Bemis & Call H&T wrench

[JimNC]

Since the last wrench I posted turned out to be a barbed wire fence tool I thought my next really should be a wrench. This also came from the farm, it was on top of the cistern pump for as long as anyone could remember.

It is marked
Bemis & Call H & T Co
Springfield Mass U.S.A

Not sure why a pipe wrench and monkey wrench go together, and not sure why they are so often used to beat the **** out of things, but they obviously are.

Anyone know anything about this maker?

 

[notlob]

Bemis & Call was a very large and very early maker of monkey and adjustable wrenches. I run across their wrenches quite frequently.

Alloy Artifacts on B&C:

http://alloy-artifacts.org/other-makers.html#bc-bemis

More info:

http://otools1.wkfinetools.com/mechanicT/BemisCall/history/BC-history-01.asp

 

[olysteve]

They just naturally have good weight at the wrench end and who wants to go chase a hammer when you've got what feels like one in your hand.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[JimNC]

Bemis & Call was a very large and very early maker of monkey and adjustable wrenches. I run across their wrenches quite frequently.

Alloy Artifacts on B&C:

http://alloy-artifacts.org/other-makers.html#bc-bemis

More info:

http://otools1.wkfinetools.com/mechanicT/BemisCall/history/BC-history-01.asp

Thanks, good read.

 

[d42jeep]

I found a Bemis & Call 10” adjustable wrench at a local Tahoe garage sale this week. It is very similar to the 8” version from 1915 that Alloy Artifacts shows in the link Notlob posted upthread. I managed to free up the screw holding the adjusting wheel but the wrench is a little too worn to ever really be usable again. Here are some before and after pictures. Evaporust really took care of the 100 year old rust coating.
-Don

 

[DadsTools]

I found a Bemis & Call 10” adjustable wrench at a local Tahoe garage sale this week. It is very similar to the 8” version from 1915 that Alloy Artifacts shows in the link Notlob posted upthread. I managed to free up the screw holding the adjusting wheel but the wrench is a little too worn to ever really be usable again. Here are some before and after pictures. Evaporust really took care of the 100 year old rust coating.
-Don

Evaporust is da bomb. When it comes to chemical rust removal, I've tried them all (vinegar, Coke, oxalic acid, etc etc) and it has no equal.

The "E" is no doubt an owner's mark? I love the way owner's marks were made on early tools. So neat, professional and elegant as if they were factory marks. They had respect for the tools they owned. Then some clown came up with the electric engraver. Now they look like a 3-year-old's doodle.

 

[ganymede]

.... I love the way owner's marks were made on early tools. So neat, professional and elegant as if they were factory marks. They had respect for the tools they owned. Then some clown came up with the electric engraver. Now they look like a 3-year-old's doodle.

This made me burst out laughing in public. Thanks.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found a Bemis & Call 10” adjustable wrench at a local Tahoe garage sale this week. It is very similar to the 8” version from 1915 that Alloy Artifacts shows in the link Notlob posted upthread.

I picked up a 6 INCH No 80 at the flea today, Don. When I took it apart to clean it and re-grease it, I discovered an "A13" stamp in the dynamic jaw. This one moves like butter.

 

[d42jeep]

An old friend brought me this very cool Bemis & Call wrench today. The wrench is in excellent condition, particularly the wood handle.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a much less interesting looking Bemis & Call monkey wrench I picked up at the Tahoe flea last month. Lugz was nice enough to ID it for me.
-Don

 

[Oldtuleguy]

You can see where someone used it as a hammer

 

[d42jeep]

I found this Bemis & Call 8” monkey wrench at a local sale on Saturday. It cleaned up pretty well even without evaporust.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ that one cleaned up nicely.

Your all-steel wrench in post #10 also makes an appearance in another thread here

 

[Steven 33]

I picked up a 6 INCH No 80 at the flea today, Don. When I took it apart to clean it and re-grease it, I discovered an "A13" stamp in the dynamic jaw. This one moves like butter.

This one must be later I assume?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This one must be later I assume?

The only assessment we can safely make is that it's not marked like my 6-incher, Don's 10-incher, or the 8-incher on AA, which are all marked the same and consistent with trade mag ads between 1915, when it was introduced, and the early 1920s. Later seems reasonable.