Lost wrench for the Lost Art

kenlmad

Sculpture of wrenches in Springfield,MA

STEAM DOCTOR

Wow. There has to be some sort of backstory. What inspired someone to make such a sculpture and place it in that particular location?

Mad Dog_2

Awesome..I have an extensive collection of very old Reed, Stillman, Ford and other Old School Pipe & Monkey 🐒 Wrenches..Mad Dog 🐕 

DanHolohan

That would make for quite a pickleball racket.

jesmed1

https://www.wamc.org/new-england-news/2017-10-02/new-public-art-sculpture-installed

The Monkey Wrench Building
Springfield, MA
https://www.thereminder.com/localnews/springfield/monkey-wrench-building-is-undiscovered-gem/

Bemis & Call Tool Factory
Springfield, MA
https://lostnewengland.com/2017/12/bemis-call-tool-factory-springfield-mass/

Moore Drop Forging Company
Springfield, MA
http://alloy-artifacts.org/moore-drop-forging.html

Lotta wrench manufacturing history there.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Moore Drop Forge used to make all the Craftsmen wrenches. I will have to take a look for that sculpture it's only about 5 miles from me.

I can remember we (the oil company I worked for) delivered fuel oil to Moore drop forge in the 70s

Springfield was a huge manufacturing area at one time.

The Bemis & Call building looks the same as it always did and is still standing. Last I knew it housed EB Atmus that sells bearings and other power transmission equipment.

Springfield Armory-firearms. they have a museum here.

STCC Springfield Technical Community College has had there "Heat & Power Course" which I graduated from in 1972 has put a lot of technicians into the heating and air conditioning business and related trades was started in 1966 after the government closed the armory.

Moore Drop Forge

Smith and Wesson-just moved to Tenn. but still some here.

Gilbert & Barker Oil burners and gas pumps...moved south in the 60s

Harvey Whipple Oil burners

Duryea cars

Rex Chain belt

HB Smith Boilers (Westfield)

Van Norman machine

Indian Motor Cycle (closed 1953

I am sure there are many more that I missed. + there were tons of small businesses that supported these companies

RayWohlfarth

I loved that

Intplm.

@jesmed1
Thanks for posting the above stories. Especially about the pipe wrench sculpture in Springfield Massachusettes. Excellent.
Not too far south from there in Hartford Ct. I lost a twelve-inch Ridgid offset wrench.
Now I know where it went.

pecmsg

How many Have I had?
How many Do I have?
How many do I Wish I had?

JUGHNE

I am sure there is a 36 in there in better shape than mine.

hot_rod

Nice art piece for our trade!

Mad Dog_2

Ever seen a 6 foot Ridgid?  Ginormous!  Mad Dog 🐕 

EzzyT

Yes @Mad Dog_2 I have 2- 6’ Ridgid regular wrenches and 1-6’ Ridgid compound pipe wrench. 

Mad Dog_2

I used to have a 150 year old 8 foot chain tongs...Hung it in the barn...Awesome.  The largest screw pipe I ever did was 12" in Rockefeller Center Mechanical Floors  fire line.  40 feet in the air.  Two of us had to screw on a tee by hand.  Then used a Ridgid Compound Wrench...anyone ever use one? Mad Dog 🐕 

EBEBRATT-Ed

@Mad Dog_2

No and I haven't, I don't want to and am sure I never will. 4' wrench was as big as I tangled with. If the 4' wasn't big enough it got welded.

In fact my brother was texting me today about a Toledo 41E threader 2 1/2-4" that I gave him. (same as a Ridgid 141).

I told him to trash it years ago. You can't buy dies for it anymore now that Toledo is out of business, and I never could find any on E-Bay. No to the compound either.

I do remember trying to get a 2 1/2" elbow off a gas line one time that just wouldn't budge. We ended up unscrewing the pipe at the next joint and taking the whole thing down and putting it in the vise. Still couldn't get it off two guys and a 3' wrench. We needed to get it off as it was a nighttime gas shut down and no supply houses open and we couldn't shorten the pipe because we didn't have the 2 1/2" die with us. We ended up with one guy with a 3' wrench on the elbow with a 21 ft of 2 1/2" for a cheater pipe and the other guy with a 3' wrench on the vise to keep it from tipping over. We must have looked like a couple of idiots.....and we were just young stupid kids but the elbow came off

Mad Dog_2

The Beauty of the Ridgid Compound wrench is that it has a fulcrum joint, is chained on to the pipe and is worked by one stout man.  MAD DOG 🐕 

Mad Dog_2

Mad Dog_2

This image has been on many Master Plumber, Plumbing Inspector, Steamfitter and Civil Service Plumbing Exams I have taken in the last 38 years.   
"What is the correct name of this tool?"

Mad Dog 🐕 

dko

I get asked to quote the tool quite often after someone sees a video of it in action
the most common response is, "nevermind."