Garage Gazette
TOOLS AND THE SHOP => ANTIQUE/COLLECTOR TOOLS/BOXES/HAND ONLY => Topic started by: lauver on March 03, 2019, 11:33:53 AM
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Gang,
The dirt market was a total bust this Saturday; cold, rainy, few venders, no tools. On the way home I decided to hit a few pawn shops. I struck out at the 1st pawn shop and headed for the second one. Found some goodies, including a Williams 12" adjustable wrench and 8- GP 1/2" drive impact sockets. They were already priced fairly, but I decided to haggle a bit. I ended up getting all nine pieces for $8 + tax.
Here's a quick pic of my newly acquired goodies:
(https://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo109/lauver_photos/Mixed%20Lot10a_zpsxotn3atn.jpg) (https://s366.photobucket.com/user/lauver_photos/media/Mixed%20Lot10a_zpsxotn3atn.jpg.html)
It just goes to show that a little persistence can really pay off.
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Nice find Gary, but what is a GP socket? I am not familiar with that.
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bmw,
GP = Grey Pneumatic Tools. A U.S. company, but most of their tools are made in Taiwan these days. Nevertheless, it's good quality stuff, priced well below Snappy, MAC, Cornwell, and Wright tools. Pricewise, their tools are similar to GearWrench... maybe a little higher.
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Gotcha, wonderful find.
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You did well Gary. A clean Willy like that is worth the $8.
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DeadNutz,
Agreed. The Williams adjustable was love at first sight. It's clean, snug, and shows no signs of abuse. It has a few small spots of light surface rust; should clean up easily.
I have no clue as to the date, but it strikes me as vintage 1980's (TRW era).
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Great grab Gary!
Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk
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DeadNutz,
Agreed. The Williams adjustable was love at first sight. It's clean, snug, and shows no signs of abuse. It has a few small spots of light surface rust; should clean up easily.
I have no clue as to the date, but it strikes me as vintage 1980's (TRW era).
I think the adjustable is newer than that, as it is made by WF. I'm not sure when Williams stopped making their own adjustables, sorry I can't be more help.
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DeadNutz,
Agreed. The Williams adjustable was love at first sight. It's clean, snug, and shows no signs of abuse. It has a few small spots of light surface rust; should clean up easily.
I have no clue as to the date, but it strikes me as vintage 1980's (TRW era).
I think the adjustable is newer than that, as it is made by WF. I'm not sure when Williams stopped making their own adjustables,[/b] sorry I can't be more help.
Dave,
You may be right on both points; there is a "W F" marking near the hang hole, but there is also a "P T" marking in the same location on the flip side. Also, Williams was acquired by Snap-on in 1990. I don't think Snap-on has ever subcontracted any tool to WF. This makes me think the W F marking is a "red herring" and probably means something else (perhaps a date code or forge mark? Who knows?).
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I am fairly certain that WF makes, or made wrenches for Williams. Here is a pic I found that illustrates this point.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Western_Forge_adjustable_wrenches.jpg)
I have even speculated that nowadays WF is about the only adjustable wrench game left in the USA. At some point Proto dropped the JP Danielson pattern wrenches they have had forever, and now WF makes theirs too as you can tell by the pic.
I have also seen Williams wrenches made in Sweden, which makes sense as Snap-on owns Bahco, but I'm not sure how these fit the timeline either.
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I have also seen Williams wrenches made in Sweden, which makes sense as Snap-on owns Bahco, but I'm not sure how these fit the timeline either.
I think Bahco production moved to Spain/Portugal in the 2000's. So at least 10 years between Snap-on aquiring Williams and moving Bahco production.
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Interestingly Bahco no longer makes adjustables. The Sanp-on group adjustables are now made by Irimo, a Spanish company. Irimo is owned by Bahco which is in turn owned by Williams which is owned by Snap-on.
You got it Matt_T.
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OK gang,
Thank you all for your thoughts on the Williams adjustable wrench.
What is the consensus on likely date? 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, or later?
And given the likely date, who is the likely OEM? Or, have you already concluded this and I missed it?
Regardless of the likely date/OEM, I am pleased to own the sweet little adjustable wrench. But like most of you, I am curious about it's age and heritage...
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That Williams is the bees knees! :D
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Gary you have a nice 12 inch willy there mate.
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Jab,
Thank you sir. I like it mucho and it works great. Can't ask for much more in an adjustable wrench.