Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia Inc. - Home

HAND TOOL PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIAInc. Reg No A0025953J

Spanner Special Interest Group Newsletter

www.htpaa.org.au No 1 3 August 201 3

The Spanner & Wrench Collector Issue 1 3 - August 201 3 - Page 1

Blank space for trimming to correct size - Trim 30mm

Welcome to Edition 1 3, issued in conjunction with the "Tool Chest" number 1 09.

I f you require a copy of a back issue, contact the editor (see back page). Keep the contributions coming so that wecan cover a broad range of topics.An index of spanners covered so far is available from the Editor.I f you have an email address, and would l ike a colour copy of this newsletter in .pdf format, contact the editor.

Contents this issue:

P 1 - WA Rail Spanners - Steve WareingP 2 Toyang Pipe Wrench - Steve WareingP 3-5 Brewery Related Spanners -G RadionP 5 Thornycroft Tiny Wrench G RadionP 6-7 Starrett Socket Wrenches M Srubbs

P 8 Port Phil l ip Foundry G RadionPlus the usual housekeeping, wanted to buy

/ sel l etc

SPANNER & WRENCH COLLECTOR

A selection of Steve Wareing's Western Australian Railways Spanners

Cast Plate seen at the Thirlmere Railway Museum(NSW) Clyde made ag. implements & rolling stock


Feedback and new information

TOYANG Pipe WrenchFrom Streve Wareing (m)Steve sent in this picture (Fig.1 ) of an unusual pipe wrench. Adjustment is obtained by rotating the head vertical lyin a longitudinal direction - indeed it can do a ful l 360 Deg. rotation.

This is a well made, sturdy pipewrench with hardened insertsfor gripping pipe or round bar.

The top jaw looks l ike a Sti l lsontop jaw, but in this case it workson a rack & pinion principle,with the action of rotation ofthe head, causing the jaws toopen or close.

Some info on the backgroundto this wrench:

On Friday, September 13,1985, a U.S. federal trademarkregistration was filed for JAWSby TOYANG MOTORENTERPRISES CORP., FENGYUAN. The USPTO has giventhe JAWS trademark serialnumber of 73558276. Thecurrent federal status of thistrademark filing isABANDONED AFTERINTERPARTES DECISION.The correspondent listed for JAWS isRICHARD P. BERG of LADAS & PARRY,3600 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, LOSANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90010 . The JAWStrademark is filed in the category of Hand ToolProducts . The description provided to theUSPTO for JAWS is PIPE WRENCHES.ABANDONED AFTER INTERPARTESDECISION2/4/1988Mark Description:THE MARK CONSISTS OF THE WORD"JAWS" WITH THE LETTER "J" STYLIZEDIN PART AS A PIPE WRENCH.The Jaws wrench is 1 2 inches long atshortest and 1 5 inches long with jawextended, max jaw opening is 2-1 /2 inches.

Markings on this one

Another one has been seen on the internetwhich has Power Jaws marked on thewrench.

[Ed thanks for sharing with us Steve]

Fig. 1 Steve's example of the Toyang wrench marked "J1014JAWS"

Fig. 2 editor's example of the Toyang wrench marked "J1014"

Fig. 3 Comparison of the markings of thetwo examples above: Top has just thenumber "J1014", below has "J1014 JAWS"marked

Fig. 2

Fig. 1


Brewery Related Spanners

by George RadionFrom time to time I comeacross brewery relatedspanners and I have kept thamaside for closer study at a laterdate. The time has come andresearch has turned up someinteresting information.

Gaskell & Chambers, of DalexWorks, Coleshill St,Birmingham, were onceBritain's biggest bar fitters andmanufacturers of beer engines,handpumps and pub cellarequipment. They are now partof IMI Cornelius after manytakeovers and mergers IMIbeing at one time ImperialMetal Industries, theBirmingham division of ICI.The three different spannnerspictured in Fig. 1 are by Gaskell& Chambers and Gaskell 's.

The spanners are variously marked as shown in the picture. I have reproducedthe writing as I doubt the words on the spanners wil l be visible on blue paper. Ipresume they are for their famous "Beer Engines".

Beer Engines are the pumpig gear and taps which deliver draft beer to the glassat the bar of a drinking establishment.They can range from simple single tap models to ornate multi outlet models asseen in advertising at right for their DALEX BEER ENGINE,(http: //www.fl ickr.com/photos/93261 31 8@N06/8476579882/)

Many examples of their 'Dalex' handpumps sti l l survive. One 'special ity' for theScottish pub market was the water engine and tal l font system - so designedbecause in Scotland it was required that you saw what the bartender wasactual ly putting into your glass. This is the water pressure engine required towork such a font system.

Sir Cornelious Chambers J.P. in 1 941 at the age of 80 left to his successors agreat Birmingham factory which made everything for the inns and pubs exceptthe beer

In the 1 950's Gaskell & Chambers made the Dalex stainless steel beer engineallowing beer to be pumped straight from the cellars through stainless steelpipes, al lowing even cider to be dispensed without corroding the pipes.The main factory had four cabinet and joinery works making everything for themodern bar of the time, l ike bar fittings and furniture tai lor made to suit eachroom, individual ly.In 1 939 Gaskell & Chambers had a dramatic turn round and swung ful l force intomaking armament production for the war effort - making mine detectors, fusesfor the Anti "U" boat campaign and ammunition boxes.Ref: WikipediaBrewery and Related Spanners [contd]

Fig. 1. Gaskell's Spanners

Fig. 2. Dalex Beer Engine


by George Radion (m)Watney Combe Reid & Co Ltd was a leading brewing business in London. At its peak in the 1930s it was aconstituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. It produced the beer brandWatney's Red Barrel.The Stag BreweryThe Watney family were the main partners inthe Stag Brewery, Victoria, for much of the1 9th century. In 1 837 James Watney becamea partner in the brewery, fol lowed by his sonsJames and Norman in 1 856. On his death in1 884, the brewery became a private l imitedcompany.

In 1 898 the company acquired Messrs.Combe Delafield and Co. and Messrs. Reidand Co. , and was subsequently known asMessrs. Watney Combe and Reid. When the Stag Brewery in Victoria (UK) was demolished in 1 959 the namewas transferred to Mortlake Brewery. Ref: WikipediaWhitbreadWhitbread was founded by Samuel Whitbread and Thomas Shewell , who established a partnership in 1 742. Thecompany adopted the name Whitbread & Co Ltd in 1 799. In 1 750 Samuel Whitbread moved his brewingoperations to premises in Chiswell Street on the eastern rim of Georgian London, establ ishing the first purpose-built mass-production brewery in Britain.

The company was first l isted on the London Stock Exchange in 1 948. Between 1 961 and 1 971 , Whitbread'soutput increased from 2.1 to 7.4 mil l ion hectol itres and it became Britain's third-largest brewer by output.

Whitbread acquired a 20% stake in TVS for £6.5M from European ferries in Apri l 1 984, but onsold the stake inNovember 1 986. Lionel Ross financial director stated "We think that Television south remains a very goodcompany but we carried out a review of ourinvestments and decided to concentrate ourenergies elsewhere".

Whitbread Group Plc decided in 2001 tosell al l i ts breweries and brewing interests(Whitbread Beer Company) to Interbrew,now known as InBev. Whitbread-brandedalcoholic beverages are sti l l available in theUK, such as canned Whitbread bitter, butthese are not produced by InBev, merelyproduced under l icence by other producers.InBev controls the use of the Whitbreadbrand, and the hind's head logo, for use onbeverages. In 2002 Whitbread sold its pubestate, known as the Laurel Pub Company,to Enterprise Inns;Ref: WikipediaThese British brewery related spanners are not rare. Prices are often $1 0 or under on online auctions, socollecting them is not for those who like rarity, rather for interest and history.

Gourage BreweryCourage Brewery of Britain tried to break into the beer market in Victoria in 1 966. Most rusted on CUB drinkersdismissed their brew as undrinkable. However, expat Brits welcomed it in many instances, and Courage hadnovel large bottles for the thrifty home drinker.

Courage special ised in supplying clubs, as most hotels were tied to Austral ian brewers. Courage was floundering

Fig. 3 Spanner mrked WATNEY COOMBE REID & CoLtd

Fig. 4 Spanner marked WHITBREAD & Co Ltd


and Tooth's of NSW saw an opportuniity to enter the Meibourne market by buying the Courage interests in 1 978.In june 1 982, there was an advertisement in the Age newspaper, requesting that al l Courage beer casks andbranded CO2 cylinders bereturned to the Tooth breweryin Maffra St, Broadmedows.(Image Courtesy Gerry Scells)

A common component ofthese spanners is the raisedlugs which I assume are forundoing some component of abeer barrel or beer engine.

Googling has not helpedresolve the question, soreaders, can you help?

Smallest Adjustable Wrench

by George Radion (m)In Issue 11 (Feb 201 3) Maurice Stubbs showed us atiny watchmaker's shifter marked E.B.C. , lateridentified by Joe Caruana as made by CoventryMovement Co , V-EBC Pat 263633.

This small adjustble is deeply engraved "Thornycroft".

Although the adjustment works correctly, I doubt if itwas meant to be a functioning adjustable wrench -more a souvenir to hang on a key fob.

So even though mine is only 70mm in length Maurice, - I think you win, as yours was more likely a productionitem.

A history note on the Thornycroft company

Thornycroft started out with steam vans and lorries. John Isaac Thornycroft, the naval engineer, bui lt his firststeam lorry in 1 896. Thornycroft's first petrol vehicle was built in 1 902 and the company completed the move intointernal combustion engine power in 1 907.

Thereafter the vehicle building firm and the marine side (later to become Vosper Thornycroft) were separatecompanies.

From 1 931 , Thornycroft used names for their vehicle range - descriptive and colourful ones.

In 1 948, the company name was changed to Transport Equipment (Thornycroft) Ltd to prevent confusion with theshipbuilding Thornycroft company. The company was well known for providing fire-engine chassis, with multi-axledrive for uses such as airports.

Thornycroft's Basingstoke factory was closed in 1 969 and the production of special ist vehicles transferred toScammell at Watford.They were bought out by various concerns, lastly Leyland who effectively closed them down.

Ref Wikipedia

Fig 5 Courage Brewery Spanner(Image courtesy Gerry Scells)


Starrett Socket Wrenches. My set.. By Maurice StubbsStarrett are very well known for their high qualitymeasuring tools, not so well known for general toolmanufacture such as socket wrenches.

I used regularly to attend household and businessclearance auctions here in Canberra and sometimesmanaged to pick up the odd desirable item at reasonablecost.This is one of my better finds, albeit a fairly expensiveone. . (Fig. 1 )

I t is a Starrett socket wrench set number 443B. Starrettalso made a 443A set, which included a dri l l attachmentwhich mine lacks.I have seen photos of the 433a, and the box seemsidentical to mine, including the extra brackets andfastenings required for the dri l l attachment.

My set is pretty complete, al l of the sockets are thereand in good condition, except for one which is cracked,no doubt due to too much application of the old elbowgrease. The patent application was fi led in 1 911 , but notissued unti l 1 91 6. Prior to 1 91 6 the ratchet wrench wasmarked “Pat. Applied For.”

I have seen other examples of these drawn high tensilesockets cracked, but they were cheap to replace atabout 45 cents according to contemporary catalogues.They were made by various companies and seemidentical to those of this set. I have included anadvertisement showing this type available in 1 927 atThe Engineering Supply Co in Brisbane by FrankMossberg (Fig. 2).

There are references and ads to be seen in old

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3


catalogues for similar items made by Walden Worcester and others.Obviously they were widely made and sold up to the introduction of the forged sockets, now universal, which areless prone to cracking.

The other ad is for the 443A set available at Anthony Hordern in Sydney in the mid 30’s approximately, as the adis not dated. The extra items are visible including the “tweezers” which are missing from my set (underside of l idFig. 3).

I think these “tweezers” were meant to ease the extraction of the sockets from the box instead of fumbling aroundwith fat fingers. Also the circular end may have gripped the socket to start it on the nut.I t is a pity that the box on mine is a l ittle tatty, but sound. The “Important Notice” in the l id is i l legible due to muchuse of the contents, and I would welcome the wording of that if available.

The sockets are sized from 5/1 6” through to 1 ” in 1 /32”increases. Then the largest ones are 1 .1 /32”, 1 .3/32”,1 .5/32” and 1 .9/32”. The square sockets are 1 3/32” and21 /32”.The spark plug (long) socket is 1 .3/32” in this set,compared to earl ier sets where it was 29/32”. Al l of thesockets are 5/8” drive which was not the same as othermanufacturers.

The little button called the "thust plug" in Fig 4 is insertedinto the drive end of the socket or extension to provide asmooth surface for exerting palm or thumb pressure whennecessary.

Some good photos of a 443a set which includes the dri l lattachment can be seen on the Alloy Artifacts site. Justuse their index to find the Starrett entry going to thesecond one down the list. Or use this l ink in your browser:http: //home.comcast.net/~al loy-artifacts/other-makers-p3.html#starrett-443-pend

The box on this one is in better condition than mine, but the set is not quite complete. There is come usefulpatents info attached to this entry.

Don’t forget if you come across a spare set of “tweezers” let me know. The socketin the Fig.5 is a spare, so if that is missing from a set you may have it, let meknow. [Editor's Note Thanks Maurice, and readers do visit the Alloy Artefactswebsite, you won't be disappointed]

Fig. 4

Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Close up of the ratchet head marked: The L.S. Starrett CoAthol. Mass. U.S.A. No 443 Patented Jan11, 1916

Port Phill ip Foundry by George RadionSome early engineeringhistory of Melbourne:"Engineering manufacturing inMelbourne has its origins in1842, when Robert Langlandsand Thomas Fultonestablished the Port PhillipFoundry to serve the district'sfledgling pastoral andcommercial industries.Early orders included woolpresses, tallowboiling vats,steamship repairs, and theubiquitous farriers' andwheelwrights' work. Materialswere in short supply, but although the firm's first machine tool was a primitive footoperated treadle lathe, after justthree years it produced the first Melbournemade steam engine for a flour mill at Heidelberg. By 1846, businesshad grown to the point where Fulton established his own foundry next door........In 1870, Langlands installed Australia's first steam riveting machine, after winning a contract to build bridge girdersfor the North Eastern Railway, while Fultons established a new foundry specially to make castiron pipes.Significantly, both firms extended onto lowlying ground south of the Yarra River, marking the beginnings of amajor concentration of engineering in South Melbourne."This 1 6 inch Clyburn type wrench has an E & A over S mark which I take to be Easterbrook & Allcard of Sheffield.Stamped in smaller writing is an owner / business mark which reads "THOS FULTON & Co MELBOURNE"

This is a historic piece of Melbourne engineering history. Ron Geesin, adjustable wrench expert in the UK, datesthe wrench to the years 1 862 to 1 879, the duration of that phase of their long-running partnership. He has notseen the E & A /S mark as a registered trademark. He has found instances of the mark in Post Office Directoriesfor years 1 871 & 1 876. Since the trademark was in use before registration of trademaks became available in1 876, they may have not bothered to register.

The notes above are from the "Encyclopedia of Melbourne" (see more info below). This large volume is availablein print form for $1 27 on special right now, and, from what I have seen of the online version, it would be a fabulousitem for the coffee table or reference library. However, the electronic version on the l ink below is sti l l a very usefulresource for those of us who don't have the cash to splash. The encyclopedia covers every possible topic aboutMelbourne's history from various aspects. I t is well worth a look online if one has something to research.The print volume of the Encyclopedia of Melbourne was published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press. Theonline Encyclopedia of Melbourne eMelbourne now contains the full text of the print volume, with additionaltext, digital and educational resources. BrownMay, Andrew / Swain, Shurlee (Editors).eMelbourne The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online home.htmlhttp: //www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00524b.htm

Issue 1 3 Edited by George Radion.Contact by snail mail : PO Box 4021 , McKinnon, Vic 3204Contact by email : [email protected], phone 03 9557 11 78,mob 0406 687 980

Aims of the Spanner & Wrench SIG:Promote the conservation, identification andcollection of spanners & wrenches and toshare information with the group to that end.

Wanted to Buy, Sell or Swap Section

Wanted: Spanner / handle for Trewhella jack, 1 inch square box end, long handle.Contact Warren Hewertson ph 03 9876 2742.Wanted to buy or swap - Double ended Crescent shifters, cast iron seats, machinery nameplates, parts l ists andspanners for tractors, vintage motor vehicles and vintage motorbikes. Spanners marked "Ferguson, Barger,Gibbins, McKay, Buncle, Grant, Bolden, Wain & Hyland" etc, Also other interesting shifters and spanners & toolcompany catalogues. Tool kits and Parts Lists for vintage cars, bikes and trucks -Wanted - Kismet foot pump. ring George on 0406 687 980 or email [email protected]: Info, pictures and catalogue listings of vintage Australian made jacks, needed for this webpage:http: //www.ozwrenches.com/jacks.htm - contact George Radion.


Feedback from those who find this newsletter useful would be appreciated. Continued contributions arerequired to keep it interesting. Thanks to those who have sent content, your stuff will all be used eventually.

E & A /S Possibly Easterbrook & Allcard of Sheffield.Also stamped "Thos Fulton & Co Melbourne"

Documents

Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia Inc. - Home