Tool Talk

What's-It Forum => What's-It Forum => Topic started by: skylab on October 12, 2011, 07:28:15 PM

Title: Homestead valve wrenches maybe?
Post by: skylab on October 12, 2011, 07:28:15 PM

any ideas?
Homestead Valve Co?
I may look for other sizes.

Title: Re: Homestead valve wrenches maybe?
Post by: Papaw on October 12, 2011, 07:30:38 PM

Probably right- for gas valves or welding bottles.

Title: Re: Homestead valve wrenches maybe?
Post by: rusty on October 12, 2011, 07:41:06 PM

Homestead Valve co of Pittsburg,PA is mentioned in Steam engineering around the 1920's
There are also references in 1902 of them building a brass foundry, and of them making 2-way and 3 way valves, and they are mentioned in Railway Gazette...for 'blowoff valves' (pressure relief valves for boilers) so I suspect they were primarily making steam valves.

Title: Re: Homestead valve wrenches maybe?
Post by: gibsontool on October 13, 2011, 12:01:20 AM

Depending on the opening size, they could well be for acetylene or mapp gas cyinders, some manufacturers provided a round handle on the valve stem but some of the companies just left the square valve stem sticking straight up and you had to use a wrench similar to what you are showing here to open the valve. The stems were usually 1/4'' or 5/16'. The wrenches tended to get lost quite often and the general practise was to use an cresent style  wrench and the pointed end of a spud wrench thru the hole in the end of the cresent to get enough leverage to open and close the valve