Tool Talk
Buying, Selling, and Trading => The Missing Link => Topic started by: Wrenchmensch on November 14, 2012, 08:41:00 AM
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I bought a 10-inch Ampco bronze pipe wrench at a flea market. It was missing the spring and pressure plate that Ampco used to keep its moveable jaw in alignment with the fixed jaw. I worked with Ampco trying to get the wrench "repaired" under its lifetime warranty policy. I sent them the wrench. They cleaned it and sent it back unrepaired. Then I sent these pictures which show what I wanted. The latest word back for Ampco is that this is an old wrench and the parts are no longer available. Caveat emptor, again.
Does anyone have these parts? PM if you do.
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Ask AMPCO if they will supply a block of metal for the slider. Machine it yourself and the spring is a hardware store item. I'm betting that the original spring was steel in that it is buried and can't spark.
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I am kind of having trouble working up much sadness over this gorgeous wrench.
The little parts don't look impossible to make. I think it might be a bronze spring though.
But meanwhile, just look at it!
yours Scott
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Hard to get more eye appeal than those non sparking tools. Is this Beryllium? If one gets a piece of it, wouldn't it be bad to try to fabricate the pressure plate, as the stuff is toxic in powder form? Hate to think of wearing a hazmat suit while running a grinder. I'd just get something in there to take up the slack so it doesn't rattle. I do believe it would get lots of attention on the tool board, with or without spring.
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BeCu alloys are carcinogenic, and I am not set up to machine it. The W211 wrench, when I bought it, had a beautiful patina on it. The process used by AMPCO to clean the wrench was in a sealed box for safety reasons. Also, the springs are BeCu alloy
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I put this up on eBay for $10, and nobody bid on it. So,thanks for all the enthusiasm you guys expressed
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I put this up on eBay for $10, and nobody bid on it. So,thanks for all the enthusiasm you guys expressed
Enthusiasm we still have. Its money we lack.
yours Scott
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If one gets a piece of it, wouldn't it be bad to try to fabricate the pressure plate, as the stuff is toxic in powder form?
Back when I was stone cutting, there were stones that were toxic to cut. But beautiful. Malachite is toxic, as is abalone shell. The solution back in them days was to grind and sand wet. No airborne dust to worry about. Good ventilation and a mask will probably make it safe enough.
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I put this up on eBay for $10, and nobody bid on it. So,thanks for all the enthusiasm you guys expressed
The right people didnt see it.
the wrong people allways find what I want.