two Ignition wrenches. the bottom two are Dunlap, another Sears brand that doesn't get a lot of respect.

So, Post em up people! There has to be a few of you out there that, like them or not, have them!

 

[cbacres]

You caught us all to off guard, everyone is out in their shops taking pictures now.

 

[jakemac]

Here's my collection of Billings (triangle-B) DOE's.
The smallest is a #25 (1/2"-19/32") and the largest is a #50 (2-3/16"-2-9/16").
Eventually they'll all get restored, but for now its only the two biggest.
Most are eBay finds.

 

[Rileysan]

I'll add my first post to this thread with photos that were handy at this time.

I believe the first pictures to be Vlchek made DOE wrenches,

Picture 2 is of a couple of unknown (to me) DOE wrenches labeled Buhl and BSA. Am I correct in assuming the latter is for the motorcycle?

Picture 4 is also a group of Vlchek wrenches.

Picture 5 are a group of Indestro wrenches.

Picture 6 is a small group of Penens wrenches

Brian

 

[twertsy]

There's no way I'm laying out my DOEs like I did the DBEs. I will hazard a guess that it's at least a 5:1 majority on DOEs..................

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picture 2 is of a couple of unknown (to me) DOE wrenches labeled Buhl and BSA. Am I correct in assuming the latter is for the motorcycle?

You are. Birmingham Small Arms (famously, "B.S.A" with no period after the A...), just like your wrench.

Here is the logo on the main chaincase of a War Dept WM20:



And here is the entire bike:



You see the oblong case to the rear and down from the oil tank? That's the toolbox. It's currently empty. (I am concentrating on restoring the mechanicals and preserving the rest.) It eventually needs that wrench.

Picture 4 is also a group of Vlchek wrenches.

The ISN 25, 27-C, and 28-S with the ALLOY STEEL on the face of the jaw are wartime wrenches and one of their applications is the Willys MB/Ford GPW jeep. They are worth $15 to $25 per.

 

[MShaw]

My contribution, a set of snap on from 5/16 to 1 5/8 from 1960 - 1962, snap on ignition set from 1962, blackhawk set from 5/16 to 7/8 with one small new britain from prior to 1972 and three large metric wrenches from NBM from 1972.

 

[Oldpine]

Twertsy,
How about some Firestones?
I know you have a few of those.

Tom

 

[chopper1]

Some Fairmount, New Britain ignition, Ward Lakeside, Plomb and Superslim Whitworth

 

[Rileysan]

You are. Birmingham Small Arms (famously, "B.S.A" with no period after the A...), just like your wrench.

Here is the logo on the main chaincase of a War Dept WM20:

And here is the entire bike:

You see the oblong case to the rear and down from the oil tank? That's the toolbox. It's currently empty. (I am concentrating on restoring the mechanicals and preserving the rest.) It eventually needs that wrench.


The ISN 25, 27-C, and 28-S with the ALLOY STEEL on the face of the jaw are wartime wrenches and one of their applications is the Willys MB/Ford GPW jeep. They are worth $15 to $25 per.

Excellent information! Thank you for your comments.

Brian

 

[APEowner]

Hmm. I don't think I own any DOE wrenches. I can see where having some select sizes might be handy...

 

[twertsy]

Twertsy,
How about some Firestones?
I know you have a few of those.

Tom

Despite some helpful forumites, I still don't have many of those...

 

[LesserSon]

Blue Points Chicago, Blue Point Supreme

 

[LesserSon]

A really old Bonney. There are no other marks - not even sizes - besides the B-shield.
Edit - I have a new theory on this one: someone stole it before it was stamped or the gullets ground to widths. They ground the V-gullets at home, and didn't have a set of stamps to mark the sizes. It is however, pretty close to a #31.
Two Bonneys - size markings are the same, but not the sizes.
Two more Bonneys - sizes are the same (1029), but the markings explain the last pair - the across-flats fractional size has replaced the earlier standards.

 

[LesserSon]

Bonney Zenel DOEs: still on the flea-hunt for 3725B, 3033A, 3721, 3725, 3729, 3034A, 3037, 3021, 3723A, 3023, 3033, 3733, 3034, 3035, 3735, 3737; H10, H14, H15, H16, H18 (ranked by my own prejudices).

 

[LesserSon]

Some sets and some not-so-sets. Bridgeport Pyramid missing 23x25mm, Bridgeport Hy-Bar missing 20x22mm, Autokits, Barcalos, Penens, a miscellany, and Indestro. I know where I can snag an Indestro bottle capper for $10, but I'm more often opening bottles than closing them.

 

[LesserSon]

And two pressed-steel wrenches I think are pretty neat.

 

[four.cycle]

only photos I have at the present:

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

I don't really collect DOE, but I do have a collection of them.

Work, just a few odd wrenches I keep in the box. They have been needed a few times so they earned some drawer space.



Home, just a few interesting ones l have held onto.

Plus this fella I picked up a week or so ago.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Couple more pics of the same wrenches.

 

[Oldpine]

Twertsy,
NICE Firestones. One of them looks rather familiar... Did you ever figure out who made those?

Tom

 

[drivesitfar]

Outlaw: i'll post up some pictures soon and just wanted to thank you for starting the thread. It looks like the guys have all got it off to a good start and already posted up some great pictures.

 

[twertsy]

Twertsy,
NICE Firestones. One of them looks rather familiar... Did you ever figure out who made those?

Tom

It should look familiar! Nope, still no decision on who made them. I need more examples......

 

[Username already in use]

It should look familiar! Nope, still no decision on who made them. I need more examples......

The CHROME ALLOY on the shank looks very similar to some Fairmount wrenches.

 

[StillTooManyHobbies]

I'll play. Here's a few of mine, but I should get better pictures to show them together. I have a few more, but need pictures to share. I'm gathering SKs to make a complete set.

 

[Erampu]

Am I the only one who doesn't know what DOE and DBE stand for?

 

[manwithtools]

Am I the only one who doesn't know what DOE and DBE stand for?

I thought I was in the dark too, but just figured it out DOE = Double Open End and DBE = Double Box End...

 

[drivesitfar]

ManwithTools: my guess is what you said and i'm not 100% certain and I own more than a couple.

Erampu: that's how we all learn and why the pictures and threads help all of us. I think MWT hit it on the mark.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: grabbed these out of my tool box and took a few pictures. they are pretty handy and the clip works pretty good.

 

[woody 73]

Wow you guys are just sick...Ok I will play along but I must be nuts...

Just a small grouping of vintage Cornwell, don't you dare get me started on any more different groupings!

 

[drivesitfar]

Woody: got any more?

seriously that bench is glowing it's so clean and shiny. I have FLAT SURFACE DISEASE and actually took my pics of the Craftsmans on the floor of my Honda under a cabinet. what's your secret for curing FSD?

nice stuff and I BET YOU HAVE MORE. it won't hurt to post more pictures and maybe Twertsy, Outlaw, and others will keep posting their drawers full.

 

[Outlawmws]

Wow you guys are just sick...Ok I will play along but I must be nuts...

Just a small grouping of vintage Cornwell, don't you dare get me started on any more different groupings!

hey Woody, nice DOE's (yes you guys got the translations right).

Woody, got any hammers? there is thread for that...

 

[woody 73]

See with the wrench you have a flat metal bar stock that is just plain not interesting , (well old tractor shapes are interesting along with s-shaped wrenches)...with hammers you can have tons of cool shapes!

Jst yesterday I had in my hands my very first cheney hammer, but it had a large chip of metal missing so I passed on it; so tell me how many of you guys own one?

Back to your tv program of flat ugly wrenches...

 

[Outlawmws]

See with the wrench you have a flat metal bar stock that is just plain not interesting , (well old tractor shapes are interesting along with s-shaped wrenches)...with hammers you can have tons of cool shapes!

Jst yesterday I had in my hands my very first cheney hammer, but it had a large chip of metal missing so I passed on it; so tell me how many of you guys own one?

Back to your tv program of flat ugly wrenches...

Two!

 

[LesserSon]

See with the wrench you have a flat metal bar stock that is just plain not interesting , (well old tractor shapes are interesting along with s-shaped wrenches)...with hammers you can have tons of cool shapes!

Jst yesterday I had in my hands my very first cheney hammer, but it had a large chip of metal missing so I passed on it; so tell me how many of you guys own one?

Back to your tv program of flat ugly wrenches...

I hope you're just trying to "twist our nuts." What a philistine thing to say. You're describing the productions of the last quarter century or so. The taper, cross-section, depressed panels, raised letters and numbers from the century before that ARE interesting!
I am assigning you detention: you must return to this thread until you see the error of your ways.

 

[drivesitfar]

Lessor: I TOTALLY AGREE. a tool made today stamped out by a robot or cut with another tool with a computer telling it what to do in no way has any resemblance to the tools wrenches that are VINTAGE. sure it might work the same or close to it, but the heft or patina and style of the old wrenches are COOL.

Woody: some days you are a vintage snob so to speak. I don't see you post at all on the vise thread and are those just simple tools not worth mentioning? or clamps that were made by hand? come on you are one of the good guys so maybe some of us don't post or read all your history threads we still LOVE TOOLS and especially old ones. we'll all take time to read your posts on the history and the people behind making and inventing all these tools so keep putting up those threads and making those posts that let us know you live and breath vintage.

cheers big guy

ALL: I was going to pull out some more wrenches and still might today, but I need to start and finish a brick planter to get a HONEY DO off this list first.

post them up guys and tell stories and give information to brands and details as you can.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

DOE wrenches are wildly popular and desirable among WWII collectors for one simple reason: every truck, from 1/4-ton to 2-1/2-tons (i.e., Willys/Ford, Dodge, Chevy, etc), had a set of five (5) DOE wrenches in its on-board toolkit. These DOEs were used, along with some other basic tools, for what the Army called 1st Echelon (driver-mechanic) level maintenance. Except for the Dodges, the opening sizes were all the same: ISN 723 (3/8 x 7/16), 25 (1/2 x 19/32), 27-C (9/16 x 11/16), 28-S (5/8 x 25/32), and 731-A (3/4 x 7/8).

Here is an extract from the 1942 QMC Engineering Spec for on-board tool-sets (first published in 1934, but I don’t have that version):



Here is an extract from the 1941 Willys MB General Specifications:



These sizes were chosen wisely. They represent every important opening between 3/8 to 7/8 with no duplicate openings on any end.

In fact, most vintage catalogs from that era offer these exact sizes as a set, typically in a leatherette roll-up, for the very same reason. Here is an excerpt from the bottom of the DOE page in the 1941 Bonney catalog as an example.



The Ordnance Dept also issued a General Mechanics Tool-Set to every mechanic at 2nd Echelon depots (most of which were mobile, right behind the front lines). That tool-set had the same basic set of five (5) DOE wrenches, plus a 33-C (1 x 15/16).

Here is an extract of the manual for that tool-set:



Staying with Bonney for my industry examples, here is that set of six (6), with a similar, even more elaborate explanation.



Staying a little longer with Bonney, you'll notice that the QMC engineering drawing number for DOE wrenches was 585. Bonney actually made a special set of wrenches, with "585" on their shanks, that you won't find in any Bonney catalog.

Click on my GJ thread here to see what they look like: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3147879&postcount=1

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here’s a jeep kit with a complete set of Fairmount wrenches (plus an extra 33-C).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here’s a complete Williams set:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here’s a complete set of Duro-Chrome Circle-X:









I'll stop there (don't want to hog the bandwidth)