Please check with Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletter editor Stan Schulz before linking to this site. We want to keep track of sites with a link to us. It's our goal to ascertain and list links to:
Patent searchers should check out the DATAMP (Dictionary of American Tool and Machinery Patents) web site. Russ Allen's patent search "shotgun" will be of interest to some researchers.
Jan. 12, 2005: We have inaugurated a barebones "Angelfire" web site listing patent numbers at http://www.angelfire.com/mech/mvwcnews. We working on lists of wrench and Nebraska patents and another topic.
We welcome suggestions for links to include, and will evaluate them in relation to the categories noted. We want to keep the site manageable and focused.
The following print resources will be useful for those interested in collecting wrenches, or in the history of wrenches and related tools.
Please let Stan Schulz know of other print resources that should be included in this listing. We are weighing the pros & cons of including citations to major periodical articles and wrench manufacturer catalogs & catalog reprints.
Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletter (issued quarterly since June 1982; back issues available to current members only. An index covering 1982 through 2001 was published in summer 2002.)
Kenneth L. Cope. American Wrench Makers 1830-1915 (1999) Astragal Press, 5 Cold Hill Road #12, Mendham, NJ 07945 (Covers manufacturer histories. Illustrated with old catalog and hardware trade paper cuts.) (Out of print? -- superceded by:)
Kenneth L. Cope. American Wrench Makers 1830-1930 (2nd edition, fully revised) (2002) Astragal Press, 5 Cold Hill Road #12, P.O. Box 239, Mendham, NJ 07945 (Covers manufacturer histories, gives many patent dates. Illustrated with old catalog and hardware trade paper cuts.)
Steven Eckers. Wrench Patents 1790 - 1911 (2007) S. Eckers, 11 Blythe Place, East Northport, NY 11731-3219 wrenchbook@yahoo.com
Larry L. Finch. Antique Wrenches (1983, OUT OF PRINT?) (Photos of wrenches displayed by category. Has some notes about prices paid in the 1970's and early 1980's.)
Herbert E. Page. The Brothers Coes and Their Legacy of Wrenches, (2005) available from: Herb Page // 1030 W. 59th St. // Davenport, IA 52806 (Covers a summary of family and company history, shows examples of all known Coes wrenches, marking variants over time, examples of advertising materials, and lists patents.)
Pembroke Thom Rathbone. The History of Old Time Farm Implement Companies and the Wrenches They Issued Including Buggy, Silo, Cream Separator, Windmill, and Gas Engine Companies (1999) (2nd volume and revised supplement issued summer 2006) R-Lucky Star Ranch, 6767 Pershall Road, Marsing, Idaho 83639.
(Capsule history of the companies together with pictures of wrenches attributed to each company. The second volume is revisions and additional information; the supplement is indexes and a partial auction prices realized listing. )
Alfred & Lucille Schulz. Antique and Unusual Wrenches. (1988, revised reissue 1992) [Out of Print as of March 2004] ( Numbered pictures with brief captions -- some errors of fact and typos. Most wrenches are arranged by broad categories. The main focus is patented and adjustable wrenches, with some implement wrenches included. Has some brief company histories, and an introductory section including pre-patent wrench designs.)
Don Shockley. Wrenches and Patents: A Collector Series (1993 - three volumes [OUT OF PRINT]) (These three volumes cover 1830 -- mid-1905, and serve as a useful index to the online U.S. Patent office database for the dates covered. Will eventually be largely superceded by wrench patent listings in the DATAMP project. )
Donald H. Snyder. My First Thousand Wrenches (1990, OUT OF PRINT?) and My Second Thousand Wrenches (1992, OUT OF PRINT?) (Mr. Snyder's books are arranged by a classification system of his own devising, which includes size. As a result, a wrench design produced in several sizes may appear once for each size. The wrenches pictured were in his personal collection. His descriptions have some errors. He noted the range of prices he paid for most categories. )
Marvin Wullweber. The Antique Wrench Book (1982, OUT OF PRINT) (Mr. Wullweber was responsible for calling the meeting to form the Missouri Valley Wrench Club. He drew on several wrench collections for his book. Parts of the book are roughly arranged by type, and part by collection. Many wrenches are pictured with no identification, and there are some duplications. )
MVWC MEMBER WEB PAGES
ATTENTION MVWC MEMBERS: Please give the Newsletter Editor your web site address for this web links list. Most web browsers won't locate personal web pages.
If a friend or family member shows you this site, and you do not have internet access at home, try your local public library ... (just a little plug for my "day job" ... Stan S.)
Clarence Blanchard (Fine Tool Journal)
Carl Bolt ; Carl Bolt's collection and other collections are housed in a museum operated by the City of Oroville, California.
John Harper's WV TOOLS
Lester Larsen Tractor Test Museum - University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Missouri Valley Wrench Club Home Page
Pat Leach's SUPERTOOL site.
Hitchcock, South Dakota Museum, maintained by E. Ray & Rita Waldner. They have a wrenches photo in their album.
Alloy-Artifacts is for 20th Century hand tools -- primarily wrenches. It has lots of patent and trademark history.
Australian Wrenches list from the Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia. Well Done!
Papawswrench.com launched in 2005, and includes a members-only forum.
Plomb Tools by Bob Thomas will eventually absorb and expand everything compiled by the late Ed Boudinot who published the first Plomb Tool website.
WRENCH RELATED LINKS
Please let us know of other sites comparable to what we've identified so far:
