Moore & Wright "Britain's Tool Factory." The Scrutite Screwdriver.

[woody 73]

A very special thanks to my wife, my two nephews and my Father-in-law for bringing me this new tool for my collection.

Moore & Wright started in Sheffield England in 1906, the company was founded by Frank Moore on Reed Street before moving to Trafalgar Street.

(Some scuttlebutt/gossip on a web group) ...
"The company was started by Frank Moore who had been supplying measuring instruments to Vickers shipyard in Barrow in Furness but turned from being a middleman to manufacturing. However, the "Wright" element of the name has a number of stories attached- one is that Wright was the financial backer to Moore's projects, and another is that wright was Mrs. Moore's maiden name."

My guess is that his wife was the Wright in this case? Florence Wright, Married to Frank in 1902.

Frank was born in 1876 the son of George C. Moore, a bricklayer, and his wife Sarah. (No date of Death for Frank).

In the 1930's they acquired Tyzack and Holmes.
1930 First M&W Micrometers produced.
1938 The company was Moore and Wright (Sheffield) Ltd.
1940 Advert Tools.
1945 Advert Micrometers.
1959 Moved to a new site at Handsworth Neil Holdings.
1970 Bought by the James Neil Holdings.
2000 Sold to Bower Metrology UK.

They were known for their Micrometers, but they did make other tools, and this was the case for the following account of the "SCRUTITE" screwdriver, listed in a 1938 catalog from the following... "Big new screwdriver, this is a screwdriver of robustness and rigidity. It has a square blade, fitted into a square hole in solid steel ferrule, hexagon end, for use with spanner blade pinned through ferrule and Butts up against a steel plug at the end."
5 1/4" blade, 5/16" square, special Alloy Steel. (Be sure and see the link from the 38 catalog).

Some very nice links for you to look at, pictures, and again thank you Dad for the Screwdriver.

Moore & Wright

www.bowersgroup.co.uk

Moore and Wright - Graces Guide

www.gracesguide.co.uk

Moore & Wright Engineers' Tools : List No. 38.A : Moore & Wright (Sheffield) Ltd. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

168 p., illus., 21.3 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

Moore and Wright

ive just mentioned this place in another thread and it got me thinking,what did they used to make in this place,i used to pass it daily as a kid and it always seemed a huge massive place and i always used to wonder went on in there,it was situated where the asda now stands.......so what did go of...

www.sheffieldforum.co.uk

Moore & Wright Addiction?

Hey guys, im ben 24 years old, and wierdly addicted to collecting moore and wright items (sorry for all the photos, just nice to finally be able to show my collection) got a load my photos to put up! merry christmas guys!

www.practicalmachinist.com

Moore & Wright : Price List No. 61 : Moore & Wright (Sheffield) Ltd. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

60 p., 15.4 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

Frank Moore - Graces Guide

www.gracesguide.co.uk

MOORE & WRIGHT. A Brief History... Partners in Precision. For more information visit - PDF Free Download

MOORE & WRIGHT A Brief History... Founded in 1906 by innovative young engineer, Frank Moore, Moore & Wright has been designing, manufacturing and supplying precision measuring equipment to global industry

docplayer.net

 

[Dave455]

Great post Woody!

This side of the pond, Moore and Wright are very well known, but I suspect less so in the U.S.

They were always best known for their precision tools and inspection equipment. If you think of them as Britains Starrett, you wouldn’t be far wrong.

I pretty much grew up with their tools, and have a fair collection. Perhaps not really a collection, as most are in regular use.

The screwdrivers were always a bit of an oddity. They didn’t really fit in with the rest of the range, but they’d made them for a long time, and some were very nice.

I like their ratcheting drivers, of which an example is shown below. Some of the sizes they are found in, such as this one in 7/32”, may strike American readers as odd, but British woodscrews traditionally came in slots of 1/32” increments, as did many machine screws!

I can post many more pictures of Moore and Wright equipment, IF anybody is really interested…!

 

[woody 73]

Dave 455 Hi,

Yes, the very first thing that struck me was they were all along the same lines as Starrett tools. Please post up your pictures.

 

[neophyte]

Moore & Wright likely made metroology and machinist tools for Brown & Sharpe during the period were Brown & Sharpe was having union strike issues, and the B&S tools were being made in England.
The tools look very similar or identical.

 

[Dave455]

Dave 455 Hi,

Yes, the very first thing that struck me was they were all along the same lines as Starrett tools. Please post up your pictures.

Will do!

When I can think where to start!

Yes, Moore and Wright had a similar range to Starrett, but I think it was a case of parallel evolution, rather than one copying the other.

Some times I prefer the Moore and Wright tool, sometimes the Starrett, which is why I have a mixed selection.

Many Moore and Wright designs owe a lot to the tools of James Chesterman, which were by far the finest quality of their era (and in fact continued to be up till their ill fated merger with John Rabone). If I recall the stories correctly, Frank Moore was originally a supplier of Chesterman tools, among others.

Chesterman’s tools were very traditionally made, whereas Moore and Wright were designed to be mass produced from the start. The Moore and Wright stuff was always nicely made though, and good to use. They were supplying tools with matte finished scales and paint filled numerals long before Chesterman got round to it!

 

[Jack_K]

Over on a UK forum someone recently asked about tap wrenches and the common opinion seemed to be to buy a used Moore and Wright. Unfortunately I think most of their stuff is now made in China/Taiwan and Starrett is too expensive in the UK. I was looking for a good tap wrench here in Australia and basically decided I would have to buy something used as Starrett is too expensive and difficult to find.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice find, Woody. Any screwdriver with a through shank for light tapping, a square shank for wrench turning assistance, and an extra hex nut at the shoulder beneath the ferrule for even more turning assistance - is a well thought-out screwdriver, in my opinion.