Lowell Wrench Co. Worcester Mass #1

[worcesterint]

They make a wrench called the Model 60 that has a 60" handle and weighs 100lbs!

lowellcorp.com/products/model-60-socket-wrench-9-1-8-sq/

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's a monster alright. Heavy construction (tunnels, bridges, etc) was always their niche. There's a vintage photo floating around GJ somewhere of a sandhog with a big Lowell ratchet wrench resting on his shoulder.

 

[jabberwoki]

Picked up this little Lowel No-50-A today.

 

[wrenchguy]

Scaffold wrench? Iron?

 

[jabberwoki]

Not a lot of leverage for the big nut size.

 

[four.cycle]

1910 Automobile Dealer and Repairer pp 76 Lowell Wrench Co. Worcester MA

1926 Vonnegut Hardware Co. catalog pp 89 Lowell Wrench Co.

1930 Construction Methods pp 115 Lowell Wrench Co.

1936 Hardware Age pp 34 Lowell Wrench Co.

1937 Crerar Adams Co. catalog pp 241 Lowell Wrench Co.

1940 Hardware Age pp 394 Lowell Wrench Co.

 

[Fred Knox]

I have a couple old Lowell wrenches to add to the thread:
a) the 7" one is a Lowell Wrench Co. No. 11 Ratchet, Worcester, MASS. (3/8"-drive)
b) the 17" one is a Lowell Wrench Co. No. 8 Ratchet, Worcester, MASS. (1"-drive)

 

[pelletman]

In Mass, the letter ''R'' is often pronounced as ''ahh''lol

It is pronounced Woostah, and we started the whole damn country, so if you don't talk like us YOU have an accent!

 

[Old Man Roger]

It is pronounced Woostah, and we started the whole damn country, so if you don't talk like us YOU have an accent!

I’m from mass, and I spent a lot of time in wista. Ya wista.

 

[Old Man Roger]

This is a good one..lol

 

[MR.X]

As many on here know, It's not just the pronunciation with Woostah /Worcester, it's the spelling. it's almost unbelievable how many people add an "h' after the "c". As an experiment, at any time go to eBay and type in a different tool company's name Walden Worcester but intentionally misspell it "Worchester". Don't let the site change your spelling, go with the "original query" and check out all the hits..... I got 65 just now. The tool they're selling is literally right in front of them and still "worcHester".

 

[four.cycle]

^ oh... I see that all the time. Run a search for "Industro" or "Indestreo". Then try "Thorson" or "Thoreson" or "Thoresen". Craftsman misspellings are all over the map.

 

[MR.X]

I'm not going to take a picture of every Lowell ratchet in the catalog, but here is one example...

Note that when they didn't have a spec number, they used the Mfgr's. LWC-4 1/2 indicates Lowell and their model number.

Bofors TM.....has to be a Lowell

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Totally. Good catch.

 

[MR.X]

^ oh... I see that all the time. Run a search for "Industro" or "Indestreo". Then try "Thorson" or "Thoreson" or "Thoresen". Craftsman misspellings are all over the map.

yeah, everyone spells different tool names wrong. I get that,... with Thorsen the founder even spelled it wrong, he was trying to make it look like it was connected to swedish steel and then spelled it in a more historically Norwegian style (sen as opposed to son or sson) Hell, I was the guy who convinced the original outbid everyone else Plombmaniac guy (RIP) to misspell Plomb on purpose to see more auctions on eBay. He was a WW2 vet in his 90's and kept arguing with me that the correct spelling was "Plomb" not plumb and would go straight into the tool company lawsuit history until I practically forced him to type "Plumb" socket set or Plvmb or whatever just as an experiment and even after seeing all the results he wanted to explain to me that they were spelling it wrong. With Worcester there almost seems to be something else going on with people wanting to put an "h" in it.... countless times I've seen people try to pronounce even Worcestershire sauce as wor-ches-ter shire sauce for some reason. Anyway, oh wait, "Pronto" for Proto is one that kills me too. Man there's a ton.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Wista

 

[MR.X]

Wista

Well 'frickin Dawchistuh",...... do Haverhill and Peabody now.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Well 'frickin Dawchistuh",...... do Haverhill and Peabody now.

lol That is a wicked good Dorchester.

hav-rill and Pee-ba-dee

 

[four.cycle]

wait... what???
That brown stuff that comes in a bottle is "Whatsishere" Sauce

 

[Old Man Roger]

wait... what???
That brown stuff that comes in a bottle is "Whatsishere" Sauce

Wista-shea sauce is wicked pissa.

 

[AntiqueBen]

my biggest lowell, used by bridge builders and sandhogs.

I know this an old thread but I have a question for you. I have this identical ratchet. On the non socket side there is a flathead screw on the top & bottom of the round protrusion. Do these need to be removed or loosened in order for the socket to turn? Mine is froze up. I may soak it in 50/50 ATF & Acetone. I can't get the screw out to remove the plate to get to the mechanism. I wandered if you ran into similar issues? Any info helps.

 

[wrenchguy]

I know this an old thread but I have a question for you. I have this identical ratchet. On the non socket side there is a flathead screw on the top & bottom of the round protrusion. Do these need to be removed or loosened in order for the socket to turn? Mine is froze up. I may soak it in 50/50 ATF & Acetone. I can't get the screw out to remove the plate to get to the mechanism. I wandered if you ran into similar issues? Any info helps.

sent 1 minute info video to ur fb. soak it.

 

[AntiqueBen]

sent 1 minute info video to ur fb. soak it.

I don't do fb. But yes, I'm going to soak it.

 

[wrenchguy]

I don't do fb. But yes, I'm going to soak it.

i thought u tooladdict ben. i can't take pics now.

 

[four.cycle]

K&W "Knock-er-Loose"

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Who knew Lowell Wrench Co. made hand vises?




"Not I," said the blind man.

DATAMP has a nice page on this tool, patented (166,553) on August 10, 1875, linked here.

Lowell was famous among jewelers, silversmiths, die sinkers, engravers, and arts and crafts metal workers at the turn of the last century for this pattern, which opened and closed the cantilevered jaws by turning the handle one way or the other.

As a bonus, this surprise was staring at me from the handle...



That's an early logo for the Braunsdorf-Mueller Company.

I believe Lowell was their supplier. They were both listed in various directories...



But it was Lowell's patented pattern and there's plenty of examples of Lowell making them for others, including retailers, such as this 1895 Strelinger & Co. catalog...



...and this 1926 Dixon catalog, with Dixon's name right on the handle.



It's the most feasible explanation. It's highly unlikely there was some kind of industry standard for threading of each piece, and just as unlikely that Lowell and BMCo were each independently making the entire tool with pieces that just happen to have interchangeable parts that a prior owner had one half of each.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Who knew Lowell Wrench Co. made hand vises?




"Not I," said the blind man.

DATAMP has a nice page on this tool, patented (166,553) on August 10, 1875, linked here.

Lowell was famous among jewelers, silversmiths, die sinkers, engravers, and arts and crafts metal workers at the turn of the last century for this pattern, which opened and closed the cantilevered jaws by turning the handle one way or the other.

As a bonus, this surprise was staring at me from the handle...



That's an early logo for the Braunsdorf-Mueller Company.

I believe Lowell was their supplier.

They were both listed in various directories...



But it was Lowell's patented pattern and there's plenty of examples of Lowell making them for others, such as this 1895 Strelinger & Co. catalog...



...and this 1926 Dixon catalog, with Dixon's name right on the handle.



It's the most feasible explanation. It's highly unlikely there was some kind of industry standard for threading of each piece, and just as unlikely they were each making the entire tool with pieces that just happen to have interchangeable parts, and a prior owner had one half of each.

Very cool Lugz. You know I'm a big Lowell fan. I watched Scoutcrafter restore one of these on his YouTube channel. Very unique tool. Difficult to find. Interesting info on the tool.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

You know I'm a big Lowell fan.

Yep. Me too. There are a few of us. The size of their following here is not indicative of their historical impact, but I have to admit, I think of them mainly in terms of ratchets for heavy industry (bridges, tunnel, RR, etc), so I was pleasantly surprised to see the name on this hand vise and I was unaware of their significant contribution to hand vises as a type with this irrepressibly clever yet simple design.

Very unique tool. Difficult to find.

Even more difficult than you might think. A thorough search reveals a few posted here on GJ, but none actually marked Lowell. All the other examples were made by Lowell for others or copied after the utility patent expired.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Yep. Me too. There are a few of us. The size of their following here is not indicative of their historical impact, but I have to admit, I think of them mainly in terms of ratchets for heavy industry (bridges, tunnel, RR, etc), so I was pleasantly surprised to see the name on this hand vise and I was unaware of their significant contribution to hand vises as a type with this irrepressibly clever yet simple design.

Even more difficult than you might think. A thorough search reveals a few posted here on GJ, but none actually marked Lowell. All the other examples were made by Lowell for others or copied after the utility patent expired.

Lowell is definitely mostly industrial size tools. When I see giant heavy ratchets the first thing that comes to mind is Lowell Wrench Company. Like you said, RR, bridges, and thanks to the hard underground work of the Sandhogs, the subways in the big cities. Lowell's tools literally helped build American industry. That's what makes Lowell's hand vise so unique.

 

[wrenchguy]

Lowell is definitely mostly industrial size tools. When I see giant heavy ratchets the first thing that comes to mind is Lowell Wrench Company. Like you said, RR, bridges, and thanks to the hard underground work of the Sandhogs, the subways in the big cities. Lowell's tools literally helped build American industry. That's what makes Lowell's hand vise so unique.

get that red ratchet 2 1/2 opened yet?

 

[AntiqueBen]

get that red ratchet 2 1/2 opened yet?

Nope. It's being stubborn. I took it out of the 50/50 soak. It was in the soak for 9 days. I heated it up so much that the handle was hot about a foot down the handle & the plate screw still wouldn't budge even after beating on it with a hammer

Last night I was able to get a bunch of PB Blaster to seep down in the mechanism. I'll probably do this for a couple days & see what happens. I saw a product called Kroil. I know a lot of mechanics swear by it to bust the worst rusted bolts & nuts. I've never used it & I see it's a lot more expensive than PB. If the PB doesn't work, I might try Kroil. A lot of YouTube videos of Kroil vs PB usually ends with Kroil being the winner. You have any experience with Kroil?

 

[Provincial]

I have used Kroil for decades. It works well, but does not work miracles.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I have used Kroil for decades. It works well, but does not work miracles.

I'm quickly running out of options. I've seen tools after Evaporust soak & it has that dull metal finish. But then I've seen people take it to a wire wheel & it took that dull finish away & it looked like the original finish again. If I thought I could get that original finish look after Evaporust soak by using the wire wheel, I would consider trying it. Is this your experience with Evaporust?

 

[Provincial]

Almost none, and only on items that would get a polish later.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Almost none, and only on items that would get a polish later.

Check out this link. Scoutcrafter put two Craftsman ratchets in Evaporust then used the wire wheel on them afterwards. It took that dull finish away. Forward to the 9:20 section of the video to see this.

 

[four.cycle]

@Private Lugnutz -
I guess I didn't post the Lowell "hand vise" catalog page because all we ever see here is Lowell ratchets.... !

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I guess I didn't post the Lowell "hand vise" catalog page because all we ever see here is Lowell ratchets.... !

No worries, 4.c. Fortunately, there is no shortage of references on Google Books. It was a very popular item in many retailers' catalogs!

 

[AntiqueBen]

I need an opinion. My big Lowell 4-fter is still giving me fits. I'm wandering if I used a Dremel bit to file down the slot deeper in the face plate screw if that might give more bite so I can put more force on it? Good or bad idea?

 

[wrenchguy]

Nope. You have any experience with Kroil?

nope, i'm trans with acetone man.

 

[AntiqueBen]

nope, i'm trans with acetone man.

Tried that for a week and a half with no results.