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This might be the smallest wrench I've ever seen. 5/32" or (4 mm), it's an unneeded high-torque 3" long. If I can find a nut that small, I'll experiment with twisting it off. And for scale, I include a new Canadian "Chuck buck"- a one dollar coin- and a quarter with King Charles III's head on it.
Carburetor wrench.
ReplyDeleteMy ex's mysterious Uncle Angus gave us a set of Montgomery Ward carburetor wrenches as a wedding present. Is how I know.
Wheel spokes, ignition dizzy parts, valve rocker adjusters...
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting because unlike an ignition wrench, which would be an open-end wrench formed thinner, it's a baby version of a full-size six-point combination wrench. Armstrong catalogs do show this exact type of combination wrench but starting at 7/32 (the current-est I could find catalog does have a 4mm but no standard equivalent).
ReplyDeleteThere's no part number on the back side of the wrench? Can you make out the engraved number on it...that might be an Armstrong catalog number.
Otherwise, it may be a trade-show give-away intended to be used as a key ring or something.
Armstrong 25-005. I've added an image of the other side of the wrench.
ReplyDeleteIts like jewelry:-)
ReplyDeleteWow, check this out on page 12:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reynoldsandson.com/customer/resuco/PDFs/Armstrong_69_350_Catalog.pdf
The set includes not only the 5/32" but a 1/8" combination wrench.
I have a Snap-On 1/8" drive socket set that has 3/16, 5/32, 1/8, and 3/32 sockets and I'm told those sizes are common pc board post nut sizes. I can see using a socket to remove a pc board but not a wrench.
Part of a set that includes the 1/8"... how many do you think they sold? I have another quest :-).
ReplyDeleteYou mention a 1/8" socket set, I think a nut driver set would be perfectly fine for pcb work.
I had a 1/8" Gray socket a few years ago. Not sure where it went...
DeleteYou're right; they call it a "socket set" but it's really an interchangeable nut driver:
ReplyDeletehttps://shop.snapon.com/product/1-4%22-Drive-Chrome-Set/5-pc-1-8%22-Drive-6-Point-Shallow-General-Service-Socket-Set/1605TA
I absolutely did not buy it; the set was given to me by a vendor when I was working for a pcb fabricator and buying a ton of commodity chemicals. I won't say the vendor's name but it's (cough cough) clearly French sounding and $242.00 wouldn't even show up on their books.
As a former manufacturer sales rep who used to rep the Danaher line of hand tools which included Armstrong, Allen, Craftsman, KD, Jacobs chucks, Holochrome screws, and Gearwrench, I can assure you that they never gave anything away. When I initially saw the picture I thought government product. Indeed the link is to a government and military catalog. At one time they did a good business with that market segment, until the bean counters decided to off shore a lot of their operations and move manufacturing around to different parts of the country in order to save a few cents. A large part of Armstrong’s manufacturing plant was moved to South Carolina and the plant got flooded by a hurricane and they pulled the plug on the brand. Their merge with Cooper Group also hastened their demise. Long story short, greed…
ReplyDeleteI worked for Danaher in West Hartford for a while back in the early 90's. They made, of course, gazillions of Holo-krome screws there...everything from some so small, for medical devices, that the screws were shipped with the wrenches glued in place...to some huge screws for bridge construction. I worked on the tool side though...we made Craftsman sockets, extensions, speed handles, and the drive ends of nut drivers. I think we made some stuff for Matco too but didn't plate it there. I remember that Craftsman was too cheap to pay for internal plating (pulls a lot of current and can get expensive) so we would spray-paint the inside of sockets and the female drive ends with silver paint to get them to the customer without rusting. Other memories are the constant smell of barbecue in the cold-heading plant because they used beef tallow lubricant, and a spin-welding machine used to attach the drive-ends to long extensions and speed-handles that I could watch all day long. I worked then with Tom Joyce, who hung in and became President and CEO a couple of decades later. I'm laughing because the floor employee's code name for him was "Joyce Thomas."
ReplyDeleteOh and the heat in the summer...it was hot as hell in that plant and the coolant fog would hang at about 4-5 feet in the air and coat your skin. Definitely not good times.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I have lots of Craftsman sockets, never noticed that the inside was painted, they don't seem to be rusty. (But maybe mine predate that contract!) I can imagine that any factory, working with forging or casting would be hot and dirty. Why did you stop working there?
ReplyDeleteI've seen and have Craftsman sockets that are plated inside too. Like you said, maybe it depends on the business climate, contract, and buyer. I left for a better offer; I was looking because I had just gotten married and I wanted to work someplace more "normal" where I could go out to lunch, go to the dentist or doctor, etc during the day. At that plant, everybody from the plant manager (the highest executive at the facility) on down worked 6:00 AM until shift end (depended on overtime needs) and never left the plant. Just wasn't right for me at that time in my life.
ReplyDelete