c.1926 "SPEEDNUT" wrench

[HeelSpur]

8" & 6" Speednut.

DSCF2526 by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Sweet HeelSpur.

Somewhere upthread I do a summary and timeline of the patents and all the different makes, but I am making a note to myself to update it with the Larcoloy and Larcomatic.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was just up on the "Tools of the Old World" thread on the General Discussion board to ask a question about a probably German-made wedge-adjust wrench I am hoping to identify, when I noticed that the current topic of discussion is about a new line of Wera wrenches called Joker that are all the rage right now, including this 6004 that might look awfully familiar on this thread....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mEOKwEu7MwE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And that reminded someone else of this one being made by Solsans...

HAHAHAHA!

What comes around goes around, apparently - 100 years later, and in Europe!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up an original PAT. PEND. (c. 1915) Cochran SPEEDNUT wrench and a later (1920's) SPEEDNUT Corporation wrench at the flea market this morning.

 

[Kev442]

Nice. I just stumbled upon my 1920's small one last month. A working of the jaws reminded me why I never play with it, it has a bad spot when rotated.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice grab! First pat pending one i have seen.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice grab! First pat pending one i have seen.

Yeah I was thrilled.

...it has a bad spot when rotated.

What do you mean by a "bad spot"? What happens?

 

[Semi-hole mechanic]

Very cool Lugz. I wonder why they fell out of favor? They look like they would be easy to use as far as adjustables go.

 

[Farmer J.]

What do you mean by a "bad spot"? What happens?

Maybe it results him getting a blood blister from the mechanism! Ouch.

Those are nice finds Lugz, it will be an interesting collection you are building up there. I hadn't made the connection with the modern Wera 'Joker' 6044 being the same as I haven't actually seem one yet.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Very cool Lugz. I wonder why they fell out of favor? They look like they would be easy to use as far as adjustables go.

The easiest! It quite literally self adjusts. You put it around the nut right side up and the dynamic jaw closes with gravity on the nut and locks on when you start turning. To best describe the action, if you hold it aloft in one hand and just casually flip it back and forth to one side and the other, the jaw will continuously open and close to its min and max capacities without any assistance.

As for them falling out of favor, it's a good question. In fact, there is a thread on that topic (something like 'Indispensable tools no longer made', or something like that...) up on the GD board somewhere. Why did the worm-gear thumb-adjust crescent type adjustable become a standard? Capriciousness (by mechanics, over time...) and marketing, probably, in my opinion. Some argue that obsolescence is always the mechanical version of Darwinism's 'Survival of the Fittest.' Lack of demand by users. I am unabashedly, fervently, and informatively not in that camp. Not in all cases. As a demonstration of the argument against that, note that Wera and Solsans are making modern versions of the Cochran SPEEDNUT in Europe, and they are very popular (an ex pat and good friend of mine owns and operates a bike shop in Barcelona). See Post #43 upthread this page.

I hadn't made the connection with the modern Wera 'Joker' 6044 being the same as I haven't actually seem one yet.

Me neither, but I have seen the video.

This trend - European toolmakers reviving antique US tool designs - is remarkable, J. There's something going on there. It seems very deliberate to me.

Many European mechanics consider FACOM's cles-a-pipes style wrenches their 'go-to' wrench, for example, in the same way we here in the US would automatically reach for a ratchet and socket. The literal translation would be "pipe wrenches", but that would be misleading. They are offset socket wrenches, with a shank in the middle of two fixed ends, like the old fuddy duddy kind that Walden-Worcester and Mossberg were making here in the early 1900's, before we went detachable, but made of tubular steel, like Braunsdorf-Mueller and Vlchek made. Again, they are extremely popular, and very practical and effective. And yet they permanently "fell out of favor" (to borrow Semi-hole mechanic's appropriate term) here in the US by 1930!

And I just discovered that Matador and others are making Auto-Kit type wrenches. Yes, small combination wrenches with a flat shank that nestle together in a tight little set with a hole through the shank for a bolt and wingnut. Those would never sell here. Too antiquated. Too quaint.

 

[Farmer J.]

This trend - European toolmakers reviving antique US tool designs - is remarkable, J. There's something going on there. It seems very deliberate to me.
.

I reckon I know what's going on. They are reading 'Vintage Tools' in Garage Journal. Then they have those board meetings with all the suits sat around a big shiny table, and someone says " Have you seen those Speednut Adjustables, seems like a novel idea, let's make some of those, we are very clever chaps!"

Apart from the examples you mention I see Snap On recently had a special offer on 1/2" drive Speeder handles with a knuckle joint, and saying how quick and easy they are to use to break a fastener loose like a wheel nut, then whizz it off.

Next 'new' thing to look out for will be little hexagon drive socket sets, "because hexagon drive is more compact than square drive"!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Haha!

 

[Farmer J.]

Not wanting to derail the thread too much, but I just found another example. A re make of the 1929 Edwin J Evans design..

https://www.yankodesign.com/2020/08...s-a-glorious-redesign-after-nearly-130-years/

Maybe we should have a new thread, something like 'Redesigns of vintage tools'?

 

[steaks&anvils]

As a demonstration of the argument against that, note that Wera and Solsans are making modern versions of the Cochran SPEEDNUT in Europe, and they are very popular (an ex pat and good friend of mine owns and operates a bike shop in Barcelona). See Post #43 upthread this page.

This trend - European toolmakers reviving antique US tool designs - is remarkable, J. There's something going on there. It seems very deliberate to me.

Not to hi-jack the thread, but to add to your comment about European manufacturers making old USA tool designs again.

Did you see this?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1C03IU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Adding Auto Wrenches to the list!

 

[Kev442]

Yeah I was thrilled.


What do you mean by a "bad spot"? What happens?

When rotating to close it up to grip the nut, it comes to an abrupt halt and you have to work it quite a bit to get past it. Its basically stripped. I've had adjustable wrenches that did pretty much the same thing, really clunky area.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Ah. Got it. Thanks.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I'd like to start up this conversation again. I have been researching Larco for a while now to try and understand this web of mysteries. We now know Larco went bankrupt in 1928. According to an article in the Iron Trade Review published March 8, 1928, Larco along with all it's patents & equipment was sold at auction on March 2, 1928.. When Larco bought Cochran in 1921 they still continued to manufacturer the Speednut wrench. By 1924 Larson set up the Speednut Corporation which wrenches stamped this way was still manufactured by Larco. Larson made an improvement an applied for Patent 1,602,620 in 1924 & it was granted in 1926. So, technically speaking, this particular Speednut wrench was made by Larco before they went bankrupt. The wrench was stamped PAT May 2, 16 & under that stamped OTHERS PEND. If you are a Larco fan, this is the one to have. It's the one pictured in the Popular Mechanics ad in post #5 of this thread. You can actually zoom in on the wrench & see how it's stamped. It's the same one pictured in the first post of this thread as well.

After Larco went bankrupt in 1928, Chicago Mfg & Distributing manufactured the Speednut wrench & the wrench was no longer stamped Speednut Corp. It was simply stamped Speednut by Chicago Mfg & Dist. (pics attached). Larson made another improvement an applied for Patent 1,830,033 in 1931. These wrenches were now stamped with both patent numbers (1,602,620 & 1,830,033). According to DATAMP, the manufacturers for the 1,830,033 patent was Speednut Corp & Hedstrom Industries. From what I understand the later "Larcoloy" name is associated to Hedstrom.

It's crazy to think that to understand the full story about Larco it involves a web of 5 other manufacturers/names. You've got Cochran, Speednut Corp, Chicago Mfg & Distributing, Hedstrom Industries & Larcoloy. Actually 6 if you want to throw in Evans Mfg, but I'm unclear about that at this point. But, at least the world knows what the heck happened to Larco Wrench & Manufacturing Company.

 

[four.cycle]

patent 1830620 isn't related to "wrench". can you please check that number?

 

[AntiqueBen]

My mistake. I put the last 3 of the earlier patent. I made the correction. Thanks for the keen eye four.cycle.

 

[RTM]

Here I was scrolling thru the Vintage Board, see a new old thread by Lugz pop up, realize one pic into it that I recently found a modern version of this same wrench. At post #43 I see he has seen the new version I have. Here is a pic of mine, looks a bit different than the one he posted. Mine is of Indian origin.

Here I was, thinking mine was some new gimmicky wrench. Guess it goes in the adjustable pile.

 

[four.cycle]

^ you could start a whole new thread on that one...

Solsons / Solsons Exim., 16, Panchratna Industrial Estate, Changodar, Ahmedabad - 382210, India / http://www.solsons.com/ / est. 1982 /

fascinating that they're claiming it's covered by "pending international patent license"..... maybe Stan can explain to me exactly how that works?

it's also available in a "non sparking" version for only $204.00 ! wow!

this might be one to keep an eye on... I've mentioned somewhere else here that one out of five people on the planet is living on the Indian sub-continent, but I think the import of that escaped many.

This is an easy tool to laugh at - low-hanging fruit and all that. Obviously there are still consumers gullible enough to keep buying them - other players are entering the "Hey Look At My New Cochran Speed-Nut Wrench Rip-Off!" game:

 

[NJ Marty]

I found this one a few years ago and don't remember if I ever posted it
asking about the maker. I cant identify the maker or age of this one,
looks like a well made wrench.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Dang, that thing is cool. No idea on mfgr, though. It's neat that they put a sort of flare nut hex on the end rather than nothing or a hanging hole. Does it operate like a Speednut? In other words, will the jaws open and close freely with nothing but gravity if you flip it over one way or the other? That will tell us it's a rack-and-pinion knock off, anyway. The markings are unusual and kind of crude. It looks like a PO didn't like sharp edges on the handle.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Here is a 10" Larc-O-Matic. I believe this is probably the last Speednut wrench manufactured that's related to Larco (Speednut Wrench Corp). Should receive it in a few days. Can't wait to clean it up. The 2nd patent on this was granted in '44. Anyone know anything about Hedstrom Industries Inc?? Can't find much online?

 

[four.cycle]

1946 U.S. Office of Price Administration pp 71891Y

Not sure what this is about.

I know there were price controls on consumer goods during WWII and shortly thereafter, but I'm mystified here.

 

[four.cycle]

@NJ Marty that's an interesting piece but I can't really make heads or tails of the herald mark or the font. Cyrillic?

 

[NJ Marty]

Dang, that thing is cool. No idea on mfgr, though. It's neat that they put a sort of flare nut hex on the end rather than nothing or a hanging hole. Does it operate like a Speednut? In other words, will the jaws open and close freely with nothing but gravity if you flip it over one way or the other? That will tell us it's a rack-and-pinion knock off, anyway. The markings are unusual and kind of crude. It looks like a PO didn't like sharp edges on the handle.

Yes the jaws do move freely, here are a few more pictures.

 

[NJ Marty]

@NJ Marty that's an interesting piece but I can't really make heads or tails of the herald mark or the font. Cyrillic?

I will put some steel wool to it tomorrow and see if I can wake up the makers mark and reveal more detail.

 

[AntiqueBen]

My little 6" Speednut showed up today. This one is from John Larson's "Speednut Wrench Corp" from the '20's. I have an identical 8" version on the way. You really can't appreciate these things until you hold one in your hand & try it. Now I know why Larson stuck with these after Larco went out of business. These things are genius!!

 

[bigredcornhead]

You guys find some of the coolest antique stuff, has to be an east coast thing. I go to sales, farm auctions and swap meets all the time out this way, and man things are hard to come by especially from t his age range and quality! Awesome find write and everything!

 

[AntiqueBen]

Anyone know this forge mark? Here is some pics of a Larc-O-Matic Speednut Wrench made by Hedstrom. At the bottom of the handle is a "D in a diamond" logo. If Hedstrom didn't have drop forging capabilities then they used someone who did to make these wrenches. Anyone know who this "D in a diamond" logo stands for??

 

[3baygarage]

I don’t know, but here’s one I found with a similar marking. The D is a little different.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/dunbar-drop-forge-co-diamond-d-wrench.463358/

 

[bbbarracuda]

I just picked this up last week. First one I've seen in the wild.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice.

 

[3baygarage]

Thread bump.

10” Larc-O-Matic.

Unlike Ben’s, it doesn’t have the diamond D forge mark.