Vintage RIDGID Pipe Wrenches

[d42jeep]

Here is my original one if you want to make yours look like new.
-Don

 

[JohnDeere]

Ridgid e-110 I got for a buck. It got an evaporust bath.

 

[d42jeep]

As it sometimes happens on the GJ, I was admiring JohnDeere’s odd Ridgid wrench on Thursday and today I found one of my own.
-Don

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

I like yours better than his because it has the logo with the intertwined letters.
-Tommy

 

[SteelPatina]

My wrench only has a single digit in the code "B6". Should I assume the manufacture date is June '46/'56?


It has a 7 and a 2 stamped into the side. I'm not sure what that could mean.


It does not appear to have ever been painted.


It has the intertwined letter logo and the 1727623 patent.

 

[d42jeep]

My guess would be 1946. The 7 and the 2 probably don’t have any significance. The original black paint is usually gone by now.
-Don

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Got this intertwined letter 18” from my dad.


At my favorite second hand store they have a intertwined 24” & 36” , I may buy the 24” next time, but I have no use for a steel 36”, unless I needed a boat anchor.
-Tommy

 

[d42jeep]

I found a lightly used post 1950 14” Ridgid pipe wrench at an estate sale yesterday. The price was right.
-Don

 

[dwasifar]

How about this one that I got at a barn sale for $5, completely rusted?



Date code on the hook jaw indicates 1945, which means I painted it the wrong color, but oh well, I still like the red.

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Awesome job! This gives me motivation to redo a rusty 14” one I have.
-Tommy

 

[dwasifar]

Awesome job! This gives me motivation to redo a rusty 14” one I have.

Thanks! If it helps, the steps were:

• Two day soak in vinegar to loosen the rust
• Big wire wheel to take off most of the rust and remaining paint (not original paint, someone had painted the end blue)
• Drive out the pin and remove the heel jaw
• Little wire wheel on a Dremel for the tight spots and jaw area
• Birchwood Casey Perma Blue cold bluing for the hook jaw and knurled nut
• Rustoleum Poppy Red satin for the body
• Regrind the chevron and the flat areas of the hook jaw on a benchtop belt sander (to remove dents and pitting, and leave a nice flat bright metal finish)
• Lubricate the springs, the nut, and the heel jaw groove
• Replace the heel jaw and drive the pin back in

I would have sharpened up the hook jaw teeth with a file, but this didn't really seem to need it.

I painted it in modern colors. When it was made in 1945, it would have been black body and jaw, silver knurled nut. Which makes sense, if you think about it, for wartime production. You wouldn't want a bright red wrench to catch a German sniper's eye when you're working on your tank in the field.

Here's a film I found, made the same year as this wrench was. Note the complete absence of any personal protection equipment in the factory. The guys pouring the molten steel don't even have gloves.

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Thanks for the tips! Will watch the video when I have time!
-Tommy

 

[d42jeep]

I gave mine kind of a gentle restoration, trying to maintain most of the patina while removing the rust. I really wanted to save as much of the original sticker as possible.
-Don

 

[dwasifar]

I gave mine kind of a gentle restoration, trying to maintain most of the patina while removing the rust. I really wanted to save as much of the original sticker as possible.
-Don

I think it looks great for original 1950 paint. And I agree with your effort to save the sticker. I doubt very many exist of that vintage with the sticker still present and mostly legible.

How did you date it to exactly 1950?

 

[d42jeep]

I just said that it was made after around
1950. I don’t think that there has been a study done on dating those red handled Heavy Duty ones like Lugz started on the earlier ones, which was the basis for this thread.
-Don

 

[dwasifar]

I just said that it was made after around 1950.

So you did. I should read more carefully. Nonetheless it was a nice find. What did it cost you?

 

[d42jeep]

One American dollar. $2.00 for both wrenches.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I went to put away the new 14” Ridgid and found a very similar one already in the pipe wrench box. Here they are together.
I have a newer 18” Ridgid in the bottom of my user toolbox.
-Don

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

I finally got around to watching that video, it was awesome! Would love to have some of that stuff!
-Tommy

 

[gjuser23]

I gave mine kind of a gentle restoration, trying to maintain most of the patina while removing the rust. I really wanted to save as much of the original sticker as possible.
-Don

I have one that looks almost exactly like this, but there's enough gunk and light rust that I can't read the date code or many of the words on the heel jaw. What's everyone's suggestion on the best way to clean it without stripping any original paint or the sticker?

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Here’s s the Ridgid stuff I got, the folding rule is pretty sweet. I sadly missed out on an intertwined logo 36”, that probably went for pennies.
-Tommy

 

[d42jeep]

I have one that looks almost exactly like this, but there's enough gunk and light rust that I can't read the date code or many of the words on the heel jaw. What's everyone's suggestion on the best way to clean it without stripping any original paint or the sticker?

I would start with some kind of soap based product. I use Formula 409 or Fantastik but even dishwashing soap is okay. Scrub the greasy parts with the soap product and a fairly soft bristle brush to see if it gets the grease off while being careful with the decal. Remove the hook jaw and use a hand wire brush on it to remove the grease and rust then clean off with solvent or brake cleaner. You can also use the hand wire brush on the unpainted parts of the handle. By the end of that process it should be looking better.
-Don

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Got the wrench all cleaned up, all I used was a bit of 3-in1 oil and a small square of green scotchbright.
-Tommy

 

[BreeStephany]

My Ridgid restos for the week!


I recently picked up another Ridgid 36" straight steel wrench and a Ridgid 1-2" 25" hex steel wrench and started the restoration process pretty quickly after getting them. This is my restoration over the weekend of these two wrenches and two Ridgid 14" straight steel wrenches I did for a coworker.

Here are my coworker's two 14" wrenches after restoration.

Here is a little coverage of the restoration process.




I work mostly out of a pretty small shop, so I don't access to a shot blaster. I chemically removed the paint with paint/epoxy stripper, which turned out pretty well to prep for rust removal and paint.


Replaced the heel jaw, heel jaw pin and flat spring assembly on the 36" wrench and replaced the flat spring assemblies on both 14" wrenches.

I disassembled the wrenches, put the parts in evaporust over night, wire wheeled off the loose paint and scale from the evaporust and then put the wrench handles in paint stripper to remove the what remained of the factory paint.

I soaked the bare metal pieces (hook jaws, heel jaws, pins, flat spring assemblies) in rust preventative coating and heavy weight gear oil / cutting oil for a few days and wiped them clean.

I ran all the parts on a wire wheel, cleaned the parts to be painted with MEK and then painted the wrench handles with 2k primer and 2k ceramic high gloss paint.

Just a weekend playing in the shop.

 

[jeffmoss26]

My Ridgid restos for the week!


I recently picked up another Ridgid 36" straight steel wrench and a Ridgid 1-2" 25" hex steel wrench and started the restoration process pretty quickly after getting them. This is my restoration over the weekend of these two wrenches and two Ridgid 14" straight steel wrenches I did for a coworker.

Here are my coworker's two 14" wrenches after restoration.

Here is a little coverage of the restoration process.




I work mostly out of a pretty small shop, so I don't access to a shot blaster. I chemically removed the paint with paint/epoxy stripper, which turned out pretty well to prep for rust removal and paint.


Replaced the heel jaw, heel jaw pin and flat spring assembly on the 36" wrench and replaced the flat spring assemblies on both 14" wrenches.

I disassembled the wrenches, put the parts in evaporust over night, wire wheeled off the loose paint and scale from the evaporust and then put the wrench handles in paint stripper to remove the what remained of the factory paint.

I soaked the bare metal pieces (hook jaws, heel jaws, pins, flat spring assemblies) in rust preventative coating and heavy weight gear oil / cutting oil for a few days and wiped them clean.

I ran all the parts on a wire wheel, cleaned the parts to be painted with MEK and then painted the wrench handles with 2k primer and 2k ceramic high gloss paint.

Just a weekend playing in the shop.

Nice!!

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Todays Ridgid yard sale finds! Did Ridgid make the screwdrivers or did someone else make them?

 

[d42jeep]

The tubing cutter is old but I think those are pretty recent screwdrivers.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Did Ridgid make the screwdrivers or did someone else make them?

Shape, composition and color scheme look very modern, as Don alluded to, which also increases the chances of the "someone else" being located in Europe or China. Your best bet on an answer would be one of the modern RIDGID addicts on 'The Ridgid Addiction thread' thread up on the General Tool Discussion board.

The Ridgid addiction thread

I know I'm not the only one. It's a love hate relationship.

www.garagejournal.com

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

as Don alluded to, which also increases the chances of the "someone else" being located in Europe or China

Its not foreign, on the other side it says USA.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Its not foreign, on the other side it says USA.

I'm pretty sure one of the modern "addicts" on the modern tools thread I linked will know if it was made in-house, if not by RIDGID perhaps one of parent company Emerson's other brands, or third party.

 

[oak_park]

I think those Orange handled Ridgid Screwdrivers were made by Western Forge and sold exclusively at Home Depot as all I've seen have a HD stamped where the usual WF would be. Western Forge was also the maker of the Robo Grips. I remember a 6 in 1, long torx and screwdrivers. They were actually quite nice, I still have a couple of them.

 

[jeffmoss26]

got this from the Restore, 6 bucks

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Awesome score, at $6 you did pretty good IMO!

 

[d42jeep]

I found two Ridgid pipe wrenches at a parking lot sale a few blocks from home. I believe that the 18” wrench was made in 1931. The little 6” wrench has been painted red but it was made in 1944. It would be an acceptable GMTK 41-W-1660.
-Don

 

[AreBeeBee]

I found two Ridgid pipe wrenches at a parking lot sale a few blocks from home. I believe that the 18” wrench was made in 1931. The little 6” wrench has been painted red but it was made in 1944. It would be an acceptable GMTK 41-W-1660.
-Don

Don, as it happens I also have a 6-inch Ridgid pipe wrench with the same B-7-4 date code and it's painted red too, and scuffed to the same extent yours is.

Perhaps I've missed it earlier in the thread (or others), but weren't these wartime wrenches factory-painted black?

 

[d42jeep]

This one is the first wartime dated Ridgid pipe wrench with what looks like factory red paint. I’m still not convinced that it’s for sure factory paint. I checked really closely for any traces of the decal that it would have come with and couldn’t see any traces.
Here is a ‘44 dated 10” wrench with obvious original paint
A lot of years have gone by since the wrenches were made and a previous owner might have wanted his wrench to look more modern. I wish I could just ask the wrench!
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Perhaps I've missed it earlier in the thread (or others), but weren't these wartime wrenches factory-painted black?

Or plain steel.

The only thing I can think of that makes any sense to me is your B-7-4 date codes are April 1947, not July 1944. The month-year digits DO appear reversed (year-month) on some wartime wrenches, implying the diemakers were not completely consistent. There are a few examples on this thread. If that's the case it would mean they moved to red paint in 1947, not 1948. My comments on postwar changes (the recess in the adjusting nut, the round end of the dynamic jaw, and red paint) were all a little loosey-goosey, based on period ads and best guessing.

 

[d42jeep]

That seems like more of a stretch than just a repaint to me. I have more than a few wartime examples and this one is the first one I’ve seen that’s painted red or even shows a trace of red paint. GJ members are still painting early pipe wrenches red.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Granted, it's a very popular habit, mainly because of familiarity, but the finish on yours and Ben's doesn't seem recent to me and if they were ever black, that was stripped clean. Which seems like a highly unlikely coincidence they would have the exact same date code, to me. But, just a theory, we don't have to agree, and as you know, I'm not that interested or invested in postwar wrenches to begin with. I hope someone figures it out for those who are.

 

[AreBeeBee]

An intact decal would clinch the wartime use of red for me — did any get out onto the civilian market? — but I'm not trying to nail down a typology. I'll leave that to others with much bigger collections of examples.

For whatever it's worth, I have no intention of repainting the 6-inch wrench.