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Wish this was cheaper.. big Williams wrench

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jabberwoki

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crguy

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jabberwoki said:
seattle.craigslist.org

Vintage Williams Model 57B Open Wrench - tools - by owner - sale - craigslist

For sale is a Vintage Williams 36'' Open Wrench. 3-3/8" and 3" size. This is an old and big wrench; it is great for collectors of signs, auto memorabilia, gas pumps, etc. It is in good shape. There...
seattle.craigslist.org seattle.craigslist.org
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Too high IMO also. I'd keep an eye on the listing as it likely won't sell for that much and he will have to come down. There was a big single end Williams on the Portland Marketplace for less than $100. Don't know if it ever sold either.
 
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Firebrick43

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rlitman

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SweetD said:
Depending on the material it's made from, around 50 lbs.
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If this is one of those count the jelly beans in a jar sort of contest, I would put my guess in somewhere around 25, but steel like this just feels heavier than it actually is, as human perception of weight is kind of weird.

In my hand, I would have said that my 2-3/8" wrench weighs around 30 lbs, but the scale only said 12.5 lbs.
 
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Private Lugnutz

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SweetD said:
Depending on the material it's made from,
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That is a "Superior" brand wrench, probably made during WWII, of "improved carbon steel" that Williams touted as equivalent in tensile strength and durability to their own prewar "Superrench" line, which was made of a Chro-Mo steel composition discontinued due to alloy restrictions, and their 1942 and forward "Superrench" line, which was made of a low dose Nickel-Chro-Mo triple alloy in the 86xx and 87xx AISI range, invented by a govt/industry consortium in late 1941. It could be older, but no older than 1927, and no newer than 1946.
SweetD said:
...around 50 lbs.
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rlitman said:
If this is one of those count the jelly beans in a jar sort of contest, I would put my guess in somewhere around 25,...
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According to the 1942 catalog, it weighs 33.5 lbs.
 
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Shiftless

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I bought a banged up Williams “Superwrench“ at a sale for maybe $1.00
I epoxied 2 elevator bolts onto one side and made it into a door handle. Maybe somebody wants to go all out and have a 36 inch long door handle. Here is a pic of mine.

C815EAFC-E4BF-47B6-A0F3-02A2511799D1.jpeg
 
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Shiftless

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Hey Lugz,
Thanks for providing a date of manufacture for my door handle. Gotta love the naming of old tools. 😎
Here is a close up of my door handle wrench. (Or is it a wrench door handle :dunno: )

Why did they leave out the “W” in the middle ?

SUPERRENCH ???

A508B25A-26FE-42E6-A733-FA07E780A610.jpeg
 
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RTM

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crguy said:
Too high IMO also. I'd keep an eye on the listing as it likely won't sell for that much and he will have to come down. There was a big single end Williams on the Portland Marketplace for less than $100. Don't know if it ever sold either.
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I got my "big" Williams for free with purchase at a biz liquidation sale. They had bought some cabinets which were full of tools for working on heavy military vehicles. I bought a power height adjustable table, got wrench for free. Big is relative, at only 2-3/8". 😉
 
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Boogerman

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Sold a bunch of those big open end wrenches recently, including some CAT. Had a hard time getting postage and $5 apiece out of them. I screwed the 3-1/2" to my fence as a decoration, for $5 I'd rather have it on display than sell it.
 
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cody1325

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I think my biggest Williams (a spud wrench) is about 1 7/8, with my biggest DOE being 1 1/4"-ish (as it's USS, it's marked 7/8 instead). Got a small collection of them that were once rusty garbage, but they cleaned up nice thanks to Evaporust. Sure beats a brass wire brush and tons of elbow grease. It's faster and less damaging than vinegar too.
 
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Private Lugnutz

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Shiftless said:
Maybe somebody wants to go all out and have a 36 inch long door handle.
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Somebody with a barn or a double high bay workshop! In all seriousness, it would look great serving that purpose.
Shiftless said:
Thanks for providing a date of manufacture for my door handle.
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Williams made the Superrench line for decades, before, during, after WWII. If you post a pic of the branding on the face of the major jaw it would help. But the flip side on the shank would be crucial. It would be marked "ALLOY" during WWII. Anything else ("CHROME-ALLOY" or CHROME-MOLYBDENUM") would be prewar.
 
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crguy

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Those big non adjustable wrenches just aren't interesting to collectors. Even the small sizes of non adjustables get little interest. It's the ones with different and unusual adjustments that are desirable and worth money.
 
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Shiftless

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Boogerman said:
Sold a bunch of those big open end wrenches recently, including some CAT. Had a hard time getting postage and $5 apiece out of them. I screwed the 3-1/2" to my fence as a decoration, for $5 I'd rather have it on display than sell it.
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Sad isn’t it?
I’m sure those old wrenches turn a fastener just as well as a brand new wrench, yet you can’t sell the oldies for much more than scrap value.

I tried to find the biggest OE wrench in the snap on catalog and found this 2 incher you could buy for 300 bucks.

9ACFFC6B-9097-4880-85A2-FAB46E9FA4C9.jpeg
 
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Shiftless

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Private Lugnutz said:
Williams made the Superrench line for decades, before, during, after WWII. If you post a pic of the branding on the face of the major jaw it would help. But the flip side on the shank would be crucial. It would be marked "ALLOY" during WWII. Anything else ("CHROME-ALLOY" or CHROME-MOLYBDENUM") would be prewar.
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Thanks Lugz
My door handle is pretty beat up. I suppose if a guy needs a hammer and has a wrench in his hand, he will just “git ‘er done” Here are the pics you asked for. And a back view showing how I converted a wrench into a door handle.
2 elevator bolts, 2 bushings, and nuts and washers for the inside of the door. On the inside I recessed the nuts to minimize the chance of somebody scraping up their arms with protruding hardware.

FA1B6629-2EBC-46BD-9B34-151C90232D81.jpegA767715A-1F45-425A-B285-547BAA5ACBE4.jpegEFD705C4-7887-413A-8E60-1D855444057F.jpeg
 
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Beerhippie

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Boogerman said:
Sold a bunch of those big open end wrenches recently, including some CAT. Had a hard time getting postage and $5 apiece out of them. I screwed the 3-1/2" to my fence as a decoration, for $5 I'd rather have it on display than sell it. I've got a pile of Proto and MAC and Williams ones in the 1-1/4 to 2" range under one of my tool boxes, these are good combo's, not collectibles, haven't been able to sell for $25 apiece. Unfortunately, if you ship it ends up being in the $20 range each to ship individually, probably $10 each if you sell as a set. I had another lot of 3 of the equipment wrenches for sale, couldn't sell them for anything over the shipping so they're in the scrap iron bucket.

I got curious and weighed mine. 3 1/2" CAT open end. 12 1/2 lbs. Have another box end 3 1/2"; lighter weight for valves or such. 2 lbs 6 oz.
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Get out your welder and get creative!

12-15-5-23-12-23-52m.jpg

Google "wrench art" for a lot more, much tackier and less useful ideas!
 
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wrenchguy

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fyi, in this photo i'm holding up the largest williams wrench made. (not including chain wrenhes)
its a 22a with 6 7/8" milled opening, the 22b had a 7 5/8" milled opening.
both were 52" long, and head was 3" thick.
my information doesn't list the weight.
they were special order sometime after the war.
i'd give a $1000 for either one.
w11.jpg
 
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