Wartime! Forging in the AISI steel number was their way of meeting and also showcasing their compliance with WPB alloy restrictions. Hard to read yours from here but probably 86xx - which was the very low dose triple-alloy (nickel-chromium-molybdenum) class (vanadium was still strictly 0%!) invented in very late 1941 and early 1942 by an academic-industrial-gov't consortium dubbed "New Emergency" steel.
Yes.
Have always felt the evolution of tools parallels the evolution of human creativity, industriousness & productivity. You have shared an immense amount of time, effort and knowledge on this forum; undoubtedly in other places also - you do SO need to be thanked.
Anyway, I think I can help you, @Mintgrun, with the other half of a 412 set, matching the year codes, at least. And a 422. PM me if you want to work a deal.I have. Nothing as grandiose in scale and scope as a comprehensive 'Tool Steel History', and not all in one thread, but I have posted historical information, references, and homemade infographics from my research as the subject has come up, scattered all over. Exclusively on the late 1930s leading up to WWII, WWII, and immediate postwar, though. I don't know that much about steel after that. I'll attach a handy timeline that I created below. But if you use the Search function, upper right, to Search this forum on terms "New Emergency", "Alloy Steel", and "WPB restrictions" AND my username, the site will present you a long list of all my posts in which I use those terms. Just poke around from there.
All parts not portrayed by the ******* television show!
I don't know why I thought there was a C-M in your post. Maybe I confused it with Don's post #259.
The Duro DOE wrenches at the beginning of Username’s post would be considered Jeep correct with the exception of the 33C.Here's a few sets of wartime DOE wrenches.
The GMTK has 5 sizes. ISN #s 723, 25, 27C, 28S, 731A, 33C
Duro Chrome (X)
Fairmount (sharps or pear head) typically found with an 'A' forge mark on the beam.
Bridgeport Hardware (BHM)
Bonney. There are 3 types of wartime Bonney DOEs. The Zenel line, the standard Bonney, and this odd 585 series.
The smallest of this set is not the 585 series wrench. It's a placeholder in case one ever shows up.
For comprehensiveness and the fullest context, note that tappet wrenches were not included in the on-board toolkits of any wheeled vehicle up to 2.5 tons during WWII. That includes jeeps (Willys, Ford), Dodge, Chevy, GMC, other Fords (GPA, etc), etc.
I had a Chrysler flat-head six (262?) in my '48 Willys PU many years ago. I fondly recall trying to set the tappets while running--as per the Motors manual. Just hold one wrench in one hand, the other wrench in the other hand, and try to hit a moving target with the feeler gauge in the other hand--all while hot oil was running down my arms. Simple!INTRO POST 4 of 4
Most guys have experience or knowledge of needing two tappet wrenches, one for the nut at the top of the tappet or lifter itself and one for the adjusting screw on top of that. In fact, my only hands-on personal experience with tappet wrenches is setting the valve clearance on my 1943 Willys MB, and it takes two. It’s done at TDC for ignition, when both valves are closed. The tappet in the L head is not on a cam lobe, and the valve is held closed by a spring. The tappets are self-locking. (Only early jeeps had separate locknuts.) You hold a tappet wrench with a 1/2” opening to hold the lifter/tappet (hex nut), and another with the same size opening to turn the hex head on the adjuster screw. The TM says you do it with the same hand, a feeler gauge in the other. The tappets and stems were worn/ground bad on mine, so a feeler wasn’t much use, and I followed an equation-turn method (based on the spec that an L134 engine tappet adjuster screw has 24 threads per inch, and that 1 complete 360* turn of the tappet adjuster hex head was 0.042“) that is well-known in the G503 community. To be honest, it always took a lot of trial and error to get it right.
Here’s an L134 engine. (Ignore the valve keepers, which are unusual in a wartime block, and before someone says it, yes, I know the springs are upside down! Don’t ask!)
Here’s an illustration of an L134 engine from a jeep TM showing two tappet wrenches in use. The wrench in his left hand is holding the tappet still. The left in his right hand is making the adjustment.
Here’s an illustration from a different manual showing two tappet wrenches and a feeler gauge in use. This is the famous "scissors" method. The left hand is holding the feeler gauge. The fingers of the right hand are holding the wrench at the bottom on the tappet while the thumb gently nudges the adjusting screw.
But, here is an illustration I grabbed from a period book showing three (3) wrenches in use (made by Bonney, by the way!),
and an illustration from a modern book on antique car maintenance, showing why.
It seems as though the third wrench in these three-wrench set-ups is for a valve-tappet type in which the locknut is different, separate from, not a part of the hex head on a self-locking tappet/lifter. My impression is that you needed to hold the tappet/lifter itself steady or still, or it would turn, loosen the locknut, and then turn the adjuster, and when you're done setting your lash, tighten the locknut, while holding the tappet/lifter, because all three were independent of each other.
In both figures one hand is using two wrenches to hold the tappet and loosen the locknut, while the other hand is using a wrench to make the adjustment.
Having said all that about 2- and 3-wrench tappet adjustments, I have no clue how you would adjust valve tappet clearance with only one (1) wrench. There are several cars and trucks like that. Not only no jam nut, but no need to hold the tappet?
For those who are curious, you should be able to use the chart above, identify a car or truck by make, model, and engine type that needed three (3) wrenches, or one (1) wrench, and then go find some views or maintenance procedures for those vehicles to see if it provides an explanation. I will probably do that in good time, but if someone beats me to it, I won’t be upset.
Or, someone smarter than I, with more experience working on more vintage engines (such as Provincial, humber or ttpete, etc), might know the answer.
You have some great stuff. Love your single open end Plomb and your OTC head bolt wrench.Tried to get it organized but didn't quite have the room. Here's some of my tappets with a few others mixed in there. Will try to get some more together for round 2. Also not to solicit but none of these are things I intend to keep so feel free to message me if you see anything that would be of interest, especially things that might fill some gaps.
'Zackly. In all my years of collecting, the really bad tools with this kind of deeply stubborn rust are few and far between. If the magic e juice doesn't remove it over night, I generally just sand it down with a soft abrasive pad, turning hematite into a flatter uniform surface of magnetite and live with that.
As discussed previously, you have examples from two different stamping dies and corresponding different text stamping detail.
I found this post where @outofbounds posted a similar wrench… the consensus was it was either a Duro or Craftsman made by Duro.
