 | No, the first word in the title is not emoticons, or a quote from the guy in the wrench suit, but a bemused reflection on the unexpected demise of the old mvwc.org web site shown above. The old web site is dead, but a new mvwc.org is springing up. Maybe, like the later iterations of Bartholomew Cubbins' hats, the new version will be more glorious than its predecessor. In the mean time, if you want to join the fun, consider setting up a delicious account, and |
The bookshelf above contains documentation with a leavening of hearsay and speculation. There are a few bound auction sale lists. The wrench books include "Antique and Unusual Wrenches," by Schulz's , "Wrench Patents 1790-1911," by Steven Eckers, "Wrenches and Patents," by Don Shockley, a bound set of the Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletters from 1982 through 2006, "The History of Old Time Farm Implement Companies and the Wrenches They Issued," by P.T. Rathbone (2 vols. and supplements), and "Indiana Toolmakers and Their Tools" and "Ohio Toolmakers and Their Tools," by Jack Devitt.
The bound newsletter sets are one-of-a-kind as I constructed those bindings myself. The validity of these volumes' content can be tested by going back to the most authoritative sources. Implement manufacturer parts manuals sometimes list hand tools and their purpose. Tool manufacturers' ads or the advertising materials they supplied for hardware wholesalers' catalogs are authoritative. Patents can be misleading because manufactured tools sometimes differ substantially from their corresponding patents.
| The JOHN DEERE TR590 is probably on most collectors' "gee it would be nice to have one" list, and serious collectors know the location of every "known example." Would-be owners start ticking off who might be amenable to selling theirs, and set aside cash assets to move quickly if a deal seems possible. A few months ago, a "previously unknown" one came to light and people went to considerable lengths to determine its authenticity. |  Frank Schneidermeyer at 2008 MVWC Spring Meeting |
 PLANET JR // K48 (both sides) |  (top) PLANET JR // 2 , (below) unmarked |
| In the process, I also come across things like Franklin's Never Slip Wrench which I have never seen. (Anyone have one they'd be willing to photograph & share a picture?) |  |
 | People inquire about the availability of dad and mom's "Antique and Unusual Wrenches", by Schulz's. The book evolved out of earlier books by MarvinWullweber . It took three years to compile and produce, and first came to market in late 1989. Some minor revisions and additions were made for the second printing in 1992 and all later printings. Mom kept it in print for a few years after dad died in 1996, but finally let it go out of print. |
| I get asked about the "wrench book" every now and then. I prepared a slide presentation for the 2008 Fall MVWC meeting tracing the history of wrench books beginning with Marvin Wullweber's efforts in the late 1970s. A substantial portion of the presentation described how Wullweber and dad and mom compiled their books, and how the content and presentation style evolved. |
| I noted how technology has added new options since the books were produced. We now have various internet resources, including DATAMP and web sites produced by individual old wrench enthusiasts. But technology has not made print obsolete, and people are still looking for a "wrench book." |  |
| "On demand" publishers like Blurb.com may be a viable option. Using a photo sharing site like FLICKR to assemble and arrange wrench pictures with descriptive text, sort them into categories, and have the whole thing open for review and comment before locking the result into print could be a way to evolve a next generation "wrench book." |
| Suggestions for other options are welcome; I see this blog and the FLICKR(r) sets as complementary to the Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletter and the club's spring and fall meetings. So over to you .. a comment to this post will reach me, or e-mail me directly at mvwcnews at neb dot rr dot com . |  |
