Tappet Wrenches Only: History, Use, and Examples!

[Username already in use]

Here’s a WRIGHT Q4 (9/16) SOE tappet.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Some unbranded

[ATTACH=full]1537901[/ATTACH]

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hmm. Interesting. Angles more like obstruction wrenches. With that branding, I would guess either Duro-Indestro or possibly Herbrand.

 

[Username already in use]

I was thinking Duro/Indestro.
Mostly because of the chromium- vanadium marking.

 

[four.cycle]

Oldtuleguy - those look to be Duro/Indestro "obstruction" wrenches (1821, 1823, 1825, 1827, 1829 as I recall). Very thin heads - not quite as thin as the tappet wrenches. That "Chromium Vanadium" moniker was pretty much exclusive to Duro/Indestro.
Compare to: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...d-duro-chrome-tools.94937/page-8#post-5709224 (next iteration after yours, if I'm not mistaken) and https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...d-duro-chrome-tools.94937/page-8#post-5567941 (late production: 1970s-1980s)

 

[snapmom]

Milwaukee Tool and Forge Tappet wrenches. Made for Motor Tool Specialty (Snap on) pre Blue Point, pre Blue Points.
I still need a couple to finish this set, so holler at me if you have any.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That "Chromium Vanadium" moniker was pretty much exclusive to Duro/Indestro.

I used to think it was exclusive, no caveat, until Todd proved me wrong. Apparently Herbrand used it when they made some wrenches for Western Auto as well. But my first guess was obstruction and DI, so I do agree with you.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Milwaukee Tool and Forge Tappet wrenches. Made for Motor Tool Specialty (Snap on) pre Blue Point, pre Blue Points.

All the oldtimers are crawling out of the grave now!! Excellent.

 

[shanny19]

Proto LA 3426, 3435-S, 3440-S.
Craftsman 47464.

 

[humber2]

New Britain NDF-80 is reasonably long 17/32 and 1/2

 

[humber2]

Williams “The Superwrench” examples...

1090 7/16 and 1/2

1090F 1/2 and 17/32

1092F 5/8 and 11/16

 

[humber2]

Lectrolite older examples, both 5/8-11/16 but differ in length.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Abby said I have to wait at least 24 hours, but, thanks to a prod from leg17, here's another fairly old and rare one that I hadn't even pulled out for the Intro shot (isn't that everyone's problem? do you store them with wrenches of their kind? or by brand?), a Kraeuter No. O (the letter not the number) 1416 (1/2 x 7/16), shown at the very bottom of this group shot...



...and with just two of its older Checknut siblings here.



You can see how its narrower in the beam, has a hex throat, and, unlike the bolt standard size markings on the checknuts, it came around later enough to have milled opening size markings.



These incredibly ornate and stylish DOE wrenches are not included in the 1915 catalog, and by the time they made it into the 1939 catalog, they were very plain. The earliest ad I could find for them was 1926, extolling the popularity of the pliers, and demanding that you "Get Yourself a Kraeuter Wrench Too." I sure as heck agree with the "handsome" part. Made of carbon steel, they are not so "light" though.



As a class, they're not too common, but the engineers wrenches ("A" prefix part numbers) and the S wrenches ("B" prefix part numbers) continue to show up at fleas and fleaBay if you're patient. Leg17 has a complete set.

But, he and I have only ever seen one other tappet wrench, and that is an O1820 (9/16 x 5/8) on AA.

 

[humber2]

Toolkit tools from vintage Humber automobiles.

The black set made by Vaughan Bros at Willenhall England for cars 1930, 1931. & 1932.

Identified by the numbers 6, 7 & 8.

Unpainted pair are from prior years, maker unconfirmed.

Identified as P.10738 and P.10739.

I guess the missing one I seek is either P10737 or P10740

All these tools have Whitworth sized jaws, the fittings are threaded BSF

 

[humber2]

Vlchek made for Caterpillar 1A1442

My 3 versions, the top pair differ by being numbered 6 & 8

 

[four.cycle]

Indestro tappet wrench catalog pages: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/indestro-tool-catalog-thread.344222/page-2#post-9279102

Thorsen (Old Forge) (Herbrand Van-Chrome) tappet wrench catalog page: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/post-up-your-thorsen-tools.328024/page-26#post-9279129

Duro Chrome tappet wrench catalog page: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...-duro-chrome-tools.94937/page-49#post-9279116

 

[Provincial]

You are probably right. Only early jeeps had separate locknuts. Most jeeps had self-locking tappets with a hex nut at the top. Here is a set. You can see the separated threads and the split-spring like design.



Here is another TM figure that causes a lot of confusion in the jeep community, also depicting a valve construction only for early jeeps, Ford GPW's this time, with Ford part numbers. In this one, you can better see what I was trying to show, but misidentified. 355571-S is the early type locknut. And it shows different keepers (6550), the same compressed clip types that are installed in the engine block photo I posted upthread. Also only early and hardly ever seen. They still identify 6546 as a lock in this diagram as well, but I suppose they mean it more as a type of keeper.

I edited and deleted the unnecessary figure entirely. Thanks.

Ford was not alone in calling the valve keepers (that attach the valve stem to the lower spring seat) a "lock." Many other manufacturers did that too. They lock the valve stem to the lower spring seat with their taper, thereby resisting the tendency for the valve to become detached from the lower spring seat. They were a huge improvement over earlier designs, like cross-pins.

The term "lock" was applied before adjustable tappets came into wide use, so at the time they were named, nothing else in the valve train was a "lock." That is no longer the case.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Toolkit tools from vintage Humber automobiles.

Those are terrific, and, in the circumstances, oh so nominal!

What are the sizes? And which wrench went to the tappet, locknut, and adjuster? I'm curious because of the 3-wrench discussion in the Intro and in ensuing posts about Bonney 412 series wrenches, for example.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Vlchek made for Caterpillar 1A1442

My 3 versions, the top pair differ by being numbered 6 & 8

Nice line-up. I'm going to assume they're all 9/16" x 9/16", since I have never seen or heard of one being made in any other sizes of configurations. Which is just one of the things that are so strange about these wrenches.

I get Caterpillar wanting to contract with Vlchek. Who wouldn't? If it was good enough for the US Army and Chevrolet and scores of other lesser entities, it was good enough for Cat. But somehow they ended up with a wrench that Vlchek was not known for making. Vlchek wasn't making tappet wrenches with a 22-1/2* angle, they were making them engineers' style (15* x 15*).

I have never seen AA or anyone else wonder about that.

On top of that, they weren't making ANY wrenches of any type with sharp, pear-head jaws. Quite the opposite, they were known for round jaws and some jaws so round they could be called parabolic. The triangular geometry is so extreme, it does the term 'pear' and 'sharp' injustice.



Again, I have never seen AA or anyone else mention that, either.

Why does all that matter? I think it points to the deduction that Caterpillar specified the wrenches.

Think about it. If they had gone to Vlchek to order tappet wrenches, specifying the size (9/16") only, and left the rest to Vlchek's discretion, they probably would've gotten Vlchek's standard tappet, maybe with the same size on each end. Unbidden, undirected, and unspecified, it seems unlikely Vlchek would've had any motivation to suddenly and whimsically decide to diverge from their standard. 'Hey, just for shits and grins, let's throw a 22-1/2* angle on there and sharpen the jaws up.' All of which required new dies!

Blue-Point and Bonney were making the 15* x 22-1/2* asymmetricals. Why not go to them?

I don't know. But I am convinced Caterpillar knew of that style and asked Vlchek to make them.

Again, not discussed on AA or anywhere else I can find.

And I still wonder why they only show up in one size. Did every vintage Cat dozer, crawler, and excavator use valves that had 9/16" hex heads on the tappet and adjuster screw?!

Here is mine. It doesn't have a forge number on the shank, which is unusual.



But the coolest part about it is the marking on the flip side. "S BCAT." I hope we have some Cat cats here who can decipher that into perhaps a vehicle type.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As long as we're on the subject, here is my budding standard 1930's Chro-Moly Vlchek "near-complete set". I have been putting this together onesy-twosy, from in the wild, for quite some time. I would be tickled pink if I could just find one more 94. Two 96's (1" x 15/16") would be gravy on top.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ll double check my Vlchek but the only one I have a picture of is this 92. It looks like you have that one covered.
-Don

 

[Username already in use]

(Dear Abby, How long should a person wait to post a complete set of tappet wrenches in a brand that someone else just posted 1 and 3/4 wrenches before it is not seen as rude oneupsmanship?
"Genteel Jim" in Jersey)

It’s fine, really. I’m not (always) the envious type. Post away OP!
“Just the tip” in Ohio

 

[Username already in use]

MAC TD4 tappet. Probably the longest one that I have at 12" OAL. 7/16 & 1/2 Reverse is marked Sabina, O

 

[snapmom]

Another type Cat

 

[Username already in use]

P&C tappets. Two # 2916 (1/2 & 7/16) and one #2918 (1/2 & 9/16).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The term "lock" was applied before adjustable tappets came into wide use, so at the time they were named, nothing else in the valve train was a "lock."

Perfect sense.

 

[Username already in use]

Not the best looking wrenches out there, but here's some Long C Craftsman Vanadium tappets.
#s 1, 2, and 3

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Not the best looking wrenches out there, but here's some Long C Craftsman Vanadium tappets.

Mine are just as fugly if not fuglier. I'd offer them up but yours are VANADIUM.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here's a wrench I can't positively identify. The COO marking and the model number smack of Vlchek, the heads kind of look like Vlchek, and I keep it with my Vlcheks, but they always had a taller "C and "M" in their all-caps "CHOME-MOLYBDENUM" marking. Always. And not just on their tappet wrenches. On all wrenches. It was their signature thing.

 

[Mintgrun]

Here's a wrench I can't positively identify. The COO marking and the model number smack of Vlchek, the heads kind of look like Vlchek, and I keep it with my Vlcheks, but they always had a taller "C and "M" in their all-caps "CHOME-MOLYBDENUM" marking. Always. And not just on their tappet wrenches. On all wrenches. It was their signature thing.

Here are some of mine, including one with the fun head shape. The # 89 blatantly breaks the big C-M rule.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The # 89 blatantly breaks the big C-M rule.

Indeed! I'm going to have to modify the rule to 'almost always' and keep the 90A with my Vlchek trade orphans. Thanks.

 

[Username already in use]

Mine are just as fugly if not fuglier. I'd offer them up but yours are VANADIUM.

I’ve got a mix. I stacked them in the picture. There are three #1s, two #2s, and one #3. But only one of each is VANADIUM.

 

[Username already in use]

I’ve also got a handful of -V- series craftsman tappets.
The smallest has no number and is 3/8 & 7/16, next is the #44471 which is 7/16 & 17/32, followed by #44472 which is 1/2 & 9/16, followed by No.3 (5/8 & 11/16) and No.4 (3/4 & 7/8).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I stacked them in the picture. There are three #1s, two #2s, and one #3.

I saw that. You can have my #3 and I think my fourth is an unmarked #4. I'll double-check that.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Before I post my complete set of Plomb 3400 series tappet wrenches, let's talk about their catalog.

I review a lot of white papers and proposals, and I sit on a lot of analysis of alternatives panels for Program Managers, and in my world, the DOD engineering world, in the Science & Technology domain, in the R&D sector, when a company is trashing the technical approach or basis of another company's offering in comparison to theirs without naming the other company, we call it "ghosting" the competition. It's actually very helpful, because it often makes it much easier to organize and assess the pros and cons. You don't have to agree, but they are doing all the distinguishing legwork for you. I'm not much of a social media person, but my impression from listening to my kids is that some types of "trolling" among famous people that don't like each other is somewhat similar.

Well, Plomb cunningly ghosts the f*ck out Bonney, Herbrand, Duro, and everyone else in their catalog without having to name them.

I don't know if collectors realize it or not, but Plomb's approach to tappet wrenches was iconoclastic. It is overtly dismissive of all the features that were trendy. Asymmetrical angles? Nonsense! Same milled opening sizes on each end? Waste, fraud and abuse! Lengths that graduate or step up with opening sizes? Unnecessary!

And they weren't afraid to point it out.

"Note arrangement of openings...[ ]...six wrenches are equal to much larger sets of other makes" is the gut punch. It makes you look at what they did and how they did it and wonder why anyone would go back to buying a 4-pair 8-wrench set and in many cases a 9th wrench if they wanted the 17/32".

Plomb refused to pair up sizes. They knew that tappets and adjusters were paired, but they made sure that the 1/2", 9/16", and 5/8" openings - the most common sizes, were available on two different wrenches, while putting sizes together on the same wrench (9/16" x 5/8", 17/32" x 5/8", and 11/16" x 3/4", and 13/16 x 7/8") that nobody else did, allowing them to cover more sizes in fewer wrenches.

Then, just in case the first front-and-centered 'Each Wrench 9" Long' banner wasn't prominent enough for prospective customers, they repeated it in the body of the text.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here's the set...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I've been hemming (pun intended) and hawing about making a No. 2405 pouch for it for a few years now and I'm finally suitably motivated and ready. I have some very good models to work from with similar smaller black with silver trim pouches that Beemer and Rubicon own. And I have identified the materials. The only thing I don't have a solution for is the logo.

 

[Provincial]

Since this wrench self-identifies as a tappet wrench, I'll post it here. It appears to be punched out of 5/32" steel sheet and the opening measures 9/16". It appear to have been caught up in something and left its "tail" behind. I got it in a bunch of stuff last week.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have a thing for eponymous tools, Jock. That's a neat one. Clearly very early.

That whole practice of functionally marking wrenches, initially picked up by the major mfgrs, died off too soon.

I wish I knew who made the 'TAPPET ADJUSTING WRENCH SCREW AND NUT' I circled in post #1. And I'd like to find another one, too.

Here it is again by itself.

 

[four.cycle]

The only thing I don't have a solution for is the logo.

Could it be embroidered on the pouch?