My work-in progress SOE Engineer's wrench collection. Show yours??

[shanny19]

I grew up calling these "Engineer's Wrenches".
I've come to realize that some here reserve that name for DOE's.
If you have time to chime in with pictures of yours, let me know what YOU call them!
I grab 'em when I can, unless they're a duplicate of what I've already got. Here's mine:

Fairmount
3/4 1 1/8 1 5/16 1 1/2 1 1/2 1 7/16 1 5/8 2 2 3/8
Blue tape covers, as Tubalcain says, dead men's names.
Of the 5 brands I've encountered, the Fairmount wrenches are by far the roughest, most utilitarian.


Billings
1/2 2 1/4

Bonney
1 5/8

Williams
1/4 (x3) 7/8 1 1 1/4
I don't clean mine up, but the 1 1/4 arrived in sandblasted condition as a well-intentioned gift. It's from a hard-rock mine exploration trip.
The 1/4's are my smallest and i couldn't help but break my no duplicates rule. They are scavanged from sprinkler system check-valves.

Armstrong
1/2 1 1 1/16 1 1/4 1 13/16 1 7/8 2 3/16 2 1/4 3 1/2
By far the best fit-and-finish. The hammered ones are pretty special.
Bonus picture of the logo from the 3 1/2....they took some pride in what they did.

 

[humber2]

Two wrenches above have # letter #### which to me indicates made for Caterpillar.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I grew up calling these "Engineer's Wrenches".
I've come to realize that some here reserve that name for DOE's.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate."
- The Captain to Luke, in Cool Hand Luke.

What you're describing is a fruit and apples and oranges problem.

The term Single Open End merely describes a wrench with a shank with one head or end having a milled jaw opening. The term Double Open End merely describes a wrench with a shank with two heads or ends with milled jaw openings. Other terms (e.g., Engineers', General Service, Textile, Checknut, Set Screw, etc) refer to use or application and specific construction features that distinguish one use or application from another.

Engineers wrenches can be SOE's or DOE's, but they have heads formed at 15* angles.
Textile wrenches are also DOE's, but they have heads formed at 22-1/2* angles, and they're typically much shorter in shank.
Tappet wrenches can be SOE's or DOE's, also typically at 15* angle heads, but they have very thin beams.
Ignition wrenches are usually DOE's, but they have 15* x 60* or 15* by 75* angle head configurations.
Etc etc

Paging through any vintage catalog from Williams or Armstrong or Billings or any major wrench mfgr will bear this out and provide a more comprehensive understanding.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice collection, btw. I have some. I store them by brand, not type, but I'll try to gather them up some time.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As promised, @shanny19...



The engineers' wrenches in cosmolene and packing on the right with the round heads are WWII vintage, made by Armstrong. The engineers' wrench on the left with the pear head and the paddle tail handle is a Fairmount. The wrench just above it with a hex gullet is a McKaig Hatch. I threw a set screw wrench in their just for distinction, the other two little jobbies are engineers' wrenches made for Americn Screw Machine by Williams. I'm sure you recognize the long reach SOE tappet wrenches. The big'n on the left is a K.R. Wilson No. V-128 Drive Pinion Lock Nut Wrench for V-8 engines and, like tappet wrenches, requires another one for the job.

One quick add on the terminology topic...

It's neat that the term "engineer's wrench," whether DOE or SOE, is not referring to a tool to be used by a licensed, accredited professional with a degree from a college or university. Mostly we tend to associate it with locomotive engineers, but as you guys know, these types of wrenches were used by engineers in engine rooms on ships, canal locks, power plants, pumping stations, and anywhere else there was steam and later fuel engines. It's funny how long the term lasted. When I was a boy, my brothers and I knew our grandfather as an engineer (Chestnut Ridge Railway in Pennsylvania), which I have talked about before, as well as one of our uncles, who worked for Diamond Alkali, but neither one had even a high school education.

 

[shanny19]

^^ Thanks Lugs for gathering those up!!! I hope some other assortments make their way here, but the large ones are kind of obnoxious to bring home, and then make room for, so not sure how many people are into them.

Those SOE tappet's are cool! I am pretty sure that in all my time "in the wild", I've never seen one.

It is fun to picture some wiper in a soaking wet room full of steam and valves using a big ol' SOE wrench.
In a lot of places, particularly out West, and even more particularly, all over California, the guy driving the fire apparatus is an "Engineer".
But that's not at all universal, in your parts "Chauffeur" is common in the fire service, which always made us guys out here laugh a little!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It is fun to picture some wiper in a soaking wet room full of steam and valves using a big ol' SOE wrench.

Indeed! And I think I have some somewhere. I'll have to scout around. In the meantime, maybe @wrenchguy will post a photo of his Williams "Silent Salesman" wrench board. It is a giant SOE engineer's wrench. although I think all the wrenches on it are DOEs.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Some interesting on-topic excerpts...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

One more. This is my favorite. The title of the piece was "Roundhouse Efficiency," but I think of it as "Man in Tool Car." When you read it, you'll see why. Sounds like a dream job to me!

 

[shanny19]

That is a dream job! This is one railroaders toolbox, in situ at the museum in Sacramento. Crappy pics are the best I could do without hopping the barricade. If those stenciled dates are career bookends…….he split the steam/diesel transition almost perfectly in half. Lucky SOB.

 

[tombell572]

shanny19--you are indeed correct. I drive and operate a fire department pumper (or pumping engine to use the technically correct term) in New York and I am the chauffeur, or MPO (motor pump operartor in some departments). When we are at my wife's ancestral home in Portland and I visit the guys at Engine 12 at the end of our block, I learned long ago that my counterpart is the engineer which does bring a few smiles when I'm introduced to a new guy.

Lugz--that is the epitome of efficiency!

Tom B.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This is one railroaders toolbox,

I have one somewhere with the initials of the railroad company embossed on the bottom. It's heavy and indestructible with a locking center hasp. I'll see if I can find it tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are some photos and sketches of railroad men with wrenches, culled from that trove of 1943-1943 era RAILROAD magazines I found at the flea market earlier this year.

 

[shanny19]

^^If you ever dive into the rabbit hole of those big track wrenches, vintage catalogs from Woodings-Verona and Warwood have some specs.

 

[shanny19]

in New York and I am the chauffeur, or MPO (motor pump operartor in some departments

Acronyms a westerner would recognize include FAE (Fire apparatus Engineer) and FEO (Fire Engine Operator)

 

[Death Row Dave]

Had some on Boiler repair gang that was a task for one man to carry . Can’t recall the size , but best I remember it was in 4 in range

 

[Roberts210]

My favorite Great-Uncle was a steam and diesel locomotive engineer on the Frisco Railroad. His normal speaking tone was a throaty roar. We all supposed he had gotten that habit from trying to be heard over the roar of the engines he operated.

And another great-great uncle was also a steam locomotive engineer. In his last days, as he lay in his bed at home, knowing he was going to die soon, he remarked to his wife and to others that he was SO relieved to see his locomotive parked outside the window of his bedroom, with a full head of steam, waiting to take him away. True story.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Oh, that connection is real. When I was a boy, my grandfather seemed like a mythical figure as rough men with tears in their eyes calling him "Little Johnny" feted him in his own bungalow living room on the day of his retirement. They set up a model railroad in the attic and they presented him a pen and ink drawing of his engine, which the company had commissioned. It's mine now.

 

[wrenchguy]

$100 reward still offered for a SOE Williams No. 1 engineers wrench offered with the 1914-1924 display board. Its the last wrench needed to fill the board. It goes to the top left location which is holding a later incorrect wrench. The wrench I need must match all the dimensions indicated in table below for "No.1." thx.

 

[four.cycle]

miscellaneous wrenches 11/20/23

^ these all go on the block @ 18:00 PST. pretty sure I listed them dirt cheap to get rid of them. may or may not be anything here of interest. BK

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have one somewhere with the initials of the railroad company embossed on the bottom. It's heavy and indestructible with a locking center hasp. I'll see if I can find it tomorrow

Tomorrow turned into next year, but here's that box I was talking about. The "NYNH&HRR" embossed on the bottom stands for New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad. 1880's to 1968. I can't tell if those snotwelds are repairs or if it was made in the yard toolshop.

 

[shanny19]

Tomorrow turned into next year, but here's that box I was talking about. The "NYNH&HRR" embossed on the bottom stands for New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad. 1880's to 1968. I can't tell if those snotwelds are repairs or if it was made in the yard toolshop.

Very cool!!!!
Railroad-marked tools are prolly a whole ‘nother thread, but I’ve got wrenches, axes, and a cold chisel with markings from three different defunct local carriers. I think the markings add another level, or at least some romantic images of how they were used.
For a great, albeit artistic-liscence enabled, scene of a railroad toolbox driving the train!!! see the last 5 minutes of Silverstreak.

 

[shanny19]

Painted red, that could be a case for torpedoes or flares as opposed to tools ??

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Railroad-marked tools are prolly a whole ‘nother thread,

Yeah, sorry, just following up from the RR theme, didn't mean to derail the thread.

Painted red, that could be a case for torpedoes or flares as opposed to tools ??

Could be. Seems excessively heavy duty for railway flares. I have some, though. They came in tall non-corrosive canisters.

 

[shanny19]

Derail the thread, nice!
^^Those are cool. At least as of the time of my retirement, fusees from Standard were still in use fighting wildfires. We used to homebrew canisters with that exact dimension profile out of white PVC pipe and endcaps.

 

[Provincial]

Very cool!!!!
Railroad-marked tools are prolly a whole ‘nother thread, but I’ve got wrenches, axes, and a cold chisel with markings from three different defunct local carriers. I think the markings add another level, or at least some romantic images of how they were used.
For a great, albeit artistic-liscence enabled, scene of a railroad toolbox driving the train!!! see the last 5 minutes of Silverstreak.

One of my favorite finds (this one at Habitat For Humanity) is a cold chisel stamped CPRR. Central Pacific Railroad.

 

[Stubby1743]

Two small King Dicks, 4" long. 3/16"Whit and 7/16"AF.

 

[leg17]

Early Williams SOE (Single Open End) Engineer’s wrenches with the early text logo. Same as my avatar.
AA indicates that logo style preceded the Oval and was used prior to about 1912.

(It appears that the first generation markings on mass production wrenches was a W in a Diamond used from the beginning about 1884 until around the turn of that other century.)

These examples, in “as found” condition, confirm the early part numbers assigned by Williams and subsequently copied by literally all of the other major wrench makers. They are:

7 for U.S. Standard 5/8” nut and bolt
5 for U.S. Standard 1/2” nut and bolt
4 for U.S. Standard 7/16” nut and bolt
3 for U.S. Standard 3/8” nut and bolt
One can only assume that this line of wrenches was the first for the company.

Pretty much all the other wrench part numbers somehow connected back to this first numbering system.

Also shown is a 1003 for 3/8” size. This is probably simply the new number for a 3 as shown in the 1912 catalog.

 

[leg17]

Williams chrome SOE Engineer’s wrenches. 5/16 to 1-11/16 with a few gaps.
My favorite era, 1960's-70's, before Wall Street meddling.
Many are NOS, rest are very minimum usage.

Too doggone pretty to use.

** ADDED BETTER PICTURES **

 

[leg17]

A pile of Williams with the Oval Brooklyn logo.
Various sizes.

 

[Stubby1743]

Three more KD SOEs bought yesterday.

 

[MisterEd]

Cherry-Burrell Corporation "Engineer's" Wrench, 1 Inch L.A.M.D.
Probably used on milk processing equipment.

 

[Stubby1743]

I bought these two on Saturday at a motorcycle jumble'



AT8068 from the Packard Merlin kit. Very pleased to find this.
8mm marked VSM and G in a circle. Also stamped "STUDER" which may be to manufacturer of machine tools or the Studer of Studer-Revox reel to reel tape recorders and domestic Hi Fi equipment, or maybe neither.