Braunsdorf-Mueller tools

Private Lugnutz · Nov 20, 2017

Braunsdorf-Mueller tools

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Catalog

None exists in the public domain on IA/ITCL or anywhere else that I know of. In lieu of a catalog, I developed a list of BMCo tools by the year and trade directory that they are listed in.

1905 Iron Age
Arbors
Blow pipes
Chisels, box, brick, floor, and ripping
Countersinks
Cutters, lace, leather, rod, and washer
Die holders
Dressers, emery wheel
Drive punches
Hacksaw frames
Hand vises
Hooks, box, cotton, and hay
Irons, binding, burnishing, and calking
Mandrels
Plumb-bobs
Pumps, bicycle and auto
Ratchet drills
Screwdriver bits
Sets, grommet, nail, and rivet
Surface gauges
Tools, bell-centering, plasterers, and wood turners
Wrenches, tap and reamer

1915 Chilton
Carbon scrapers
Hand vises
Punches, center, and *****
Ratchet drills
Raw and semi-finished materials
Rivets
Tapping machines
Valve-lifting tools
Wrenches

1918 Automobile Trade Directory
Cutters, washer, gasket
Dresser, emery wheel
Drills, ratchet
Drivers, screw (New Century, Ideal)
Pliers, combination
Pullers, cotter pin
Punches, center, drift, and *****
Scrapers, bearing
Scrapers, carbon
Tools, valve-grinding
Vises, machinists’

1922 Engineering Trade Directory
Bell Centering Tools
Blow Pipes
Chisels, plumbers’ and steamfitters
Dressers and cutters, grinding, emery wheel
Drills, star point and diamond point
Holders, knurl
Mitre boxes
Pliers, combination
Punches, center
Ratchets and ratchet drills
Reamers
Valve-grinding, Valve-lifting tools
Wrenches, nut and bolt

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Old post #1:

I was sorting through an old hex drive pressed steel socket set tonight and realized that one of the handles didn't belong. After cleaning it, I discovered that it's a Braunsdorf-Mueller Company tubular steel T-L socket wrench, 1/2" openings on both ends. The hole (more visible in the thumbnails) near the offset end is for a tommy bar to turn it like a T-handle for the other end.

View media item 77146
These came in sets from 1/2" to 7/8", with two tommy bars, in a leatherette roll-up.

SZxIjA3stoPmMOnHbZg&ci=57%2C801%2C434%2C702&edge=0.jpg

See thumbnails below for close-ups, including one of the "[(B M Co)]" brand marking.

Being in NJ, I enjoy collecting NJ mfgrs, especially the obscure ones, and this was a tool I didn't even realize I had!

Private Lugnutz · Dec 1, 2017

As reported in the Garage Sale thread, I found two more of these at my first early bird flea market stop this morning. I couldn't believe my eyes and couldn't dig them out of the bottom of the rusty grimy box fast enough. Came out of a basement that was part of a house cleanout. There were some tools in the lot that I could not even identify. These will require more aggressive cleaning, but they're interesting. Either Braunsdorf-Mueller had loose standards, or these are all from different production years. The one I already had (a #7, 1/2" diameter) has the BMCo logo and a black rust-proof finish, perhaps black enamel. The #11 (11/16") has the full company name and location ("ELIZ.N.J.U.S.A."), no signs of any finish (or else it's just gone), and the #10 (3/4") doesn't have any branding that I can see, just the model number, no finish.

Private Lugnutz · Dec 9, 2017

I found another Braunsdorf-Mueller tool. It's a hex socket, with a bit tang, meant to be turned with the kind of bit brace we tend to associate only with drills and augers. Finished in the same black rust-proofing as the bent tubing socket wrenches. Marked "3/8", which has to be the size of the U.S.S. nuts and bolts it was intended to turn, because the opening measures at 11/16". This one has the [(BMCo)] logo marking stamped into the other side of the tang.

Private Lugnutz · Feb 9, 2018

As first reported on the 2018 Garage Sale thread, linked here, I found a Braunsdorf-Mueller ratchet this morning. It’s 1/2-inch square drive non-reversible. I don’t know if it was meant to have a push-through male drive plug or not. The drive opening is slightly camfered in the center of each side. I have to think about that further. It has nine (9) teeth. I’m not too keen on taking it apart, as I don’t want to strip the original screws, but I’m thinking about it. Marked with forged-in mfgr’s name and address as seen in photos. No other forge marks. I am guessing 1920’s. Need to do some research. I wasn't aware that Braunsdorf-Mueller even made drive tools.

woody 73 · Feb 9, 2018

LOL, you are like me in that I love tools made in my Home state of "Ahia" and you love tools from your Home State of NJ. :beer:

Any company History besides AA that you are aware of ?

Private Lugnutz · Feb 9, 2018

woody 73 said:
Any company History besides AA that you are aware of ?

Not really. We've got a founding date on Tools Archive, but I haven't really dug into it yet. This ratchet might be the impetus.

Curiosity got the best of me and I disassembled it, cleaned it, lubed it up, and re-assembled it. Photos on the Ratchet Thread, linked here.

Private Lugnutz · Mar 24, 2018

As first reported in the 2018 Garage Sale thread, I found another Braunsdorf-Mueller steel tube angle socket wrench at my flea market this morning. I was hoping it wasn't a duplicate, and it's not. It's a #9 (5/8" service openings).

Below are some photos of the new arrival and the entire set.

#7 (1/2")
#9 (5/8")
#10 (3/4")
#11 (11/16")

Cf mtn · Mar 24, 2018

Private Lugnutz said:
As first reported in the 2018 Garage Sale thread, I found another Braunsdorf-Mueller steel tube angle socket wrench at my flea market this morning. I was hoping it wasn't a duplicate, and it's not. It's a #9 (5/8" service openings).

Below are some photos of the new arrival and the entire set.

#7 (1/2")
#9 (5/8")
#10 (3/4")
#11 (11/16")

keep it up lugs, you're halfway to making that set!

Private Lugnutz · Mar 24, 2018

Thanks for the vote of confidence and encouragement, Cf! Not a bad pace - 4 wrenches in 5 months. I'm thinking that leatherette roll-up will take a stroke of major luck, though. I may just have to settle for something close on that.

Cf mtn · Mar 24, 2018

yeah, that'll be something, running across that pouch. i ran across a greezy tool roll the other day that had a couple little mac wrenches, missing most and the seller still wanted to much. i bring those home when priced right. i'll keep an I out. good luck.

Modern Garage · Mar 25, 2018

My favorite part is the pliers/vise-grip marks in the #10 &11. Almost looks decorative in the right light...
Joe

Private Lugnutz · Mar 25, 2018

Modern Garage said:
My favorite part is the pliers/vise-grip marks in the #10 &11. Almost looks decorative in the right light...

Good eye, MG. Notice, too, that those two have been completely denuded of their black enamel finish from hard use, while the #7 and #9 have retained it for the most part.

6PTsocket · Mar 26, 2018

I found them mentioned in a history of Elizabeth, NJ. Aside from what already has been mentioned, there was a one day strike in 1918 for a 10% raise and elimination of piece work. The company agreed. The author says that some of the buildings are still standing. Vlchek made similar wrenches. I was unable to find out when they closed.It is incredible what an industrial powerhouse Elizabeth was. I had no idea. Singer Sewing Machine employed thiusands in it's heyday. During WWII Singer made a few .45 pistols to demonstrate their ability, in hopes if landing a contract. They were of such high quality that they are highly prized by collectors. I have Cman electric drill that was made by Singer.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Private Lugnutz · Mar 27, 2018

6PTsocket said:
Vlchek made similar wrenches.

I thought I discussed that here, but it must have been on the 2017 Garage Sale thread, when I first found my first wrench. As far as I can tell, Vlchek and Braunsdorf-Mueller are the only two mfgrs of these type wrenches, and I have not been able to determine if it was blind independence, if there was a business relationship (partnership, one contracted to the other, etc), if one "appropriated" the design from the other, or who owned the patent, if there was one, which I have not been able to track down. DATAMP has many patents assigned to each entity, but none of them for bent/pinched steel tube socket wrenches.

Private Lugnutz · Apr 2, 2018

A recent American Swiss (A.S.F. & T. Co.) double-bow trimmer's punch thread and discussion on the tool in general prompted me to go through my collection and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a previously unidentified specimen is a Braunsdorf-Mueller with the "(B) M (CO))" logo! If I hadn't found the tube wrench, I never would've figured out what the logo on the cutting punch was.

DadsTools · Apr 2, 2018

Anymore, my primary regret of having left NJ is access to those incredible flea markets. Lots of old stuff still floating around there. Well, I miss the food too, maybe more, really.

Looks like the pitch in the ad you found was true after all....Tools That Last.

Great finds, Lugz!

3baygarage · Nov 3, 2019

Here’s an old screw wrench by Braunsdorf Mueller

BMCo The HOLTYTE Wrench Elizabeth, N.J.

Patented in 1921

6-1/2” long

3baygarage · Nov 3, 2019

Patent sketch

Datamp:

http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=1376721&id=34515

Official Gazette of The United States Patent Office Volume 286 , from Google Books:

https://books.google.com/books?id=n9NRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=1376721+wrench&source=bl&ots=LNJj-0zlxe&sig=ACfU3U1Sr7vNzXzOmTlFaRQee4hvoRx_Jg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqjcrAqs_lAhVGmlkKHWenCdsQ6AEwAnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=1376721%20wrench&f=false

Private Lugnutz · Nov 3, 2019

Sooooo jealous! :drool:

Nice find.

3baygarage · Nov 3, 2019

I thought you’d like this one Lugz. I’m curious to know if there are other examples around here to compare it to.

Private Lugnutz · Nov 4, 2019

I highly doubt it, 3bay. I have never seen that (B)M(Co) tool before - it isn't on my "List" of (B)M(Co) tools (painstakingly compiled from looking through old trade directories dated 1905, 1920, and 1922 on ITCL), and I have never seen another adjustable crescent type wrench that operated like that from an other OEM.

I'm wondering if the paint was original.

A ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶ wicked enabler who no longer posts here regularly but knows of my predilection for Braunsdorf-Mueller tipped me off to a 4-pc set of NOS nut drivers, in the NOS box, on eBay. The seller wants $125. I have made the guy three offers. eBay is giving me his threshold, which I refuse to pay. I am going to wait him out or lose them to someone with deeper pockets than me, one or the other. But those were not on my list, either.

I don't known when they went kaput, but things keep popping up that suggest it was later than 1924 (seems to be the last year of active advertising), or we just aren;t seeing the whole production picture without a catalog.

3baygarage · Nov 4, 2019

Interesting. I was hoping someone may have another one because this wrench is slightly different than the drawings.

The handle's covered in plasti dip or something similar, so not original. A PO must have done it as there's some dribble near the moving parts.

3baygarage · Nov 4, 2019

There's one listed in the April 2008 Wrenching News auction, where they state they've only seen two examples. Then again, that was 2008,lol.

The handle appears to be coated in Plast Dip or similar, so not original.

Private Lugnutz · Nov 4, 2019

3baygarage said:
The handle appears to be coated in Plast Dip or similar, so not original.

Ah. I couldn't tell if it was paint put on thick and goopy or what. Are you going to strip it? I would. You have a rare bird there, 3bay. (I am going to "appropriate" some of your pics, with all due credit, of course, for a future thread I am working on, if you don't mind...)

3baygarage · Nov 4, 2019

Sure. I'll probably leave it as is.

leg17 · Nov 15, 2019

Private Lugnutz said:
I thought I discussed that here, but it must have been on the 2017 Garage Sale thread, when I first found my first wrench. As far as I can tell, Vlchek and Braunsdorf-Mueller are the only two mfgrs of these type wrenches, and I have not been able to determine if it was blind independence, if there was a business relationship (partnership, one contracted to the other, etc), if one "appropriated" the design from the other, or who owned the patent, if there was one, which I have not been able to track down. DATAMP has many patents assigned to each entity, but none of them for bent/pinched steel tube socket wrenches.

Have a full set of 8, no.50 thru no.57, by Vlchek, including tommy-bar and canvas roll-up, such as it is.
Only have 2 B&M, no 7 and 8, but looking for more.
While obviously similar, they are not identical.
Different orientation and a stouter wall thickness on the B&M. Note the differences in the last comparison photo.
Hard to imagine that two separate companies would tool up for this item, but, one explanation is as good as another at this point.

Private Lugnutz · Nov 16, 2019

leg17 said:
Have a full set of 8, no.50 thru no.57, by Vlchek, including tommy-bar and canvas roll-up, such as it is.

Dang, leg! How long have you been sitting on those without telling anyone?! You and HeelSpur are the sneakiest collectors on GJ. And I say that with the upmost respect! :lol:

That's a sweet set, raggedy roll-up included.

leg17 said:
While obviously similar, they are not identical.
Different orientation and a stouter wall thickness on the B&M. Note the differences in the last comparison photo.
Hard to imagine that two separate companies would tool up for this item, but, one explanation is as good as another at this point.

Thanks for the comparison. I don't have any Vlchek so I was working off of shape and on-line comparisons only. As far as I know they were the only two US OEM's making them. I don't know when FACOM started making them (called cle-a-pipes in Europe), but believe it or not, they still make them and they are very popular with mechanics.

leg17 said:
Only have 2 B&M, no 7 and 8, but looking for more.

So, I don't know if you just happened upon this thread for the first time, you used the Sticky Index or what, or if you've seen it before but stayed mum, but if you saw post #7 back on page 1, linked here, you know I have collected four (4) (B(M)Co) wrenches - No. 7, 9, 10, & 11. And I would surely love to have your wrench No. 8 to make it five (5) if you ever decided to abandon your quest!

EDIT: But if not, any dupes I find are headed your way!

leg17 · Nov 18, 2019

Here is a Braunsdorf-Mueller Socket Set.

Ratchet is about 10 1/2" OAL with 1/2" square drive.
Ten pressed, or formed, steel sockets, plus a screwdriver bit.
May be a complete set as the sockets range from 7/16 to 1 1/16 by 16ths while missing the 15/16.
To state the obvious, they seem to be automobile intended as there are no USS sizes, such as 25/32, and the wall thickness limits the strength anyway. Wall varies from about .090 on the smallest to about .115 on the largest.
The ratchet seems to function and the various pieces have about 50% black remaining. (Enamel? or Jappaning?)
The sockets are unmarked except for the size, so I am only assuming that they are original to this ratchet.

Anyone know anything about these?

Private Lugnutz · Nov 18, 2019

Leg,

I have never seen a Braunsdorf-Mueller catalog, but the name does appear in various trade directories categorized by types of tools. From those I have assembled a sort of production history. The only record I have of "Socket Wrenches" is a 1922 Engineering Directory Buyers' Reference. They weren't included in BMCo's listings in the 1905 Iron Age.

I have the same ratchet (see Post #4) but no sockets. Thanks for posting those. Now I know what they look like and how they're marked or not marked.

EDIT: I do have a socket with a (B(M)Co) stamp on it (see Post #3), but it has a solid bit brace type tang meant to be turned with a bit brace type device.

wtn1271 · Feb 20, 2020

Re: Braunsdorf-Mueller tools

ReStore find, BMCo screwdriver. Overall length 13", blade width 3/8". Found some info on the manufacturer on AA. Any way to figure an actual date or range of production?

Private Lugnutz · Feb 20, 2020

Glad you posted here, wtn.

As I told you on the Garage Sale thread, that is an awesome find. Any Braunsdorf-Mueller examples are hard to find in the wild, and I have to say, I didn't even know they made "perfect handle" screwdrivers.

As far as I know, there aren't any Braunsdorf-Mueller catalogs available online. But BMCo is listed by tool category in plenty of trade journals online (e.g., Automobile Trade Journal, Chilton's, Iron Age, and Engineering Trade Directories), and I have used those to create a production record for 1905, 1910, 1915 and 1922. I don't have any record of screwdrivers.

Are those wooden inserts in that handle or Bakelite?

wtn1271 · Feb 20, 2020

Re: Braunsdorf-Mueller tools

Inserts are wood. Darker than other 'perfect handle' drivers I have but this one seems to be coated with some preservative, probably BLO, so maybe that has darkened the wood some.

Also, thanks for the heads up on checking the Sticky posts. I have some other items (various mfg's) to post after I sort and clean them up.

Boringgeoff · Jun 8, 2020

This is my Braunsdorf-Mueller circle cutter, designed to go in a carpenters brace. It's a really well made tool, compared to some.Two clamp screws allow the blades to be adjusted, I've been told that the inner and outer circle would often be cut individually in which event one blade could be raised out of the way.One of the most common uses on farms was for cutting leather pump-washers for windmills and the like.

Cheers,
Geoff.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 8, 2020

Nice find. And, that might be the cleanest, most crisply stamped example of the (B)M(Co)) logo I have ever seen.

Private Lugnutz · Oct 17, 2020

In post #21 above on this page, from November last year, I mentioned a 4-pc set of Braunsdorf-Mueller nutdrivers in a Braunsdorf-Mueller marked cardboard box that I was hankering badly for on eBay, but not for the asking price ($125). I made several offers I considered reasonable (stopping at $75 as I recall) explaining that while what he had, a complete set of anything in its original box, was rare, it was not a brand that was in demand to merit that kind of value.

Glad I demurred. I just scored the same set for $20 from a different seller that just popped up. No box. But I took care of that with one from my stock of empty cardboard hardware store type boxes that I pick up at flea markets for just these kinds of future eventualities. :pimpflash

No rhyme or reason to the model numbers (34=3/8", 33=11/32", 32=5/16", and 30=1/4") with respect to the 6-point service opening sizes as far as I can ascertain (unless I am being dense...), and they don't match the model number schemes of Vlchek (ND-12=3/16" - ND-36=7/16") or Walden-Worcester (3406=3/16" - 3420=5/8"), all three being unique to each other and, again, seemingly divorced from the sizes in any fractional correlation.

The sockets on these are press fit. You can see the edge of the pinch marks on the 33.

Each nutdriver is marked "BRAUNSDORF-MUELLER CO." / "ELIZ. N.J. U.S.A." on the ferrule.

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2020

A recent acquisition, advertised as an adjustable pin spanner.

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2020

I'm not so sure. Could be. If so, it would be a very unique approach. Most adjustable spanners (pin or hook) are offset. Meaning the pins or hooks are 90* to the handle, the same way they are oriented in pin or hook spanners that are not adjustable. So you can bear down and get some serious leverage. Also, all of them (Billings, Williams, etc) have integral steel handles. And this is a lot of handle for a pin spanner of any kind. See Pics 1, 2, and 3.

What I thought of when I first saw it was an adjustable valve lapper or grinder. See Pics 4 & 5.

On top of that, I have no reference for Braunsdorf-Mueller making pin spanners. Catalogs are non-existent, but as I have noted before, I have painstakingly compiled a list of BMCo tools from various trade mags from 1905 through 1934, and no pin spanners show up. Valve grinding tools do.

Username already in use · Oct 25, 2020

Private Lugnutz said:
Thanks for the comparison. I don't have any Vlchek so I was working off of shape and on-line comparisons only.

Ummm yes you do. You e got at least one. Haha. I gave you one when we met up this summer and I have another Vlchek here waiting to head your way.

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2020

I haven't had any luck so far tracing down the patent implied by the "PAT APL'D FOR" marking. Whatever it is, it has the crispest (finest, clearest, deepest) stamped "(B)M(Co)" logo of all my Braunsdorf-Mueller tools.

What say you fellow collectors? Leg? 3bay? Thoughts?

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2020

Username already in use said:
Ummm yes you do. You e got at least one. Haha. I gave you one when we met up this summer and I have another Vlchek here waiting to head your way.

True. But I didn't have one when I wrote that last year!

I have since compared them, and the jury is still out.

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