Tool Talk

I bought this wrench because it was unique, and I am a sucker for uniqueness. The jaw openings only adjust 1/4 inch, from a 1/4" opening to a 1/2" opening. The jaw surfaces are uniquely patterned and bolted in. The hex opening is 1 1/4".  The embossed legends on the handle are "COMBINATION WRENCH" and "SUPERIOR". What I take to be the manufacturer's logo appears to an S surrounded by a circular H(?).

I am mystified as to why this wrench was made. If form follows function, then the wrench's jaw surfaces seem ideally suited for gripping a fixed-dimensioned surface such as plywood used in large-form concrete molds. It's conceivable that one or two men could grab and locate a large plywood mold board using these wrenches. One of the wrench's four shaped openings may have gripped rebar fasteners used to secure both ends of the rebar to the outer sides of the plywood before the pour.  The foregoing is pure speculation, of course.

What do you guys think this is?

Your post gave me a clue. Is it a sucker rod wrench?

The hex opening looks to be about the same size as the vertical shaft sticking out the top of some fire hydrants but I can't think of anything else related to a fire hydrant that the top jaws would fit ?

Your post gave me a clue. Is it a sucker rod wrench? -Nebraska Cowman

I have sent an email to the president of a sucker rod manufacturing company asking him if this is a sucker rod wrench.  It doesn't look like a modern sucker rod wrench though.  We'll see.

My co worker says fire hydrant wrench.

Superior Tool Co makes plumbing tools but I couldn't find anything similar to yours.

Hydrants usually have 5 sided valves to keep yahoos from opening them.

that is one VERY cool wrench

Skip

Oh, my guess is gas line work, from the oval slot at the end.

Skip

Gas meter cut-off, fire hydrant opener, and a spring loaded  adjustable monkey, painted RED,,,, tells me it is a Fire Dept wrench that goes to fire scenes with firemen.

My son, the firefighter says it is not a hydrant wrench.

Definitely not fire hydrant, as it isn't long enough. I've turned one or two of those in my time as a vol. firefighter. Those stems can be stubborn to get broke loose. I've also broke a couple stems, due to the water dept. not servicing the valve as they should have allowing the stem to seize up.  They are also, as mentioned, pentagonal in shape to deter water thieves and vandals.

I'm in the gas line work group on this one, as the slot could very well be for turning off small meter valves. Still not sure what the small range jaws would be for, though.

What was gas pipe made of, lead, copper, steel, or iron? 

The big stuff was cast iron, the little stuff was malliable iron , later steel.

The type of jaws on that wrench seem to me to be for turning rod, or bending something flat, they would make a mess out of pipe

Quotethey would make a mess out of pipe

These jaws would not cut as deep as conventional pipe wrench jaws do.  The projections on this wrench's jaw faces is less than 1/64". Would they leave a shallow crosshatched pattern on a pipe or rod surface?  Probably.  If this wrench was intended for pipe use, the pipe's OD would have to be between something like 5/16" and 1/2" and that pretty small.

Following is the response I got from the CEO of a sucker rod manufacturing company about this mystery wrench:

Mr. Wickes,

I can't imagine how this wrench would be used with any modern configuration of sucker rods which are 5/8 through 1 1/8" inches in diameter.  However, sometime in the past ½" diameter rods were used and the wrench appears to function like a pipe wrench, so maybe it was used on early sucker rods.  Today, it would not be acceptable if it damages the surface of the rod.  Prior to all steel rods, wooden rods were used with steel ends for connecting them together. Again I can't imagine using this wrench for the wooden ones either.  I am afraid I am not much help, but will ask around.


Bill Ridenour

between something like 5/16" and 1/2"

Like..perhaps a broken valve stem? with a hex for taking out the packing nut?
hmm.....

I put the wrench jaws on a piece of unused 1/3" copper pipe. It left only a small trace marking on the pipe. The jaw surfaces feel kind of like shark's skin.

At this point, I have written to Superior Tool Company, and they are looking to see if this is one of their tools from long ago.  I also wrote to the Plumbers Union to see what they can tell me. 

Another tool-expert friend (not on Tool Talk) weighed in with this:

"That might be an in-house fire equipment wrench for dealing with a variety of water pipe-gas pipe lines. The color suggests that and the special (non-sparking tooth inserts?) aluminum (?)* also point that way.  Otherwise,  no clue from me!"

*The jaw pieces were tested with a magnet, and they are ferromagnetic.

Here is the response from the IAPMO:

WOW,

what a cool wrench! Based on the types of openings- the square and the slotted end it looks like a wrench the fire dept. would use to open the different fire plugs. The older type of fire plugs and the new ones have this type of openings. AND the end looks like it can turn the valve on gas lines too. Looking at the spring opening at the jaw it looks like a speed/quick release wrench as well. I could be wrong but maybe 50+ years old, and quite possibly 100.

Sprinkler heads maybe.......  I have yet to see a hydrant with a hex nut. I'll never accept that it will fit a pentagonal hydrant stem or cap. I think whoever wrote you back sniffed a little too much "pipe dope" before they responded.

I've got sprinkler head wrenches.  They don't look anything like this wrench.  (See below).

How about a stove installers wrench.  For changing out gas ranges, needed the slot to turn the gas valve, and basically one size jaws for the iron collar, on the pipe?

John K.

I will try stove installers next to see if they recognize this wrench.  Meanwhile, I got the following from the CEO of the Superior Tool Company:

We are unsure exactly of what this wrench is either. We do know that it was not one of ours. We think it might be for an old farm implement. I saw a few wrenches with the hex shaped opening and some other square openings on the internet, but nothing exactly like this one with the spring loaded lever. There was a company called Lake Superior Wrench Company that produced the types below, but I couldn't find anything exactly like yours. They started in Michigan and eventually moved to Iowa, the heart of farm equipment country. Maybe this could steer you in the right direction.

We are now very curious what it is also. We thought that you might know more about the Lake Superior Wrench Company than we do. If you do eventually find out what this was used for we would love to know.

Thank you, Ted

I think I have seen a couple of these at the early wrench auctions at York, NE when Tom Bailey was having them.

MJD had one on one of his auctions last year.

http://www.mjdtools.com/auction/graphics/i11/a254530.htm (http://www.mjdtools.com/auction/graphics/i11/a254530.htm)

If I ever knew what they are for I have forgotten. But i don't think it was a fire hydrant wrench, a farm equipment wrench, A Lake Superior Wrench Co of Sault Ste Marie, Mich. product, a Superior Wrench Company Marshalltown, Iowa product or 100 years old. I will ask a few friends.

Stan Schulz replied to my email and said two Wrench Club members have asked for information on this wrench in the last several years but he doesn't have a clue.

If I had to venture a guess I would agree with Rusty and say some kind of valve wrench.

LOL...so...how much hair do you have left now?

Want some more unprovable theories?

Wrench for installing headless concrete anchors...cept I can't find one like it...

Wrench for straightening harrows or plows..Cept no one has ever made one so fancy...

Wrench for removing stuck drill bits (rock drilling) ...cept it is missing a cross wedge...
(and I don't see that anyone ever made such a wrench for sale, they all seem to be shop made)

The S in an H logo is another thing.....nada....why? It's a well made wrench, by someone who knew how to make it, so why doesn't anyone seem to have that wrench mark?

hmm

Superior makes windmills.
Windmill sucker rods are usually 5/16 or 3/8 dia if I remember right.
The hex nuts usually get rounded off, but I think they started out as 1/2" hex.
I would have painted it a bright color so I wouldn't lose it.
Cool old wrench though.

(Dayton)  Superior   Symons  concrete wall forming systems..logo is S in a hex or squarish S. 
Hex opening is used to tighten coil bolts & coupling nuts. 

Plier front is used to snap off wall ties. 

Other slots and openings are for flat ties, wedges, etc.

I think geneg has got it right. The logo on the wrench doesn't look like the "S" in a square but it may be the logo for the actual manufacturer of the wrench not Dayton-Symons-Superior.

I searched for Symons wrench on the internet but didn't come up with anything for this wrench but did find a similar tool (see picture) that I have listed as a What's Its in a couple of Wrenching News Auctions. It has also been in the Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletter at least once, submitted by a member unsuccessfully requesting information.

I've sent a letter off to Superior Windmills Co. to see if this is one of their sucker rod wrenches.  I will share the contents with you all.

This wrench is fairly heavy:  3 lbs. 10.5 ozs.

Here's a variation of wrenchmensch's wrench. It's 12.5" long and marked "Superior Nut Washer Wrench"

Same numbers on the movable jaw, too.  Maybe we can find this wrench after all.

A "nut washer wrench" fits a concrete form "taper bolt", apparently an obsolete form tie system...

but i can't find a picture, circa 1978....

How about checking the Concrete Museum's archives?

Quote from: rusty on January 31, 2012, 05:03:13 PM

A "nut washer wrench" fits a concrete form "taper bolt", apparently an obsolete form tie system...

but i can't find a picture, circa 1978....

Whew!  When I first read that I was pretty sure I didn't even want to see the machine you thought it was used on!
Concrete forms have some interesting hardware they use.

Bolt Museum is showing one of these on their What's-It page.

I called the Bolt Museum and got someone who did not know they had a Superior Wrench in the collection.

Here is how concrete forms work today, but I'll bet that the Dayton-Superior name has a history tied to that wrench.
JIS

http://www.daytonsuperior.com/lists/product%20catalog1/download.ashx?ID=2058

Bob,
Have you tried contacting Dayton-Superior? A retired former owner of a bridge construction company was here today and confirmed that the tool was used on concrete forms. He thought he still had a few plus the cone nuts they fit. He was going to try and find them and get back with me. He thought the earliest ones were his Dad's and would date from the 1930's.

Bus,

Sounds like we're on to something!  I appreciate your persistence!   I'll try Dayton Superior per your suggestion. 

Apologies to Geneg who correctly identified this wrench several weeks ago. I wrote to Symons in hopes of getting a picture and story about the wrench.  I spent 6 years in DuPont's Construction Division in the late 1960s, but I wasn't involved in the forms construction side of the business. I was mostly concerned with electricians, pipefitters, weldors, and riggers.