Pierce Arrow Tools

[3baygarage]

Just going through things, and gathered up some Pierce Arrow stuff. Everything is pretty much in “as found” condition. Should have a few more items to post when I get to them.

I sold my initial nice little collection, which included offset, open end, and t handle wrenches .

A few years back I ran into a gentleman with a double open end that could have been out of the factory or something. It was an extra thick wrench, 1” or so.

 

[3baygarage]

More pics.

The makers are JH Williams, Billings, and Fairmount.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice, 3bay.

I don't run into them much in the wild. I have one ratty DOE wrench, a Fairmount Cleve. No size markings, but I am pretty sure it's 1/2 x 7/16 measured. About 4" OAL. Let me know if you need it I'll send it along.

 

[3baygarage]

Thank you. I’m not putting anything together, just something I pick up when I see them.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice stuff! More than I have seen in one spot.

 

[wrenchguy]

nice.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Love those single open end wrenches with the pierce logo
Very cool

 

[American Iron]

Great finds.. Will have to keep an eye out for some.

 

[Leviton]

Nice. Never seen one in the wild.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ve found a couple in the wild and immediately recouped my investment (and then some) by listing them on eBay.
-Don

 

[Shelbylex]

Nice collection, 3baygarage!
Did you ever go to Pierce museum in Buffalo?

 

[3baygarage]

Been meaning to go there but only made it as far as the front door.

A few years the antique car show was going on outside the museum. It was a really nice display of vehicles from around the country. The museum owner was outside the door with another man, just hanging out. I approached them and introduced myself, then told him about having some wrenches. He laughed and said “They’re in everybody’s garage”, and his pal joined in. So much for that. I still want to check it out though.

 

[3baygarage]

Love those single open end wrenches with the pierce logo
Very cool

I believe they were all found together. The top one has no markings.

The woman selling them said she had a great grandfather who test drove the cars, though the wrenches didn’t come from him.

 

[Mintgrun]

I picked this wrench up yesterday, thanks to having seen one in this thread.


The openings are 1/2" and 7/16", but I think the small end may have been opened up a bit; based on the shape and the fact that it measures .450". If so, they did a nice job of it. The sides are nice and parallel.

I see a lot of beautiful old DOE wrenches and try to resist bringing them all home. It's not easy, leaving them behind... Let me know if you are working on a set and this one would help.

Tom

 

[3baygarage]

I agree, it's hard to resist a deal on nice old wrenches.

 

[3baygarage]

A couple more Pierce Arrow wrenches.

Open end by Williams. It looks like it’s marked 3/8 (maybe US Standard) on each end. Clearly two different size openings though, so it could be a mis-stamp.

Also an offset wrench by Billings. Probably a 21/32”. It falls between 5/8 and 11/16.

 

[Leviton]

Nice finds 3bay. I hope to come across a Pierce Arrow tool someday. I can't believe in all my running around, I haven't even seen one.

 

[3baygarage]

It pays to look close sometimes. I have a habit of digging through every last thing and examining every wrench,lol. The open end with the paint spot, I think that came from a flea. The L wrench was part of an Ebay lot with several interesting things, but wasn’t even mentioned. All the ones above and those I had in the past were found out hunting in the wild!

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Nice I have heard a lot about this brand but I have never seen one in person and I go to the pawn shops a lot but haven’t seen on there.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[3baygarage]

Here’s a 15” Billings Model G. There might be another one around some place, but no telling where I stuck it.

 

[tym]

Found an 8 oz ball peen with faint Pierce Arrow markings (2nd pic) for $3 in a bucket o' tools at a flea market last year. It had been beaten to within an inch of its life with chipped face and partially split handle, but cleaned it up best I could.

 

[3baygarage]

Nice. I’ve never run into a hammer. I think maybe it was Marty from the GS thread that also found one some years back.

 

[PierceA]

The 7/8" 90* open end wrench is for the locknut on mid '20's roller valve followers. There is another single end 11/16" open end that is also for valve lash adjusting. The Pierce Arrow tool rolls had two different size screwdrivers, two adjustable wrenches. A hammer, a spark plug socket w/crossbar. There were distributor wrenches with feeler gauge blades attached, and several other interesting tools.
The L-shaped socket wrench was for the head nuts. No torque settings or wrenches in the '20's, you had to have 'feel'.
There was a very thin double open end, with 'Front Brake Adjusting' stamped on it. A large stamped wrench that had three hex openings and one square. The hex openings were for the hub cap, the rear axle nut, the front spindle nut, and the square was for the center bolt in the hub-puller for removing the rear brake drum from the tapered axle shaft.

The most difficult to find are good screwdrivers, they got destroyed by gorillas hammering on the end of the wood handles.. and the pliers.. both screwdrivers and pliers got used to death.

The Pierce Bicycles also had a small tool kit, hence the large number of small adjustable wrenches found around.

I don't have a photo of a complete tool roll on my computer at this time.. later I'll try to post an image of the roll. Canvas with leather straps to tie all the loose tools to. Made by Fairmont in the '20's. There are other types of rolls and pouches from the teens and for the later cars.

PierceA

 

[wrenchguy]

PierceA,
Can you provide any info about jacks Pierce Arrows used? Here's 1 I have for a heavy truck or fire truck. It's 17" tall retracted.

 

[3baygarage]

Nice piece.

Thanks for the info too,....Pierce. Now which incognito member is this?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Here is a wrench I got in a random box of tools

 

[tin medic]

My one Pierce Arrow tool, a rubber handled screwdriver by HD Smith.

 

[3baygarage]

Here is a wrench I got in a random box of tools

Good find. Billings piece.

My one Pierce Arrow tool, a rubber handled screwdriver by HD Smith.

That’s cool. Never seen anything like that. I didn’t know there were rubber handle HD Smith tools.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I didn’t know there were rubber handle HD Smith tools.

Tin medic's been holding out on us (on the H.D.Smith thread).

 

[4xdog]

I grabbed these images of a Fairmount / Pierce-Arrow tool roll several years ago -- I might have thought from here, but as Lugz didn't reference any other threads, perhaps not. I didn't save a reference that I can find.

I thought the red/orange painted tools is a good look. Dunno if that's an original finish (maybe someone here can add to that).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I grabbed these images of a Fairmont / Pierce-Arrow several years ago -- I might have thought from here, but as Lugz didn't reference any other threads, perhaps not.

No, your memory serves you well. That awesome kit was definitely posted here on GJ somewhere before. 3bay probably just didn't remember it, either, when he started this one, or it's posted in a thread with a non-intuitive title he couldn't find.

 

[JR 42]

I found this one a couple weeks ago. It's the first Pierce- marked tool I've come across. Looks like a little bit of black paint survived through the decades, but no signs of orange.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...but no signs of orange.

There was some discussion about that on the thread those tools were posted, and as I recall, I think the consensus may have been that orange was not factory.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That original thread with that tool roll - found for $20! (lucky basterd!) - is linked here.

 

[JR 42]

There was some discussion about that on the thread those tools were posted, and as I recall, I think the consensus may have been that orange was not factory.

That makes perfect sense, I'd expect there to be a loose tool or two with remnants of orange paint in the thread already if it were common. Looks great on that tool set though.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A purist might not agree, but it is appealing.

 

[davethorik]

I found this at a barn sale today for a price so low I could not resist. The jaws look great, maybe used a handful of times.
There were a lot of tools there and I did not see any more Pierce-Arrow, sadly.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Very nice condition

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found this at a barn sale today...[ ]...I did not see any more Pierce-Arrow, sadly.

Terrific find, Dave.

 

[PierceA]

The small adjustable wrench that Davethorik just found was in virtually all the Pierce Arrow tool kits AND the bicycle AND motorcycle tool bags..
So they do show up. The one Dave has is a Fairmont, which can be seen even without the name/logo stamped on the dynamic jaw, the Fairmont adjustable wrenches had that neat inset in the handle.
Billings and Spencer also made the small wrenches..
There was a larger version of the same wrench it was about 7" long..

The rubber handled screwdriver mentioned above is a great find.. I've owned Pierce Arrow autos for over 30 years, and am always looking for Pierce marked tools. BUT in all that time, I've only found two of the rubber handled wrenches. Maybe 15 or 20 of the more common wood handled screwdrivers..
What is interesting about the screwdrivers, is that it seems that every possible way of impressing the Pierce into or onto the tool was used.. I've seen the stamp wrap around the ferrule of the wood handle, I've seen it down the side of the ferrule, I've seen it stamped onto a rather small diameter round shaft, and on the flat of a square shaft. It seems every possible place was used..
Some of the Pierce Roadsters had a tool kit built into the inside of the drivers door. you had a key lock and when the key was turned 1/4 turn, the panel came open at the top, and inside the panel were compartments for most of the standard list of tools.. The remaining went under a seat..
Pierce Arrow was a top of the line car maker. VERY expensive, be cause it was all hand made.. a late teens touring car cost $7500 and up.. That was about like buying TWO houses at that time..

Some tools in the tool kit rarely if ever had the >Pierce> logo stamped on them.. like the rear hub puller, or the Walker wheel lug nut /prybar tool. Sometimes the cross bar handle for the tubular spark plug socket had the name stamped on it, but rarely. I have at least 6-8 of the spark plug sockets [they are stamped] but only two of the cross bar/handles are stamped..

The tools are around, Like I mentioned earlier, the wrenches tended to survive, the screwdrivers, pliers, and hammers got used up or broken and discarded..

Best of luck with your collecting..

PierceA