Here are two cultivator wrenches made by the J. D. Tower Company in Mendota, Illinois, beginning about 1872.  The wrenches are 5 3/4" wide and 8' high. They are reasonably crude cast iron wrenches.  One has a blobbed "O" boss, the other has a clear "O" boss.  They are slightly different. I don't know why.

A note on farm wrenches.  More than 50% of Americans lived on farms until about 1924.  This may account for both the large number of still extant farm wrenches and correspondingly large numbers of farm wrench collectors and farm wrench auctions.

Note: this is a corrected entry, thanks to advice of Tool Talk friends!

 Yep Tower wrenchs are among the most common farm implement wrenchs found in my area. I have several and try to pass them up at auction. However he was famous for cultivators not corn shellers. Mendota histories give this company a prominent place as a early industry.

JimWrench do you live in the Mendota area?  We did several 4 day tractor rides thru there in 2007 and 2008.  Beautiful country.  Did everyone know that the 1956 Agriculture Yearbook states that 1956 is the first year that tractors outnumber draft animals?

 Stoney, No I'm way downstate near Decatur.

What exactly is a tractor ride......

Jim,

Are these wrenches for cultivators, then?  Or is there some other wrench for J.D. Tower cultivators? 

Bob

Quote from: KeepinOldBolts on November 23, 2011, 10:24:31 PM
What exactly is a tractor ride......

The one we rode was 4 days of driving tractors on the road and canal tow paths.  We drove 20 to 25 miles a day taking a mid-morning, dinner and mid-afternoon breaks.  The tractors had to be at least 40 years old and be able to go 7 miles an hour.  You could chose the fast group at about 20 mph, the middle group at 10 mph or the slow 7 mph group.  We would have breakfast in the town you stopped in the night before, drive all day eat supper where you stopped for the night and the buses would take you to your hotel where you would spend the night to get up the next morning to start all over again.  To see photos go to
http://s467.photobucket.com/albums/rr40/plantshepherdplus/Heritage%20Tractor%20Adventure/

 yep; they are for cultivators.

Jim:

Thanks!  I upgraded the entry in line with new information you provided.

BobW (but not Amertrac)