Tool Talk
Wrench Forum => Wrench Forum => Topic started by: dimwittedmoose51 on April 01, 2013, 04:08:02 PM
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I have been entrusted to the care of this spud wrench for a short amount of time and the rightful owner would like to know more about it's history. It came from his grandfather's tool stash and unfortunately, it has few markings on it.
The one photo shows the"7/8 "on the handle(faintly), but the other side has a definite" H" stamped in there. It appears to be in pretty good shape for its age, so if any of you old steelworkers know something about this, I'd love to pass the info along. Indeed the 7/8 is the bolt shank size making this wrench pre-depression maybe??
TIA
DM&FS
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I've see Billings, Williams and Armstrong, but never Herbrand. Could that be the H?
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sometimes these are branded for the steel company.
I have a Bethlehem Steel one.
so maybe H is for a steel company?
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Herbrand *did* make spud's, they aren't very common.
They usually are stamped HERBRAND on the top side.
And the pointy end is usually a shorter fraction of the handle length than that, but perhaps you have an early one?
(Later spuds are numbered in the 900 series in addition to the size)
hmm...
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Could this be a blacksmith "one off" special?? The wrench came from Iron Co. Missouri, but no clue as to its history prior to that.....
DM&FS
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My opinion is that in this case the "H" is for "hardened' which appears on many old spuds.
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keep a keen i out 4 1's marked AB.
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Right!? but why? Why do American Bridge spuds have a following?
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.......Why do American Bridge spuds have a following?
YES
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if u can get'm 4 nothing, they will sell on ebay or collectors outright.
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Hi, I wasn't asking IF they have a following, I'm asking WHY do they? Who is buying them? People who were/are employed by the company?
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One of the mysteries of collecting anything is why is X insanely popular and Y nobody cares about, when X and Y are nearly identical..
American Bridge does at least have an interesting history, J.P Morgan, and United States Steel...
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Last Saturday my buddy bought a 16" spud with a claw like on crow bar on the other end.
Not sure if I've seen that variety before or not.
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Hmmm. if we're using the term spud to refer to construction / structural/ erection type wrenches, the absence of the tapered pointed hole alignment feature end, which would seem to be the defining feature of such a wrench would take that "crow bar' wrench out of the category altogether. Though I guess if you could hang it from a loop on your belt it would still have that in common.
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Around here and i guess other areas of the country AB's are collected by ironworkers, maybe because of generation ties to the company. i know most i-w apprentices here always look 4 'em. good luck.
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Around here and i guess other areas of the country AB's are collected by ironworkers, maybe because of generation ties to the company. i know most i-w apprentices here always look 4 'em. good luck.
Iron workers are the biggest collectors of spud wrenches from what I've heard. An ironworker friend collects them. Forget the most collectable makers.
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FWIW-- "H" might be Hargrave, a maker of striking tools (hammers, punches, chisels, etc). I have no history on this company/brand, but I've picked up several stiking tools with this name on them and have picked up similar tools with the "H" on them.
Does anyone have any knowledge of Hargrave?
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Hargrave was a brand name used by Cincinnati Tool Co, which eventually changed it's name to Hargrave Co.
Usually the H is in a circle, I havn't seen it otherwise.
They made a fair variety of things, brace sockets, C clamps, wood clamps, etc etc, but I don't recall ever seeing a reference to them making spuds...
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" Indeed the 7/8 is the bolt shank size making this wrench pre-depression maybe??"
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Yeah, this one probably is , however many Spud / Structural wrenches continued to be marked with that sizing system well after everything else had switched to the modern system away from all that U.S.S S.A.E. A.L.A.M etc. mess.
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Last Saturday my buddy bought a 16" spud with a claw like on crow bar on the other end.
Not sure if I've seen that variety before or not.
I got a good look at what I thought was a spud today and its an old crow bar that had been ground down to a point on one end. Who ever done was really good too. No wonder I've never seen a variety like that.
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Thanks everyone for your efforts on the origins of this wrench. I'l p[ass the url on to the owner.
DM&FS
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The H is for Heavy, as in the bolt is a heavy hex bolt. Heavy bolts have heads and nuts 1/8" bigger than a regular bolt.
Mark
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The H is for Heavy, as in the bolt is a heavy hex bolt. Heavy bolts have heads and nuts 1/8" bigger than a regular bolt.
Mark
I do not think that is even close to being the meaning of the H on this tool, mark.
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Mark is correct in the sense that structural bolts (usually marked A325) do have larger bolt head and nut dimension than standard bolts, but I tend to agree with Pawpaw that it's doubtful that that is what the H is referring to.
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Herbrand also made spud wrenches, they had Herbrand spelled out.
and also one was listed as Herbrand that had the H in a diamond,
google; Herbrand spud wrenches
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Herbrand also made spud wrenches, they had Herbrand spelled out.
and also one was listed as Herbrand that had the H in a diamond,
google; Herbrand spud wrenches
Correct, if Herbrand the H would be in a diamond. Never seen it another way.
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The "H" was added to the underside and was not part of the forging die.
Likely not a manufacturer ID as that would probably be on the top side and part of the die.
'Hardened' is a possibility as is 'heavy'.
Owner ID is another possibility.
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or at the end of the day, the steel worker was checking his tool belt before going home.
" oops, I've got Harolds or Hanks spud wrench, I wonder who has mine ? "