J H Williams vintage hand tools

[Username already in use]

Well now, aren't these just 'special'.
DBE and Tappet both marked 'special'. No size markings on the DBE. I don't know if it's a part number or what, but it's marked IC2665.

Oddly enough, I found a Utica LocRite DBE next to the Williams that has the same sizes. 3/8" and 5/16". The back side of the Utica is stamped US-21C2405P010...

 

[3baygarage]

Nice, that box wrench is pretty unique. I’m no help on the #, but looks factory.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I just took a long early Brooklyn "S" wrench (No. 370) out of the de-rusting bath. Picked it up a few days ago. It's still pretty rough looking, but it'll do for a wall hanger. I've never seen that little "U" or any other letter forged in next to the "< W >" logo on a Williams wrench before.

 

[wrenchguy]

Neat and big one on display this weekend. Looks extra HD, Anything special about it?

 

[3baygarage]

That’s a big one. Displayed at a show?

 

[wrenchguy]

engine/tractor show, anything vintage mechanical liable to show up. good swap meet too, got some stuff i ain;t got.

 

[Whca]

Wow! Do you have any info on a M-8A box?

 

[Whca]

Nice catch. How and where? You still have all of them?

 

[leg17]

Here is an apparently rare and important Williams wrench.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/very-rare-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

One can find all sorts of things on fleabay.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: I finally found (or made) a spot to hang my old Williams 3/4 socket set tool board and another member asked me what year it was made. I posted it before and showed the Williams socket set i'm planning on hanging on it even if the socket set isn't the correct one until I find the right one.

any idea on the date of the board and also any idea on the date of my 3/4 Williams socket set? also have this 3/4 inch Williams ratchet and wondering how old it is?

thanks in advance!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Plain finish on the tools. Usually means ww2 time period.

 

[drivesitfar]

OTG: AWESOME and sort of what I thought. is the board 50's or maybe 1960's?

thanks

 

[Oldtuleguy]

The construction of it looks like it.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here is an old drain plug set

 

[Coloradokid8]

I have a vintage JH Williams open end wrench. It’s stamped Special 1008. It is 4 1/2” long. From what I read it one of his earlier wrenches. Does anyone know something about it? How old, estimated value etc?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Looks like it is marked brooklyn? That would indicate it is old.

 

[leg17]

I have a vintage JH Williams open end wrench. It’s stamped Special 1008. It is 4 1/2” long. From what I read it one of his earlier wrenches. Does anyone know something about it? How old, estimated value etc?

That style logo is pre-1914.
The earliest used on their mass produced wrenches.
Five similarly marked wrenches sold recently on ebay for about $15 plus shipping.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: I started trying to fill up my Williams tool board with some Williams 3/4 sockets and wrench and accessories. there are a few generations of Williams tools on it and the older breaker bar doesn't quite fit, but at least it's started and maybe i'll get it full of the right stuff one day. sorry I didn't clean up the sockets yet either cause i'm in the middle of organizing, but the tools are at least hanging and not hidden in an old tool box.

I also found this old Williams metal case with a good portion of a 1/2 inch socket set in it.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: as i'm getting organized I threw a bunch of my Williams hand tools in a flat file drawer and wanted to show just how much weight one of these old cabinet drawers can hold.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: just curious if Williams made tools for OXFORD or what their relationship is cause I found a little wrench set I thought was for sure Williams that says OXFORD on them?

it's in the little white pouch in the picture and i'll post pictures of the tools if anybody is curious.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Oxford or Oxwall? Either way, I'd like to see them.

 

[drivesitfar]

LUG: I was probably watching one of my British shows on Netflix hence the OXFORD, but as per usual i think you are correct and it's probably OXWALL. i'll post them here just because we are talking about them and they do look like WILLIAMS tools.

it's a tiny wrench set in a cute pouch and as soon as i get a little daylight and my bride gets up i'll head out in the garage and snap a few.

good morning and cheers!!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was probably watching one of my British shows on Netflix hence the OXFORD

The only British show I have ever watched on tv was Benny Hill, in my youth, and it clearly wasn't Oxford material!

 

[drivesitfar]

LUG: still dark here, but had to comment. yep BENNY was a whole lot better than National Geographic pictures when his gals showed up in between jokes. now a 5 year old has a phone and the internet and nothing is special. sorta sad really.

pics coming soon!!

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: sorry for digressing to my youth and Benny Hill and for posting these Oxwall's on the Williams tool thread, but don't you agree that these Oxwall's look a lot like Williams logo?

 

[3baygarage]

but don't you agree that these Oxwall's look a lot like Williams logo?

Sorry Drives, just coudn't resist. Nice what you have going with the boards btw.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hahahahaha. That took about 2 hours and 29 minutes longer than I thought it would!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Oxwilliams?

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: Ok if it wasn't Oxwall's then it might have been Benny Hill and either way I've had my time out now.

back to posting and talking about the great tools Mr. Williams made for our granddads that we found laying around.

Lug: I don't catch worms when I get up at 3am like today, but I do tend to get a lot done cause it's pretty quiet around here now that all our kids have moved on. that said one is moving back in for a temp situation until she and her hubby can find a good home to buy.

no connection with Oxwall's and Williams or did I miss that conversation last year while I was moving out of my shop?

cheers

 

[Jim C.]

I recently picked up this Williams #2732 obstruction wrench.

Jim C.

 

[Jberger93]

Posted this somewhere else , but it belongs here

They both say Williams super wrench on them , looming them up online one is a 8045 1-13/16x2 Inch Offset Box-End Wrench, Round-Shank Style

The other is VINTAGE WILLIAMS NO 8041 SUPERRENCH - 1 5/8 1 7/16 OFFSET 12 PT BOX SUPER WRENCH

 

[drivesitfar]

JB: welcome to the forum and I love those HUGE old Williams super wrenches. that was a man's man wrench and the size of the bolts and the machines that they were on were probably pretty good size.

i still recall when i was about 6 years old almost 60 years ago up in the mountains where 2 bit loggers were laying on a big wrench with a pipe on it trying to get a bolt off I think my gramp's big D9 dozer. in those days i'm not sure there was such a product as Kroil or PB Blaster and I don't think the guys fixing stuff ever gave up until it was fixed.

those wrenches might have been used on a D9 or other big rigs so here's a picture in case you don't know how big a D9 is.

ALL: ok so i'm crazy for posting OXWALL tools on this thread even though I thought they looked like Williams and wondering what the history of Oxwall is so is there an Oxwall thread or site I can read up on it?

my Williams flat file drawer of tools was getting a bit heavy so I added the doubles of another 3/4 inch socket set to the board.

i'll post the different styles of sockets I have in 3/4 inch cause I think there are 3 or more different styles.

 

[Jberger93]

JB: welcome to the forum and I love those HUGE old Williams super wrenches. that was a man's man wrench and the size of the bolts and the machines that they were on were probably pretty good size.

i still recall when i was about 6 years old almost 60 years ago up in the mountains where 2 bit loggers were laying on a big wrench with a pipe on it trying to get a bolt off I think my gramp's big D9 dozer. in those days i'm not sure there was such a product as Kroil or PB Blaster and I don't think the guys fixing stuff ever gave up until it was fixed.

those wrenches might have been used on a D9 or other big rigs so here's a picture in case you don't know how big a D9 is.

Thanks for the welcome . The wrenches are enormous. I don’t think I’ll ever need to use them, but I work in a machine shop and the owner let me have them for free ! I would’ve been a fool to not take them. Any idea of the age of these tools ? I was guessing 1940’s

 

[Private Lugnutz]

ok so i'm crazy for posting OXWALL tools on this thread even though I thought they looked like Williams and wondering what the history of Oxwall is so is there an Oxwall thread or site I can read up on it?

I know you know we were just ribbing you, but I'll say it anyway: we were just good-natured ribbing you. I can see how you can see some resemblance between the shape of the Oxwall logo and the shape of Williams decals and later in the 50's the shape of the lettering in some Williams branding, but the tools look nothing alike, in my opinion.

If there is a thread dedicated to Oxwall, Drives, I don't know of it. You will find references sprinkled here and there. They are one of those companies (G.M. Co. is another...) that built their whole brand on the low end. Strictly economy line tools packaged and marketed smartly. 50's through I don't know when.

Any idea of the age of these tools ? I was guessing 1940’s

Close. 30's. You will probably find a DUO-HEX marking on the flip-side. They flattened the shanks to more of a flat oval shape in the 40's and dropped the DUO-HEX name.

 

[drivesitfar]

JB: with the heft of those big wrenches i'd say 40's or 50's, but others here should be able to narrow it down a bit more.

yep you didn't overpay and even if you can't use them now they make a great wall decoration until you need one if you ever will.

I helped close up a few old steel companies a few years ago and saved some nuts and bolts that those wrenches would work on and guessing where you live that you'll find a few too. making something out of old materials some day in your future might happen and then you'll need those tools.

I hope you find a good bunch of members and threads that interest you here on GJ cause you think like a lot of us do that want to save some of these old great tools.

LUG: thanks and yep I understood the fun part, but as you mentioned the logos look so similar i thought maybe a connection. as i write this some of my Williams wrenches look like my Craftsman V series wrenches so pretty sure Sears hired Williams to make their wrenches at some point. i'm sorry I've been MIA on my tool threads for the last year or so while moving my old shop so i'm trying to get back up to speed with all the makers and years they made these great tools.

 

[drivesitfar]

ALL: well I was mounting my Reed 4c with 3/4 inch 400 alloy bolts and the heads on the bolt and nut were 1.25. since I have a ton of my stuff ready to be Organized while I move cabinets around and make new shelving having the Williams 3/4 socket set hanging on the wall came in very handy.

OMG turning a bolt with this massive 3/4 inch ratchet was just FUN and with a William's super wrench holding the heads of the bolts I don't think my little Reed 4c is going anywhere soon.

also BTW the Greenlee kwik step bit ate through the top of my old steel bench like it was butter.

cheers!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Sounds like fun!

 

[drivesitfar]

OTG: it was actually fun. I probably need to clean the old Williams 3/4 ratchet's thingy (I forgot at the moment what the piece is that pushes in and out and holds the sockets), but a punch and a hammer tap removed the socket and the 3/4 ratchet went back up on the rack.

also nothing like having almost a 2 foot long wrench on my 1.25 Superwrench for a bit of leverage on a bolt.

 

[ganymede]

Drives, you have an awesome lookin shop!
Wow!

 

[Farmer J.]

Well done Drives, you conquered the 'heavy engineering'! Great bench and workshop set up. J.