If you collect farm wrenches then this picture of 1/2 of a broken Deere & Marseilles 773 says it all.

 Been there done that. Really burns when you find a nice wrench and its irrepairably broken. Have found broken wrenchs at auction and walked away and then gone back and they are still broken. I think I have returned to some 5 or6 times and they never heal up. I guess this is a way of grieving for what might have been. My condolences.

Looks like you might want to go buy a case of that quick steel epoxy to fix this one.

Ouch, that's too bad. Do you have the other half?

Keep going to the auctions and fleas and antique shops, I often see broken wrenches.   Carry a drawing of the complete wrench, the other half may pop up.    In old tools, stranger things happen. 

There is a way to guarantee that the second half of the wrench will show up.

Throw away the first half.

The second half will show up the next day....

Every time.

Quote from: rusty on April 01, 2014, 12:26:25 PM
There is a way to guarantee that the second half of the wrench will show up.

Throw away the first half.

The second half will show up the next day....

Every time.

This is true.

Seen this same wrench today. 65 miles from where it was before. It was 75 cents this time. I liked it more than a hamburger from the McD dollar menu so i grabbed it. A conversation piece if nothing else.

 I assume it was still broken.

Out in the barn where dad had his collection is 1/2 of a KING DRILL (from Nebraska City ).  I've got to get down there this week to read the electric meter & will get a photo to share. 
P.S.  Only had a few minutes to spare on the farm stop, &  the partial KING DRILL  was not where I thought I last saw it.  SO maybe some other time.

Maybe we can put them together. Make a King Deere made in Moline Nebraska.

I've always thought the broken wrenches told us more about tool use, design faults,  metallurgical challenges etc. than the perfectly preserved ones.
These malleables could only take so much strain before a crack started in that outer tough layer.

When I was a kid one of dad's uncles had bought a new J.D. 70?? with extra long axle to allow the rear wheels to slide out to clear the biggest new mounted two-row cornpicker available.  Well it turned out DEERE had problems with the steel they used for those axles.  The axle failed just outside the axle housing & the fracture face looked as smooth as a chip on a glass bottle.   

A 'Farm Wrench' Eh? Never heard of such a thing... Is that what this is? I picked it up in a box of random stuff at auction, along with some things I actually had a use for :P

A broken International Harvester or P&O farm wrench to be exact.

Quote from: Carl Wagner on August 11, 2014, 07:53:37 PM
A broken International Harvester or P&O farm wrench to be exact.

Neat :3 I love IH. I have a 1974 IH Cub Cadet 1450, my grandparents bought it new in  1974. I still use it to mow my lawn, and snowblow my driveway in the winter.. Doesn't burn a drop of oil, so I'm an IH fan. I was giddy when I found an IH beam-style torque wrench at a flea market for $1.00 :P

Of course, this piece of iron doesn't do me any good :P But, neat to know.

Broken, because it should have another tine on the end to the right?