Restoring adjustable wrenches

[czeglin]

How far do you go? I’ve got two here.

First one I cleaned up minimally and did a crappy job grinding off where the jaws were deformed outward. Still not remotely square when they mate. Any meaningful reason not to file the jaws flat and square? It’s not a museum piece.

Second one doesn’t really need much more than cleaning up the jaw deformation. Seems like that would make it easier to get in close to the work without scratching it up. I could also file the round ways smooth. What do y’all do? Clean up or leave alone?

 

[woody 73]

If not rare and made by the boat load then yes by all means take a surface grinder to it if you have one or can use one from a shop or best friend. Even a mill can have a go at it, but then only if you can find some kind of source for a mill.

 

[Packard V8]

A sharp mill ******* file, a good eye in good light and one can make the jaws mate so precisely light won't show.

Back when I was young, every large hardware store had a 2'x2' drawer with small dividers, holding the adjusting screws, pivoting screws and replacement jaws for all the sizes of adjustables.

jack vines

 

[woody 73]

Sigh a good mill file in my old shaky hands would take me days... OP do you have a belt sander that would also work.

 

[ZRX61]

I'd use a file to square it up.

 

[Provincial]

When I deal with a deformed piece like that, I peen the the raised areas back toward where they came from before filing/grinding to restore the contours. This reduces, but does not eliminate, the gaps left by the missing material.

 

[Heavymetal]

Thats a good method. It works good,even when you think your piece might be too hard. If it starts moving and not needing a real pounding you got made.

 

[Heavymetal]

That reminds me. Any suggestions on getting rid of all the tiny chrome specs on a nice old Blackhawk 15 in and getting it close to a black finish? Thanks

 

[harley jim]

That reminds me. Any suggestions on getting rid of all the tiny chrome specs on a nice old Blackhawk 15 in and getting it close to a black finish? Thanks[emoji106]

I just wire wheeled most of the chrome off and finished it with fine sand in the blast cabinet then oiled it. Before I cleaned the chrome off it was uncomfortable to use as the chrome would catch on my skin now its smooth
If you treated it with a rust inhibitor it will blacken it. Do this before oiling

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[crguy]

It's just a dirt common wrench, not a collectible, and pretty worn to be a user.
Why spend any time at all on it?

 

[harley jim]

Practice for when that gem dose show up. I drove a tow truck years ago and found lots of tools in the cars going to the crusher. I polished lots of old stuff and gave it to people. Guess I still do.
I bought this grinder for 5 bucks and am giving it to a friend when I get it done

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[ZRX61]

That reminds me. Any suggestions on getting rid of all the tiny chrome specs on a nice old Blackhawk 15 in and getting it close to a black finish? Thanks

Got a blow torch? Hot oil treatment will turn it black. Takes a while, do it outdoors & after it's done, give it a wipe down with Pledge.

 

[czeglin]

Got a blow torch? Hot oil treatment will turn it black. Takes a while, do it outdoors & after it's done, give it a wipe down with Pledge.

Are any of these hardened?

The one I was filing on had a hard-ish spot but mostly pretty soft.


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[h~moto]

Not my repair. This is how it was when I bought it at a yard sale. An adjustable wrench from back when we weren’t a throw-away society.

 

[d42jeep]

I have dozens of early adjustable wrenches, and find many that no longer work well or have missing parts. Generally, if I can remove the screw I disassemble the wrench and thoroughly clean it. On Crescent brand wrenches I make sure that the jaw tensioning spring is present. If the wrench has been abused and the jaw won’t slide all the way in, I do some filing until the jaw surfaces meet. When re-assembling, I put a drop of red loctite on the screw threads and a bit of boat trailer grease where the adjuster rides. I’ve had to make several replacement screws using machine screws with shoulders, cutting off the heads and hacksawing in screwdriver slots. There is no use in owning a wrench that doesn’t function properly, in my opinion.
-Don

 

[Farmer J.]

Practice for when that gem dose show up. I drove a tow truck years ago and found lots of tools in the cars going to the crusher. I polished lots of old stuff and gave it to people. Guess I still do.
I bought this grinder for 5 bucks and am giving it to a friend when I get it done

Good on you, Jim. The pleasure is in the giving.

 

[harley jim]

I have dozens of early adjustable wrenches, and find many that no longer work well or have missing parts. Generally, if I can remove the screw I disassemble the wrench and thoroughly clean it. On Crescent brand wrenches I make sure that the jaw tensioning spring is present. If the wrench has been abused and the jaw won’t slide all the way in, I do some filing until the jaw surfaces meet. When re-assembling, I put a drop of red loctite on the screw threads and a bit of boat trailer grease where the adjuster rides. I’ve had to make several replacement screws using machine screws with shoulders, cutting off the heads and hacksawing in screwdriver slots. There is no use in owning a wrench that doesn’t function properly, in my opinion.

-Don

Nice collection

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[d42jeep]

Thanks. I seldom use adjustables but like the 4" and wartime wrenches. I never leave behind any Barcalo wrenches either.
-Don