Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Manufacturers, configurations, Shovels, Axe, Wrenches, Oiler, F/E etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Mon Sep 29, 2014 7:22 am

I bought a couple of Crescent adjustables over the weekend and I took apart one with a broken jaw and noticed a (date?) code forged onto the adjustable jaw.
Is it possibly a date of manufacture?
Image
Image
The adjustable with the broken jaw is on the bottom in the next 2 images.
Image
Image
There is also a forged in marking on the other jaw, but I don't have the image uploaded yet.
Now uploaded - This is from the adjustable in the top of the side by side image.
Image
-Jason


User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Mon Sep 29, 2014 10:00 am

Edited to add the image of the forged in code on the other adjustable jaw.
-Jason

User avatar
d42jeep
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2290
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 4:06 pm
Location: Albany/Fallen Leaf Lake, CA
Contact:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by d42jeep » Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:31 pm

Alloy Artifacts has very limited info. on dating Crescent wrenches. The big change seems to be the reinforcement around the hanging hole in the late '50s. I sold an early carbon steel example to lt. luke and he seemed happy that it was the thick one and not thin like the alloy one introduced in the '30s. I guess that's the beauty of Crescent wrenches. No one seems to be able to say that any of them are incorrect (except the very late ones). The really early double ended examples go for quite a bit of money on eBay considering how useless they are. (In my opinion).
Don
Attachments
image.jpg
Double ended
image.jpg (215.21 KiB) Viewed 5505 times
image.jpg
Thick and thin
image.jpg (76.59 KiB) Viewed 5505 times
image.jpg
Crescent 2
image.jpg (99.39 KiB) Viewed 5505 times
image.jpg
Carbon steel vs alloy
image.jpg (95.49 KiB) Viewed 5505 times
Ford GPW 76344 DOD 11/42 Built in Richmond, CA

User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Tue Sep 30, 2014 5:09 am

Thanks Don for posting your images. While I don't have an alloy Crescent adjustable to compare to, I've got the 2 Crescents next to a 'Superjustable' Williams. Still a marked difference in the dimensions of the jaws.
Image
So, both of these Crescent wrenches appear identical in construction, but are stamped differently. Is there a consensus on which is considered more correct? :?:
-Jason

User avatar
Silly's MB
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2044
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:53 am
Location: North East Hampshire, UK

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by Silly's MB » Tue Sep 30, 2014 5:33 am

A18J is the part number for an 8" Crescent wrench Jaw.
I believe its wartime. I cant find the other number in the catalogue.
Limited access.
1942 August Willys MB
Complete MVMTS 100% sourced in the ETO

Empty vessels make the most noise .......

User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:18 am

Silly's MB wrote:A18J is the part number for an 8" Crescent wrench Jaw.
I believe its wartime. I cant find the other number in the catalogue.
Excellent. Thanks! Even better since that's not the broken one :!: :lol:
-Jason

User avatar
lt.luke
G-General
G-General
Posts: 9899
Joined: Fri May 09, 2003 7:56 am
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by lt.luke » Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:33 pm

mudbox wrote:
Silly's MB wrote:A18J is the part number for an 8" Crescent wrench Jaw.
I believe its wartime. I cant find the other number in the catalogue.
Excellent. Thanks! Even better since that's not the broken one :!: :lol:
-Jason
So does the A18J match to the thicker profile or the thinner profile?

I am happy with the wrench. It matches one I traded away for another more needed part.

I saw another interesting one today, marked with an alphanumeric on the handle. I'll try to post a photo. Not sure the vintage, but it's thinner.

User avatar
Chuck Lutz
Gee Addict
Posts: 26829
Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2006 7:00 am
Location: Jeep Heaven

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by Chuck Lutz » Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:58 pm

Given that there are more CRESCENT TOOL Co. 8" wrenches around than any other mfger on the planet....and that they have different designs, different fonts, different finishes and other subtle differences.....

I think it very unlikely that ALL of them are "wartime production"....a case may be made for mid/late to have NO chrome/nickel or even parked finish on them and maybe the EARLY ones did have those finishes....just were does one draw a line on what IS and what ISN'T a POSSIBLE WWII gov't purchase?

If we take a clue from the OTHER mfgers we tend to use in a jeep factory toolkit, we might narrow down the possibilities further.

There is always a question about any number/lettering found on parts of a tool to say if it is a PART number or a FORGING number or something like a DATE CODE.

I probably had three out of four 8" crescent wrenches in my tool kits BEFORE I messed with a jeep..that were made by CRESCENT TOOL CO. None match the other but the point is....there are gazillions of them still around...but which is WWII era and which, if any were possibly in a parts depot that jeep parts were available in is unknown.

Again...anyone got anything DEFINITIVE to weed out the close-but-no-cigar styles? Anything to confirm the possibility one could be obtained by the motorpool for a jeep kit if one was needed?
Chuck Lutz

GPW 17963 4/24/42 Chester, PA. USA 20113473 (USA est./Tom W.)
Bantam T3-C 1947

User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:35 pm

lt.luke wrote:So does the A18J match to the thicker profile or the thinner profile?
From left to right on the 3 wrench profile, Williams 'superjustable', Crescent with broken jaw, Crescent with A18J jaw. Both Crescents have the thicker profile over the Williams. :wink:
-Jason

User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Tue Sep 30, 2014 2:15 pm

Chuck Lutz wrote:There is always a question about any number/lettering found on parts of a tool to say if it is a PART number or a FORGING number or something like a DATE CODE.

...anyone got anything DEFINITIVE to weed out the close-but-no-cigar styles? Anything to confirm the possibility one could be obtained by the motorpool for a jeep kit if one was needed?
I found this excerpt from a Crescent catalogue originally posted by Silly's MB that clearly shows the same stamping on the Crescent I've shown with the A18J jaw stamping and the page from the catalogue shows the part number for the 8" adjustable as …. A18. Seems very likely to be the correct vintage at a minimum.
Silly's MB wrote:I am pretty sure that this is from the mid 40's (catalogue no.24)
Image
And for direct comparison, another image of the Crescent 8" adjustable with the A18J stamped jaw.
Image
Seems identical to me.
-Jason

User avatar
Silly's MB
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2044
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:53 am
Location: North East Hampshire, UK

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by Silly's MB » Tue Sep 30, 2014 2:45 pm

Its a 1941 catalogue I have since found out.
It also shows this Crescent/Red Devil Hacksaw which "meets rigid Government Specifications"
crescent24c hacksaw_edited-1.jpg
crescent24c hacksaw_edited-1.jpg (119.44 KiB) Viewed 5420 times
Limited access.
1942 August Willys MB
Complete MVMTS 100% sourced in the ETO

Empty vessels make the most noise .......

User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Tue Sep 30, 2014 3:01 pm

Silly's MB wrote:Its a 1941 catalogue I have since found out.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! :lol: Thanks for doing the 'leg work'! I'd love to see the rest of that catalogue!
Silly's MB wrote:It also shows this Crescent/Red Devil Hacksaw which "meets rigid Government Specifications"
Very nice, with that swell in the center of the frame, it looks very similar to the Union saw. :idea:
-Jason

User avatar
Wingnutt
G-Lieutenant General
G-Lieutenant General
Posts: 5029
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:17 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by Wingnutt » Tue Sep 30, 2014 4:30 pm

Jason,

The same catalog includes Crestoloy adjustables, by the way, introduced by a marketing page extolling their sleek strength. The part numbers for those, in 8" and 12" sizes, are AC18 and AC112. As if to back up the promotion page, the catalog includes the thickness of the head at its thickest point, which is 15/32" for the 8-incher and 3/4" for 12-incher. I know some guys shy away from the Crestoloy. I'm guessing they are worried about the composition, and alloy restrictions, but they might be triple alloy, like Vitaloy and Zenel, which keeps each metal under the limit.

Some guy in Texas is the proud owner of my Red Devil hacksaw, and some guy in England has another one! :wink:
TEMPORARY DUTY

wwestbro
G-Sergeant
G-Sergeant
Posts: 31
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:35 am
Location: Whiteman AFB

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by wwestbro » Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:28 am

My vintage 8” Crescent is broke exactly the same was from EBay, he refunded my money

Wes

User avatar
mudbox
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1526
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:09 pm
Location:

Re: Can we date Crescent adjustables?

Post by mudbox » Fri Apr 01, 2022 10:05 am

Typical break when they are used the wrong way. Someone put more pressure on the dynamic jaw when loosening or tightening instead of the static jaw.

I have Danielson adjustable a in my GMTK now since we can definitively determine them. Though, a Crescent branded wrench is the way to go for the (Willys) G503 onboard toolkit.

-Jason


Post Reply

Return to “G503 Tools & Equipment (Vehicle & Pioneer)”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 48 guests