Gordon Tools wrench / spanner. Sorry,no picture.

[EVILDR235]

I went to the Habitat Restore today and one of the items I got was a Gordon Tools wrench from Sheffield England. It is kinda odd as it was made in England in a Imperial size. 1/2 A.F. marked one one side and 50 A.F. on the other side. From what I can understand A.F. means ACROSS THE FLATS. It is a open end on one end the other end is just rounded off like the end was cut off by Bubba. The end that looks cut off was done at the factory and plated, so Bubba never owned it.

EvilDr235

[amecks]

Hi Evil,  Gordon tools appear well made although I've never handled one, I've viewed them many times on eBay.  Does your wrench look like this one?  Maybe they made them this way as a wrench for a specific purpose - like our tool post wrenches.
Note on photo:  I try to make it a rule never to buy from people who take pictures of their feet.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gordon-spanner-wrench-13-16-W/401560491984?hash=item5d7eded7d0:g:3RgAAOSwK8BbN6EO

[EVILDR235]

Yes it does look like the one in your picture. I never thought about the English making Imperial sized tools. I don't think they imported as many machines from us as we did from them. Thank you for the picture. My picture person needs to teach me how to post pictures using my new phone /camera. I have very few English made /marked tools. All my Whitworth / British Standard tools were made here or in other countries except England.

EvilDr235

[Bill Houghton]

I wonder what the 50 stands for?  It's not millimeters if it's a half-inch wrench.  Hundredths of an inch?  Peppercorns?

[bill300d]

I would think hundreds of an inch.

[Bill Houghton]

I would think hundreds of an inch.

My thought, too; hard to imagine, though, an occasion when you'd need that level of precision for a wrench.

[bill300d]

Over there on that side of the pond they marked their wrench's with W,  BA,  MM and AF  why not decimals to completely confuse everyone

[Bill Houghton]

Indeed.  I'm always amazed at the markings on Whitworth wrenches, which refer to the size of the bolt shank.  Apparently, if I understand the markings correctly, a given hex head on a bolt/cap screw will apply to two (or more?) different shank sizes, depending on whether the threads are coarse or fine.  British mechanics must be geniuses!

[bill300d]

We basically had the same thing back in the day with SAE, USS, and Cap Screw sizes on wrenches. The only difference was that ours were all marked on one wrench giving 2 or 3 sizes for one wrench opening..