Nice thread, thanks for posting, and interesting to see those MM tractors what a great idea to have the museum in the new building. I have to tell this story again now...
I have these 2 Barcolo Buffalo DBE wrenches and the sizes are stamped on opposite sides. Both wrenches have one side with the AF sizes and FORGED VANADIUM on it and the other side BARCOLO BUFFALO USA but not the same way round on both wrenches.. They always spark me off on this story...
One of these is a bit mangled and bent at one end where one hot dusty itchy day it was left on a belt adjuster of a Minneapolis Moline combine harvester and the machine was started up, and it literally became what we call here 'a spanner in the works'. Everyone survived ok though.
I don't know if these wrenches actually came with that machine but the MM combine was supplied to us by the War Agricultural Committee I think as part of WW2 Lend-Lease. It was the first combine harvester in the county and the operators had never even seen one before it arrived, it came packaged as a kit in several wooden crates delivered to the farm from the local station on a horse drawn wagon. When they opened the crates and started to put it together they discovered there was no engine, but then heard there was a wooden crate left at a pub by the roadside a couple of miles away. The horse had got tired and the thirsty carrier had got sick of the job and left it there. With the help of the excellent instructions enclosed and tools sent with the kits of parts they assembled the combine and it served us very well and harvested all the farms in the area for years to come. It was a well made and loved machine, the operator who taught me combining in the 1970's was still saying what a good strong machine it was and how well it worked, but only once they had got the engine!!.
So when I use my old Barcolo wrench I think of the story of it. Hope you enjoy it too. PS Thanks for the machines.
