CEB MFG. CO.

[jimwrench]

 who is the CEB Mfg. Co. ? Don't find any info in alloy and Googol was also not productive. Found crate tool which listed March 5,1901 as patent date but coudn't locate patent. Help, please

[rusty]

CE Bonner Mfg co.

[jimwrench]

 Duh, Thanks Rusty. Bonner never occured to me. Had two of their crate tools hanging in garage  and have four of their quick adjust pipe wrenchs in basement. THey are a local company;started out in Chrisman which is about 50 miles east of here. They tried to get into automobile manufacturing and moved to Champaign, Il and kind of disappeared. Did a little research on company(heavy on the little). Stopped at Chrisman library and copied a couple articles on company. Must have a bad date on the crate tools as mine read (PatMCH5,1901). The way my thinking is going maybe (MCH) doesn't stand for march. Only excuse is research was a few years ago and I didn't remember they made oew's if I ever knew.

[rusty]

>(PatMCH5,1901).

Take a look at patent 669106 (A. G. Thom)
Perhaps it didn't start out as a crate tool, or at least not one with a hammer head...

[jimwrench]

 Believe you have nailed it Rusty(pun intended) as this looks like Bonner configuration. Wonder what Thoms connection was with the Bonners ? Thats a question for another day.

[rusty]

Yeah, wasn't what I was expecting when I found the patent. The other weird thing is, for a company making tools, there are sure not many tool patents...

And there is sure not much info on the company, I have seen them before only because I found an S-wrench with their name on it. Yours is the first more or less modern wrench I have seen, and the crate tool thinggy is new to me also...

If you look only at the patents, you would think they only made engines...

[rusty]

Since papaw brought this thread back from the dead, a small addition.

I found a later patent by Clarence (1459819) dated 1923, it is assigned to the
Bonner-Charter Motor Company ; Chicago,IL.
So a small hint as to what became of him...

[jimwrench]

Bonner built a car and exhibited it around east central Illinois. Think they should have stayed with wrenchs as they seemed to do alright with them But motor cars didn't seem to work out. Went to Chrisman library and copied some old magazine articles on Bonner some years ago but they are not where I can find them at present.

[Northwoods]

I brought home one of their S shaped wrenches Friday.
7/16 X 1/2.  It's 6 1/2 inches long.

[jimwrench]

 I got another C E Bonner S wrench a week or so ago. Didnt know what it was because of grime but I got three S wrenchs for $2 and I could see something stamped among the home made stamp that says E2NEST N CLEER what ever that means. Its a 103 and is 3/4-7/8.
Bonner stamp is C E B Mfg Co. Other 2 are just S wrenchs.

[Northwoods]

Mine came with a DROP 81A FORGED S wrench marked 3/4 by 7/8.

[jimwrench]

 Heres some info I got from Chrisman library some years ago. Mostly from old magazine articles.

[turnnut]

thanks for posting the articles, I believe that I have the Victor wrench, can not check until spring, as it is in the box trailer.