Old Pipe (Monkey) Wrenches

[randy]

A few old wrenches I have. I really like the 3 with wood handles, especially the big one on left. Also cool is the 3rd from left... works like calipers.

[bgarrett]

As I understand Standard English putting parentheses around a second word suggests that it means the same as the first word.
Monkey (auto) wrenches have smooth jaws while pipe wrenches have teeth.

[Papaw]

On the left is a combination wrench and the third from left is a bicycle wrench.

[randy]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a combination wrench and a bicycle wrench? I know modern combination wrenches are open end/box end on one tool.

[johnsironsanctuary]

Welcome to Tool Talk from Wisconsin. Very nice tools. Thanks for posting.

The big combination pipe and nut wrench is a Bemis & Call. This particular one is the long nut version. The long nut was supposed to protect the threads. Below is a photo of the short nut version.



Here is what Alloy Artifacts says about the company history.

Bemis & Call was an early maker of tools and hardware dating back to an 1844 partnership between Stephen C. Bemis and Amos Call. The company produced a variety of tools including pipe wrenches, monkey wrenches, and other adjustable wrenches, and was especially well known for their S-shaped adjustable wrenches.

The line of S-shaped adjustable wrenches was introduced in 1894 and proved to be very popular. The sliding jaw design was very similar to the 1857 E.J. Worcester patent #17,531, with a slotted jaw running in a rectangular keyed passageway.

In 1928 Bemis & Call acquired the rights to the wrench designs of the Coes Wrench Company, a well-known maker of adjustable wrenches operating in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1939 B&C was acquired by Billings & Spencer, which continued production of the B&C (and Coes) wrench models for some years thereafter. (See our article on Billings & Spencer for more information.)

Here is the link to Alloy Artifacts.

http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/index.html

[rustcollector]

As I understand Standard English putting parentheses around a second word suggests that it means the same as the first word.
Monkey (auto) wrenches have smooth jaws while pipe wrenches have teeth.

Don't take this post seriously or whatever just wanted to point something out.

If what you say about the second word being in parentheses  is true, which very well could be, then that is how easy it is to make a mistake. Monkey and Auto wrenches aren't the same thing all the time either.

[Papaw]

Common use of the term bicycle wrench referred to small adjustables used on bicycles. Generally they were 7 inches or less in length so they were easy to carry in the pocket.

[randy]

Thank you to everyone. I learned a lot. I have boxes of old wrenches (box and open end) and lots of pipe, monkey, bicycle, etc. I love old tools and do not collect, but I do buy it if I see it and might have a use for it. Thanks again. I may soon post some of my box/open end wrenches to find out more about the unusual ones