Hidden Treasure

[Stadger]

Picked up a well-used Kennedy box for $10 today. When I removed the drawers, this was in the bottom. I think they're made of sheet metal.

 

[DadsTools]

Talk about home owner grade!

 

[454ragtop]

Treasure seems like a stretch, more like fools gold.....

 

[Sawdustmaker]

I have a set of small wrenchs of the same make. Never used them, too flimsy. I guess the only reason I kept them is that my mom got them for me when I got my first car (53 Chevy). Mom was great, but just didn't understand tools.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I would have a hard time calling them a treasure.

 

[thehorse13]

They probably work better than anything from horrible fright. lol

 

[bill300d]

Looks like they stole the proprietary information for those wrenches from Oxwall Tools. That'll teach'em.

 

[WQ59B]

I have a few oddballs wrenches like this- one of them was the only one I had that size and thin, that would tighten the base nuts on my '40 Ford's carb.

 

[Ratchet.]

hah, those are kinda cool in the original packaging, although doubt they are much cop at all at actually undoing anything. like those wrenches you get to assemble furniture with.

interesting to see how far ultra low budget tools have come since those were made though.

 

[ez8]

Well, at least they are "rust-resistant."

 

[slip knot]

generic OxWalls.

 

[woody 73]

I have a set of small wrenchs of the same make. Never used them, too flimsy. I guess the only reason I kept them is that my mom got them for me when I got my first car (53 Chevy). Mom was great, but just didn't understand tools.

Sounds like you got the best mom in the World treasure her for life.

 

[Warrenator]

I have some of those, small ones..... I always thought they were "ignition wrenches." I should chuck 'em I guess. So much clutter......

 

[Outlander]

Picked up a well-used Kennedy box for $10 today. .

Picture of Kennedy box please

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Those do look pretty flimsy, but as Warrenator indicated and WQ59B implied, they are ignition wrenches and not much strength was required. The earliest ignition wrenches, provided by ignition system mfgrs (i.e., Delco, Bosch, Remy, Eisemann), were all punched out of thin pressed steel. And even when the toolmakers started making them in sets to cover all the sizes to fit a Delco, Bosch, etc system, a lot of them made them the same way (see New Britain, Wilde, etc), not forged.

Kastar (the gage makers) - see the complete Circle K-Star set below - and later Oxwall capitalized on that minimal required style and customers took advantage of the lower cost.

The pressed steel wrenches in the middle in the second photo marked 41-W-900 (Federal Stock Number) are WWII.

 

[DadsTools]

Those do look pretty flimsy, but as Warrenator indicated and WQ59B implied, they are ignition wrenches and not much strength was required. The earliest ignition wrenches, provided by ignition system mfgrs (i.e., Delco, Bosch, Remy, Eisemann), were all punched out of thin pressed steel. And even when the toolmakers started making them in sets to cover all the sizes to fit a Delco, Bosch, etc system, a lot of them made them the same way (see New Britain, Wilde, etc), not forged.

Kastar (the gage makers) - see the complete Circle K-Star set below - and later Oxwall capitalized on that minimal required style and customers took advantage of the lower cost.

The pressed steel wrenches in the middle in the second photo marked 41-W-900 (Federal Stock Number) are WWII.

Nice collection, Lugz!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks. I'm working on completing a few different brands (pic 2), to include this early partial Cornwell pressed steel set (pic 1), shown with a forged steel solo Herbrand to accentuate the difference.

 

[bulwnkle]

That $10 Kennedy though....

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[Gmonkee]

Lol!

I collect the pressed wrenches myself and have about five partial sets, and several Oxwall sets complete.

The Dunlop set is probably the one that stands out in my junk.


Stepping back in time the magneto wrenches are so cool when still in the roll, but so hard yo find in good condition now.

 

[Zeke]

I don't see the reason to rag on a 'free' find. Many times I have wished I had a thin wrench for a thin jam nut and didn't have one. Consequently, you will find a few junkers in my box that have seen some time against the grinding wheel.

Finally last week I bought a set and I didn't know one from the other so I just followed reviews on Amazon and threw a dart. Surprisingly, these things aren't all the cheap although my new set goes to 3/4. Funny, I don't think I've seen too many thin 3/4 nuts and bicycles are mostly metric anymore.

So, I say good find!

 

[d42jeep]

I have a few as well. Here are some of them.
-Don

 

[Provincial]

I just think that the OP's wrenches were doing what tools do - hiding. They were just thin enough to find a narrow spot to hide and were never found.

 

[DadsTools]

Thanks. I'm working on completing a few different brands (pic 2), to include this early partial Cornwell pressed steel set (pic 1), shown with a forged steel solo Herbrand to accentuate the difference.

I encounter the odd vintage pressed steel wrench from time to time, but I don't collect them and my research on pricing seemed to indicate they are worth next to nothing, so I just toss them into a junk box. It seems that to even those who collect them they're worth just slightly more than zero. I've got a few forged ones laying around, but again, I find individual ignition size wrenches sell for almost nothing too (unless perhaps made by the Great God Snap-On), so I don't mess with them. Nice to see someone taking them a bit more seriously.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It seems that to even those who collect them they're worth just slightly more than zero.

Not entirely true. Snap-On, Williams, and Plomb electrical/ignition wrenches can have decent collectible value, especially whey they come in sets, and even moreso when the set is in a leatherette roll-up.

Duro-Chrome E and G series ignition wrenches were in WWII GMTK’s (see this GJ thread for more details and an example) are highly sought after by WWII collectors, and they can bring decent value in an informed market.

Here's a an old Duro set of mine in a Snap-On roll-up

A couple more former Duro sets of mine in a ratty Duro and a nice OD canvas roll-up

A Cornwell set of mine in another ratty roll-up

Guys pay more handsomely for complete sets in better condition roll-ups. I don't run into them at flea markets too often.

Otherwise, you're right. They’re typically worth peanuts.

But I don’t collect them for their collectible value. I collect Duro-Chrome and others that meet the GMTK spec - 15* x 60* angles, specified sizes in pairs (you can see the sizes on the Cornwells in the photo above or in tables on the GJ GMTK thread I linked above) because they’re WWII correct, and I collect all the others just because I have a thing for interesting vintage tiny wrenches. Other than ignition wrenches, I probably have 100+ solo orphan DOE wrenches that are ISN 723 or smaller. 

 

[Stadger]

A couple of you want to see the $10 Kennedy box. The top box is one I bought last month for $35 and the bottom two-drawer is the one I just got for $10.

 

[Outlander]

very nice score! I'm dying to run across one to store my E$DC gear (knives, pry bars/openers, watches and such).

 

[dodge610]

For you Mack mechanics found this plexiglass sign under the bottom drawer of the pictured box never seen one before like this did these use to come on the macks from the factory just wondering.


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[Teenager with old tools]

A couple of you want to see the $10 Kennedy box. The top box is one I bought last month for $35 and the bottom two-drawer is the one I just got for $10.

I been look in for that bottom one for my brother but around here they cost $100 plus in bad shape

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