I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like this
one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...photo hosting

on one side it says "THE ELGIN", on the other side it has a star logo that
says ELGIN vertically, and the G is the first letter of Genuine, and the I
is the first letter of Improved, and it says trade mark registered June 8,
1897, Jan 9, 1906, may 20, 1913

the jaws are obvious, but the small and large holes in teh handle are not
obvious - what the heck are they for? what was the purpose if this wrench?

--
bill
to email me, to to my web page, www.wbnoble.com and find my email
or unscramble the following by removing spaces and correcting the obvious
spelling errors

wil lia m_b_n obl e at msn daught com



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Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"William Noble" wrote in message
.. .
I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like this
one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...photo hosting

on one side it says "THE ELGIN", on the other side it has a star logo
that says ELGIN vertically, and the G is the first letter of Genuine, and
the I is the first letter of Improved, and it says trade mark registered
June 8, 1897, Jan 9, 1906, may 20, 1913

the jaws are obvious, but the small and large holes in the handle are not
obvious - what the heck are they for? what was the purpose if this wrench?

follow up - the smaller hole is 1/4 inch and threaded (looks like 28 tpi,
but I haven't measured the threads yet - it 's not 1/4X20)






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On Dec 10, 9:53 pm, "William Noble" wrote:
"William Noble" wrote in message

.. .

I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like this
one



How about #14 he http://jonzimmersantiquetools.com/tools/wrenlist.htm
the picture only shows one side so I can't tell what is in the small
hole, but I suspect a screw securing the die, via some sort of strap
or clamp.
I would imagine the dies are rethreading dies? I guess that doesn't
answer what the wrench was made for, but it does help explain the holes

William Noble wrote:

I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like this
one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...photo hosting

on one side it says "THE ELGIN", on the other side it has a star logo that
says ELGIN vertically, and the G is the first letter of Genuine, and the I
is the first letter of Improved, and it says trade mark registered June 8,
1897, Jan 9, 1906, may 20, 1913

the jaws are obvious, but the small and large holes in teh handle are not
obvious - what the heck are they for? what was the purpose if this wrench?


Patent #584019
http://tinyurl.com/2zv75e

Tom

I have one of these, and I always assumed it was for turning round stock,
such as pipe. Reading the patent confirms this. The best clue is the
ratchet-like teeth on the movable jaw, similar to a pipe wrench.

"William Noble" wrote in message
.. .
I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like this
one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...photo hosting

on one side it says "THE ELGIN", on the other side it has a star logo
that says ELGIN vertically, and the G is the first letter of Genuine, and
the I is the first letter of Improved, and it says trade mark registered
June 8, 1897, Jan 9, 1906, may 20, 1913

the jaws are obvious, but the small and large holes in teh handle are not
obvious - what the heck are they for? what was the purpose if this wrench?

--
bill

I believe W.C. Fields called that a shifting spanner.

On Dec 10, 10:43 pm, "William Noble" wrote:
I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like this
one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...30101402#ebayp...

on one side it says "THE ELGIN", on the other side it has a star logo that
says ELGIN vertically, and the G is the first letter of Genuine, and the I
is the first letter of Improved, and it says trade mark registered June 8,
1897, Jan 9, 1906, may 20, 1913

the jaws are obvious, but the small and large holes in teh handle are not
obvious - what the heck are they for? what was the purpose if this wrench?

--
bill
to email me, to to my web page,www.wbnoble.comand find my email
or unscramble the following by removing spaces and correcting the obvious
spelling errors

wil lia m_b_n obl e at msn daught com

--
Posted via a free Usenet account fromhttp://www.teranews.com

I have one of these I inherited along with a bunch of other antique
car tools, my grandfather ran a garage at one time. I assumed it was
used for the same purpose as the other alligator wrenches in those old
car tool kits, removal of fasteners. Mine isn't in as good a shape,
though. Most of the old car bolts had square heads, an alligator
wrench would work fine and the manufacturer wouldn't have to supply a
bunch of diffferent wrenches to fit each bolt size. Kind of a proto-
Crescent wrench.

Stan

ooohhhhh - that's it
there is a sheet metal piece that goes on the other side (visible barely on
the bottom in the picture) that apparently goes into the recess in the
handle and holds the die in place

thanks - and thanks to the guys who posted the patent - I guess it's just a
generic wrench with a unique design - kinda cool, think I'll keep it for a
while (though if someone offered me half of that $115 price, my temptation
to keep it would instantly evaporate).

now on to the next mystery


"Bob's my cat" wrote in message
...
On Dec 10, 9:53 pm, "William Noble" wrote:
"William Noble" wrote in message

.. .

I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like
this
one



How about #14 he http://jonzimmersantiquetools.com/tools/wrenlist.htm
the picture only shows one side so I can't tell what is in the small
hole, but I suspect a screw securing the die, via some sort of strap
or clamp.
I would imagine the dies are rethreading dies? I guess that doesn't
answer what the wrench was made for, but it does help explain the holes



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On 2007-12-11, William Noble wrote:
I got an adjustable wrench at a club's auction yesterday, looks like this
one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...photo hosting

on one side it says "THE ELGIN", on the other side it has a star logo that
says ELGIN vertically, and the G is the first letter of Genuine, and the I
is the first letter of Improved, and it says trade mark registered June 8,
1897, Jan 9, 1906, may 20, 1913

the jaws are obvious, but the small and large holes in teh handle are not
obvious - what the heck are they for? what was the purpose if this wrench?

Well ... I happen to have one complete -- thanks to pawing
around in several boxes at an estate sale. What is missing from the one
shown a

1) A threading die with a flange. The body of the die fits into
the large hole, and the flange keeps it from falling all the way
through.

The flange also has four square notches at 90 degree intervals
around the die.

2) A formed steel cover which fits over the flange, and hooks over
the notch at the end of the handle. It is secured by a
thumbscrew into the smaller hole near the rest of the wrench.

3) A sliding object under a raised part of the cover, with an end
which fits into the notches in the flange, and which is held
there by a spring.

There is another knurled screw sticking up through a slot in the
cover which allows you to pull the sliding object back to allow
the wrench to rotate around the die to get another bite on
driving the die.

The threads look like (though I haven't tested them) the ones
found on the corners of the square shaft which feeds though an
old door latch mechanism, onto which the doorknobs screw.

As for what it is for -- I agree that it must be for something
specific -- but I've never figured out what. I will be following this
thread in the hopes that someone can fill that information in.

Good Luck,
DoN.

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