High-quality black-and-white photographs of large old machines and tools

**jimfols** · May 29, 2022, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by bruce.desertrat

The scale of these things just always amazes me...those nuts in the foreground are are bigger than those workers' heads...

I was thinking the same thing when I saw these wrenches.

High-quality black-and-white photographs of large old machines and tools-wrenches-large.jpg

**jimfols** · Jun 14, 2022, 11:07 AM

[QUOTE=jimfols;204386]I was thinking the same thing when I saw these wrenches.

Saw this today on eBay. $1299 US.
I own some Armstrong tools but I think this should be named Backstrong.

High-quality black-and-white photographs of large old machines and tools-armstrong.02.jpg

High-quality black-and-white photographs of large old machines and tools-large.01.jpg

High-quality black-and-white photographs of large old machines and tools-large.02.png

**Isambard** · Jun 14, 2022, 11:59 AM

I checked a 1937 Strelinger Cat, and Williams were making up to 7-5/8" wrenches for 5" bolts! 52" - long

$204 then!

A 4-1/4" was a mere $42, by comparison.

**Toolmaker51** · May 29, 2022, 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by bruce.desertrat

The scale of these things just always amazes me...those nuts in the foreground are are bigger than those workers' heads...

And then impossible not imagining the machine that threaded them. Or the mill rolling the initial hexagonal bar.

**IntheGroove** · May 29, 2022, 06:20 PM

Jon, find us the big nut maker...

**old kodger** · Jun 3, 2022, 06:17 PM

I recently had to go the other way and produce a 2tpi mandrel 50mm in diameter to make a coil in 10mm stainless tube

**Toolmaker51** · Jun 3, 2022, 06:28 PM

10mm stainless? Coil? 50mm x 2 TPI?
It's OK, you can tell us.
Ain't heard tell'a revnu-oors here bouts.

OMG! Have I committed a serious bit of stereotyping?

**Jon** · Jun 5, 2022, 02:32 PM

Furnace from the Mesta Forge Department. West Homestead, Pennsylvania. Circa 1915-1925.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...t_fullsize.jpg

**bruce.desertrat** · Jun 5, 2022, 02:44 PM

Wow, didn't know Mesta had a line of miniature machines :-) That looks hardly taller than a worker!

**Toolmaker51** · Jun 5, 2022, 04:04 PM

Awful good estimation by bruce.desertrat.
Perhaps MESTA acquired it via auction lot; didn't know something so small was included?

Common brick is 2.25" high. Foundation is 5 courses with 4 mortar joints @~.6 (judging by the stack of 6 at left front corner) or kind of 13-5/8". Furnace box about 4x that 13.6, or 61"; 61"+13.6= ~74.8" (74.8/12 = 6.2').

Noooo, didn't stay at Holiday Inn last night, did employ Gerber Vari-Scale though. Enjoyable device, once in awhile wish it wasn't two feet long.
(drumroll please, cue for marksbug...)