Show off your DOE's!

[LesserSon]

Three Hinsdale DOEs followed me home today. They must have been from a numbered set: 15/16x7/8(#5), 25/32x3/4(#4), 15/32x9/16(#2). So now I’ll have to start searching for the #1 & #3, at least.
Last photo shows “as found” condition; the lighting is also a little better.

 

[Gmonkee]

There is Zero numbered wrench too. Good luck.
I have one of those myself. Love the logo.

 

[Shiftless]

After reading outlaw’s post, I realized that I too had recently repurposed a double open end wrench. No cutting was involved and I suppose that in its current position, it can be enjoyed by more people than when it was hiding in a drawer in the garage, right?
That’s an access door to the dirt floor crawl space in the walkout basement room.

“Williams Superwrench 1731”

 

[Outlawmws]

Shift, Did you weld or epoxy it to the studs?

 

[Shiftless]

Shift, Did you weld or epoxy it to the studs?

I epoxied (jb weld) 2 elevator bolts after roughing up the mating surfaces with a grinding stone mounted on a Dremel tool. Short steel bushings act as spacers and hide the threads.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have recently vowed to do some late spring cleaning and get better organized, especially the various bins and piles cluttering up the floor and workbench of the Lugzsonian, starting with the DOE wrenches, tonight, after work.

Pic 1 is a photo of all my "orphan" DOE wrenches - i.e., those that are not in sets or partial sets.

I sorted the WWII Jeep/GMTK sizes by opening sizes.

Pic 2, left to right: bin 1 (33-C), bin 2 (731-A), bin 3 (28-S left, and 27-C right), and bin 4 (25 top and 723 bottom).

I don't know how I'm going to store what's left (not shown), but it's a much more manageable number.

 

[d42jeep]

I have recently vowed to do some late spring cleaning and get better organized, especially the various bins and piles cluttering up the floor and workbench of the Lugzsonian, starting with the DOE wrenches, tonight, after work.

Pic 1 is a photo of all my "orphan" DOE wrenches - i.e., those that are not in sets or partial sets.

I sorted the WWII Jeep/GMTK sizes by opening sizes.

Pic 2, left to right: bin 1 (33-C), bin 2 (731-A), bin 3 (28-S left, and 27-C right), and bin 4 (25 top and 723 bottom).

I don't know how I'm going to store what's left (not shown), but it's a much more manageable number.

Wow. That’s good organizing. Mine are still in kind of a controlled clutter.

As part of our estate sale Craftsman finds today was this nice early =v= DOE set with the pouch. I think after a little cleaning they’ll look pretty much like new.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up a couple WWII Jeep wrenches at the flea market this morning. The ARCTURUS with the Federal Stock Number is an ISN 27-C (9/16" x 11/16"), and the Barcalo is an ISN 25 (1/2" x 19/32"). The ARCTURUS is so clean I could eat with it (almost certainly bead-blasted), while the Barcalo is not the best specimen.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not in the habit of picking up S wrenches (unless it's a Mack! ), but this Kraeuter caught my eye. I know someone else has shown this style and marking Kraeuter before, but I can't recall if it was an S wrench or not.

 

[twertsy]

I'm not in the habit of picking up S wrenches (unless it's a Mack! ), but this Kraeuter caught my eye. I know someone else has shown this style and marking Kraeuter before, but I can't recall if it was an S wrench or not.

I have a few of those but mine are black finish.

 

[Username already in use]

Picked up a couple WWII Jeep wrenches at the flea market this morning. The ARCTURUS with the Federal Stock Number is an ISN 27-C (9/16" x 11/16"), and the Barcalo is an ISN 25 (1/2" x 19/32"). The ARCTURUS is so clean I could eat with it (almost certainly bead-blasted), while the Barcalo is not the best specimen.

Nice find on the toolkit wrenches, Lugz!
I found a 1028-S 'chrome vanadium steel' wrench (Duro/Indestro) at the flea last weekend. Looks to be wartime production as well.
Also pictured, are a Bonney Zenel 3027 and a Craftsman long C tappet

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found a 1028-S 'chrome vanadium steel' wrench (Duro/Indestro) at the flea last weekend. Looks to be wartime production as well.

Early perhaps. They were making those in the late 1930's and one could reasonably assume right up to alloy restrictions (1941-2), when they presumably started on the (X) and G- series.

 

[ReggieR]

Does anyone make these with teeth like the Wright has ?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hi Reggie,

First of all, this is the Vintage board.

If "the Wright" refers to WrightGrip, and you're asking if DOE wrenches in the past were ever made with tiny pipe-wrench-like serrations on the inner jaws, near the throat, like WrightGrip brand wrenches in production today, I think the answer is no. I have never seen that on an antique or vintage DOE (engineers, tappet, obstruction, or electrical/ignition) wrench. Adjustable pipe wrenches and alligator wrenches, but not wrenches meant for nuts and bolts.

If you're wondering if there are modern alternatives to WrightGrip wrenches, best to ask on the General Discussion board.

 

[RagTopTA]

I'm not in the habit of picking up S wrenches (unless it's a Mack! ), but this Kraeuter caught my eye. I know someone else has shown this style and marking Kraeuter before, but I can't recall if it was an S wrench or not.

it might have been me, I found one in a haul last year. I wanted to find the entire set cause it was so cool. Havent seen any more around here yet though.

 

[Gerry Clarke]

Voila - my whitworth set of French "Surpans" flank contact spanners. Found in French automobile tool kits but they were also made in England in Whitworth sizes. The raised panel only appears on one side of the tool. I like them very much.

Gerry

 

[Catfishdan]

Voila - my whitworth set of French "Surpans" flank contact spanners. Found in French automobile tool kits but they were also made in England in Whitworth sizes. The raised panel only appears on one side of the tool. I like them very much.

Gerry

I have a pair like that, but they are metric and marked Peugeot. Also Surpans...

 

[Gerry Clarke]

Snail brand whitworths. Pre-1940 and the 7/16" with 1/4" strikes me as an odd combination.

Gerry

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I've been feeling the call of the dark side. These just came out of the oven today(baked oil finish).My Recent Peugeot Freres surpans wrench, Snail Brand, Herbrand 731, and a Pure Carbonic tank wrench just becasue I'm happy about how it came out.

 

[Gerry Clarke]

They do look very nice. Is that baked oil a durable finish? I'd be curious to see if there's a simple, safe way to japan black or parkerize in the home workshop with readily available chemicals.

Gerry

 

[LesserSon]

They do look very nice. Is that baked oil a durable finish? I'd be curious to see if there's a simple, safe way to japan black or parkerize in the home workshop with readily available chemicals.

Gerry

If Slewfoot’s finish were Boiled Linseed Oil, it would not require baking, but a week of patience or a couple days of hot dry sunshine, because commercial BLO has metallic/chemical driers in it. Raw linseed oil can be baked on with similar results and no added chemicals. But a totally nontoxic (the wrench might be toxic, depending on composition and existing finish), baked-oil finish of similar durability could be done in a kitchen oven using any readily-available vegetable cooking oil, like rapeseed (canola), peanut, olive, etc. It is exactly the finish used to season cast iron pots & pans (although, historically, I think a LOT of cast iron was seasoned with swine lard). The durability is not dissimilar to paint. Japanned finish is a witch’s brew that may include shellac, linseed oil, and asphaltum. There’s recipes on the web. It is incredibly resilient, but it gets worn, all the same. Authenticity aside, Rustoleum gloss or semigloss enamel is virtually identical visually from japanned finish.
So, Slewfoot, what oil did you use?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'd be curious to see if there's a simple, safe way to japan black or parkerize in the home workshop with readily available chemicals.

Gerry,

I "japanned" a set of Williams Superior DOE wrenches several years ago using a mixture of black enamel paint and shellac. The results were spectacular, but it took forever, shop oven-drying and then rubbing down three (3) successive layers of the stuff with 0000 steel wool and buff-polishing the last layer by hand. I knew even as I was doing it that I would never do it again.

I have had mixed results achieving a "parkerized-like" finish with gun bluing. The product I used was Birchwood Casey PermaBlue. This technique is also terrific for achieving a "black oxide-like" finish by applying several coats on top of each other until it's as dark as you want it. I say mixed results because it's a very finicky process highly dependent on the surface of the wrench. It has to be completely free and clear of any foreign substance (including human skin oil), blemishes, nicks, and burrs, which will either be masked (from the chemical process) or magnified in intensity by it. Stripping and bead-blasting is a must, but even then results can be mottled or splotchy. To compensate, I would do more and more layers, consequently, everything came out very dark gray. Nice. But very dark. Close to black.

 

[Gerry Clarke]

Thanks all for the great information. I imagine a mild acid etch of the substrate might also help.

Gerry

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Durable...IDK, I think some of the BE sockets came with something much like this, although it may have been plastic. I can take it down with scotch brite, but it takes some effort. Since I live by the ocean and have an uninsulated garage, bare steel tools tend to start looking bad pretty quickly if you don't do something. Here I have used BLO, baked in my outdoor toaster oven. It takes heat to get the dark color, and the BLO smells for days if I let it air dry. I have raw flax oil(same thing with no chems), but its expensive as hell, so I only use it on cookware. It's all experimental for me at this point. the snap on punch I did a couple months ago still looks great.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not in the habit of picking up S wrenches (unless it's a Mack! ), but this Kraeuter caught my eye. I know someone else has shown this style and marking Kraeuter before, but I can't recall if it was an S wrench or not.

I have a few of those but mine are black finish.

it might have been me, I found one in a haul last year. I wanted to find the entire set cause it was so cool. Havent seen any more around here yet though.

That eerie sense of synchronicity one sometimes experiences in this hobby was tingling this morning when I picked up this Kraeuter "S" wrench off a table at the Early Bird flea market. The littler shinier one I found last week was the first one I've ever seen in several years of trolling that flea market, and now, only a week later, I find another one, this time in the black finish that Todd was just referring to.

This one also has the most explicit antique size markings you can see on a wrench, with both the milled opening size and the sizes of the fasteners it would fit. (For the uninitiated, that "USS" is a reference to the Across-the-Flats diameter of a U.S. Standard, as opposed to an S.A.E. Standard, nut or bolt; and the hexagon symbol followed by the letter "C" is a reference to Hex Cap Screw.) Wrenches without the milled opening size, which are quite common, often fool newcomers. [edit]And the model number ("B2832") is under those markings on the face of the largest head.[/edit]

 

[davethorik]

I actually used my Lectrolite 11/16 and 5/8 DOE tappet wrench today at work. I was surprised, but like a dummy forgot pics.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a Duro looking Wizard tappet wrench I picked up recently.
-Don

 

[RagTopTA]

That eerie sense of synchronicity one sometimes experiences in this hobby was tingling this morning when I picked up this Kraeuter "S" wrench off a table at the Early Bird flea market. The littler shinier one I found last week was the first one I've ever seen in several years of trolling that flea market, and now, only a week later, I find another one, this time in the black finish that Todd was just referring to.

This one also has the most explicit antique size markings you can see on a wrench, with both the milled opening size and the sizes of the fasteners it would fit. (For the uninitiated, that "USS" is a reference to the Across-the-Flats diameter of a U.S. Standard, as opposed to an S.A.E. Standard, nut or bolt; and the hexagon symbol followed by the letter "C" is a reference to Hex Cap Screw.) Wrenches without the milled opening size, which are quite common, often fool newcomers. [edit]And the model number ("B2832") is under those markings on the face of the largest head.[/edit]

Heres my lone wrench.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This is the first Mossberg DOE wrench I have ever seen in the wild. I don't know if it's a single or if it went in the lid of one of their large wooden box wrench sets (perhaps that's what the "B" signifies?) or both. No. 240. 23/32" x 5/8". Stamped steel, of course. c 1910-1915.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is another tappet wrench marked only Chrome Molybdenum. Who was the manufacturer?
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Vlchek.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I posted a very early and strange Bon{B}ney B-shield DOE in the Bonney thread, which is still stranded up in Snap/on rules HF ***** USA-vs-TheRestofTheWorld Forum Land, linked here, if anyone is interested in seeing it.

 

[Gmonkee]

This is the first Mossberg DOE wrench I have ever seen in the wild. I don't know if it's a single or if it went in the lid of one of their large wooden box wrench sets (perhaps that's what the "B" signifies?) or both. No. 240. 23/32" x 5/8". Stamped steel, of course. c 1910-1915.

I have two of those in the bigger sizes, in rust pitted finish. Its an east coast thing to find them in quantity. I have never found one in the wild.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Found this "S" service wrench at the flea this morning with an odd logo. Anybody recognize it? (Tough to zoom that tight without getting fuzzy, so I drew it. See Pic 4. There's something where the "?" is but it's just too small to make out. Might be a letter, might be a figure, I don't know.) The wrench has no size markings but it's 1/2 x 5/8, and it has a "501" forged-in on the flip size from the logo.

 

[leg17]

Found this "S" service wrench at the flea this morning with an odd logo. Anybody recognize it? .....

SOUTHINGTON

http://alloy-artifacts.org/other-makers-p3.html

 

[davethorik]

I have a few additions...I don't usually pick up a lot of loose wrenches but this place had a 50 cent bucket with a little bit of everything in there. I grabbed what caught my eye.

In addition to these DOEs, got some other goodies I originally posted in 18 GS thread here:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7377837&postcount=5792

DOE wrenches:
-Billings & Spencer no. 2017 S-wrench, 3/8" U.S.S. & 7/16" OC
-Craftsman Chrome-Vanadium no. C-1723, 7/16" & 3/8"
-Hinsdale Chrome-Vanadium-Steel no. 3, 5/8" & 11/16"
-Lectrolite Corp. Defiance Ohio USA, .05 Chrome .05 Vanadium tappet, 9/16" & 1/2"
-Williams The "Superrench" Chrome-Molybdenum no. 1727, 7/16" OC, 7/16" SAE & 3/8" OC, 3/8" SAE dual-marked
-Cornwell IW7 ignition wrench, 15/64" & 13/64"
-Cornwell IW9 ignition wrench, 7/32" & 1/4"

 

[davethorik]

More pics

 

[LesserSon]

Are these plain-steel #92 tappet wrenches Williams? Stamped “Chrome Molybdenum” with forged-in codes “8” and “24”. If so, seems like they should be #90D, right?
Anyone looking for these? I’m probably going to eBay them, as I don’t deliberately collect Williams.
Edit: “Doh!” I should have scrolled back a few posts to #635! Talk about synchronicity...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Those were made by Vlchek.

 

[LesserSon]

Thanks, Lugz. I don’t collect Vlchek, either, though I have some.
Edit - duh, I have a #93, too. But this one is nonspecific “alloy steel” and has a coating of some sort.