My small but growing DBE wrench collection

[454ragtop]

Hmm, one thing I've noticed as I've collected the Bonney single offsets is the variety in the production. CV vs Zenel, of course, but even within each, some are marked in the concave hollow of the shank with cast in nomenclature, while others (especially large ones) have stamped markings on the convex sides. I guess I'm not surprised that there are examples in the wild with nothing at all.

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Well, didn't realize some were stamped on the sides, never thought to even look there, so maybe it was marked. I studied both concave sides pretty closely, saw Bonney and CV, but that's it. Learn something new everyday....,.

 

[McFarmer]

Hey there, McFarmer! So....how much did he want for them?

Dollar apiece. I sifted through for a while, Craftsman, Barclo, Williams,Penns that sort of stuff. All sizes and lengths, I’d already spent five bucks for a Diawa rod and reel for my grandson.

I worry if I start buying too much it will prompt the wife to start in. Flood gates and all that. I have made myself familiar with the crystal pattern she collects. I usually am a few feet in front and can misdirect her when I see something.

She wanted a really small tape measure to carry in her purse, we had fun finding one. Then she discovered they also came in colors. Had to find a red one.

Did talk to a wood worker who made cutting boards, among other things. Man, I didn’t know a cutting board could be a work of art, his were. Said he loves the work but can’t charge enough to get paid very well. After all, they’re still just cutting boards.

 

[BlueBomber]

Well, if you come across any reasonably priced single offset DBEs, you can tell your better half you're picking them up for one of your GJ brothers. Maybe it can be a distraction from a nearby shelf of China plates...:-D

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[leg17]

On Friday I found a Vlchek 1/2” x 9/16” DBE shorty at a garage sale. On Saturday I found it’s little brother at the Tahoe flea. Here they are together after a bit of cleaning.
-Don

I have a cousin to these.
But this little feller is Chrome Moly.

 

[bluebolt]

I promised Lesserson pictures of this Bonney Zenel 2826 single offset he needs a couple of weeks ago, little late!!! Note that it has NAF numbers on the side.

I picked up these Craftsmans today. The shorty has a raised letter V instead of a stamping. The big one wasn't cheap but is MINT so I picked it up anyways.

 

[d42jeep]

I have a cousin to these.
But this little feller is Chrome Moly.

Yours is probably prewar, before the metal restrictions. Nice looking wrench.
-Don

 

[bluebolt]

A few more. The Itma is made in Germany and is Whitworth.

 

[bonneyman]

Well, didn't realize some were stamped on the sides, never thought to even look there, so maybe it was marked. I studied both concave sides pretty closely, saw Bonney and CV, but that's it. Learn something new everyday....,.

I've got some old Bonney double flare ends that have this distinction as well.

 

[BlueBomber]

After acquiring my APCO-Mossberg single offset set a month ago via 454ragtop, leg17 turned me on to an auction on Ebay for another set of single offset APCO-Mossbergs. I noticed it included a wrench I was missing, so I bid. It also turns out this set belonged to the owners of the Alloy Artifacts website, so these wrenches are not only rare, they're famous!

I paid way more than I should have, but I got 'em. I now only need the 975 and the 973 to complete my set!



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[BlueBomber]

Here's another set of AA wrenches that were also being offered. I got them for a much more reasonable price.

APCO Mossberg 3011 offset, 13/16" x7/8"--designed for Chevrolet main bearing service
APCO Mossberg 3014 single offset, 9/16" x 13/16"--intended for Chevrolet connecting-rod and main bearing service



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[BlueBomber]

One last Ebay purchase:

Walden Worcester No 2130 single offset, 13/16" x 13/16"

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[Private Lugnutz]

Well, didn't realize some were stamped on the sides

I've got some old Bonney double flare ends that have this distinction as well.

I don't have any Bonney wrenches with brand or model markings on the side, but I do have a DBE wrench with the COO marking stamped on the side. See pic.

I now only need the 975 and the 973 to complete my set!

I have never seen one in the wild, but I'll keep my eyes peeled.

 

[leg17]

I have a single offset 2822 CV with COO on the side.

 

[d42jeep]

I picked this up from Rick. It has the wartime Circle DC logo and wartime sizes but a smooth shaft. What say the GMTK guys?
-Don

 

[Username already in use]

I picked this up from Rick. It has the wartime Circle DC logo and wartime sizes but a smooth shaft. What say the GMTK guys?
-Don

I'm still looking for the 3/8 and 7/16 version. I have the 1/2 and 9/16 as well as the 5/8 and 3/4. It's also a match for the plain steel version marked Chrome Vanadium.

 

[BlueBomber]

I don't have any Bonney wrenches with brand or model markings on the side, but I do have a DBE wrench with the COO marking stamped on the side. See pic.


I have never seen one in the wild, but I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Thanks, Lugz!

Here's a pic of my largest Bonney single offset DBE, a 2839 1-1/4" with part number and size on the side. I think this marking schema was used for all of the sizes larger than 1".

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[Private Lugnutz]

Here's a pic of my largest Bonney single offset DBE, a 2839 1-1/4" with part number and size on the side. I think this marking schema was used for all of the sizes larger than 1".

Interesting observation, BB.

Here's another one: all the markings inside the concave panels are forged; all the markings on the edges of the shank are stamped.

They clearly had space issues inside the concave panels on DBEs for all the markings: name and/or COO on the top side and the CHROME-VANADIUM (CV) branding on the flip side would make the placement of the model number on the same die difficult. The forged date code would make the placement of at least one of the sizes on the same die difficult. But why the larger wrenches? Okay, the size marking is a little bigger than size markings less than 1". But the wrenches, and therefore the panels, are a little longer. The smaller wrenches would present even more of a problem, no?

Curiouser and curiouser.

EDIT: Note they would not have the same issue on the DOEs because they had the flat faces to work with. Dang you guys are going to make me dig all my Bonney DBEs out now. This is not something I remember coming up before!

 

[bonneyman]

I don't have any Bonney wrenches with brand or model markings on the side, but I do have a DBE wrench with the COO marking stamped on the side. See pic.


I have never seen one in the wild, but I'll keep my eyes peeled.

I don't have many pics with the side numbers, but here's one. May have to gather up all the flare wrenches together and take better pics.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I didn't have enough of my own to be confident in drawing any conclusions, but after looking at the AA site (TA still down...), the only conclusion I can draw is that I can't find any logical pattern (by size, era, model number, etc) for the side markings.

 

[LesserSon]

How about this: the ones that were made for box sets like this one were stamped so there’d be something to read while grabbing the size you needed. The ones with no side stamp were sold loose, LOL!

 

[d42jeep]

I found these DBE wrenches at an estate sale today. I didn’t realize until I looked closely at the picture that all of the unplated Thorsen wrenches were the same size.
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

Picked up this longC today. 1-1/16x1-1/4. Would have snagged more, but my competition was younger and faster.

 

[Rileysan]

I found these DBE wrenches at an estate sale today. I didn’t realize until I looked closely at the picture that all of the unplated Thorsen wrenches were the same size.
-Don

I can't tell from the photo (looking on my phone) but are they coated with cosmoline? I came across a similar batch of wrenches at a swap meet. They were all Vlchek DBEs of the same size and were all black from being coated and stored in cosmoline. I told the seller why they were black and that I thought they were military surplus. He thanked me for the information and handed me a wrench as a gift. It will remain as it was given to me, so long as I own it.

Brian

Vlchek WBH2528, 7/8" x 13/16"

 

[Rileysan]

I went to a swap meet today and this followed me home. Tiger Tools Chrome Molybdenum, 9/16" x 5/8" obstruction DBE wrench. It struck me as unusual so I grabbed it.

Brian

 

[d42jeep]

I can't tell from the photo (looking on my phone) but are they coated with cosmoline? I came across a similar batch of wrenches at a swap meet. They were all Vlchek DBEs of the same size and were all black from being coated and stored in cosmoline. I told the seller why they were black and that I thought they were military surplus. He thanked me for the information and handed me a wrench as a gift. It will remain as it was given to me, so long as I own it.

Brian

Vlchek WBH2528, 7/8" x 13/16"

Brian,
These were old, well used, gas station wrenches. The Thorsen trio were early and unplated. The others benefited from some cleaning and Evaporust soaking.
-Don

 

[davethorik]

Heres my Mac BXL long double box collection so far.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

These were old, well used, gas station wrenches. The Thorsen trio were early and unplated.

I understand what you're saying, Don, that they did not come in a surplus condition to you. But they might have to the service station. But what do you mean by "early"? Pre-war? What do the markings on a wartime THORSEN DBE look like in your opinion? I know the 20XX series isn't found in the c.1935 catalog, but that might actually be more telling (for wartime) than not. EDIT: Not challenging you. I'm not even sure I have any Thorsen DBE's. Just curious.

 

[d42jeep]

I understand what you're saying, Don, that they did not come in a surplus condition to you. But they might have to the service station. But what do you mean by "early"? Pre-war? What do the markings on a wartime THORSEN DBE look like in your opinion? I know the 20XX series isn't found in the c.1935 catalog, but that might actually be more telling (for wartime) than not. EDIT: Not challenging you. I'm not even sure I have any Thorsen DBE's. Just curious.

Lugz,
I have a fairly small group of tools in my Thorsen collection that are cad or unplated. Since most of my other Thorsen tools are chrome plated, it’s possible that these tools were made during the metal restrictions but I don’t have any proof one way or the other. I consider most of my collection postwar. The illustrations in the ‘30s catalog look as if the tools were plated but I’m not sure.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

My hunch would be those triplets are wartime, but we could re-visit this some day on the Thorsen thread.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This 5-pc WARDS MASTER QUALITY CHROME ALLOY set followed me home from the flea market this morning. Missing one maybe two wrenches in between the second and the third from the top, but they look pretty darn good together as is. They're very conventional wrenches, as you can see, with a plain jane flat shank and 45* offsets. Consequently, nothing about them is really jumping out at me as far as a maker. Montgomery Ward had several suppliers for their MQ line, for wrenches, most notably BHM, but they don't look like BHM to me. Other suppliers, not necessarily wrenches included Duro-Indestro and Vlchek. Again, not screaming those to me. "CHROME ALLOY" was used as a compositional branding by several mfgrs, such as Fairmount, Williams, and Armstrong in 1940-41, but they don't look like any of those, either.

Thoughts?

 

[d42jeep]

PowrKraft wrenches were sourced from Barcalo and Thorsen. Maybe Thorsen? What do you think?
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hmm. You may be onto something there, Don. Before they went to the PK line.

When you get a chance, post a profile shot of those Thorsen.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ll do it as soon as I get a chance. We are running down the hill today so will be busy unpacking for a few days. Here is a DOE with similar markings.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

No rush, Don. I'd say exactly the same markings - and I'd have to conclude from the same mfgr. Is it marked CHROME ALLOY on the back?

 

[d42jeep]

I don’t think that there were markings on the back. With a few exceptions, Thorsen wrenches generally were marked on one side only. Here are a couple of profile shots but it seems that Thorsen was constantly changing the offset slightly over the years.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Definitely not at all out of the realm of possibility. In fact, except for the one with the sharp offset, obviously, the others have a very similar shape. The WMQ are ever so slightly thicker in the shank, and the edges are more square, whereas yours are more rounded.

 

[LesserSon]

D42’s say MFD USA, Lugz’s say MADE IN USA.
Is that a time indicator? Which would be earlier/later production?

 

[d42jeep]

D42’s say MFD USA, Lugz’s say MADE IN USA.
Is that a time indicator? Which would be earlier/later production?

I think we discussed that on the Thorsen thread. Most of my metric wrenches are marked MFD USA so I think that's a newer marking. I imagine that contract wrenches would be marked however the customer wanted. I think the sequence goes like this. The earliest wrenches have no location marked. The next generation is just marked USA and the newer ones are the MFG USA marked.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I think my WARDS MASTER QUALITY CHROME ALLOY wrenches are older than Don's Thorsen wrenches even regardless of the MADE vs MFD marking. (When Thorsen adopted the MFD marking is a whole 'nother subject - and interesting in its own right given the fact that the only other mfgr who used MFD was the Plomb Empire, and there's a connection vis-à-vis Ned Boyd and P&C. See post #495 and #490 in the Thorsen thread for more on that.) I was just interested in seeing if Don's hunch about the WMQCA's being possibly Thorsen-made panned out physically, even if they are later.

Now this is going even later, but what did the Thorsen-made Monkey Ward's PowrKraft era DBE's look like?

 

[d42jeep]

Most of my DBE wrenches were made by Barcalo and aren't offset. Here are some of the Thorsen made wrenches and they aren't offset either.
-Don