Amazing Farm Wrench Book

2017 - Volume #BFS, Issue #17, Page #41

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Everything you ever wanted to know about farm wrenches is likely to be found in one or another of P.T. Rathbone’s series of Farm Wrench Books. In a project that never ends, Rathbone keeps finding more wrenches to cover.
  “I did the first volume and immediately started getting corrections and additions,” says Rathbone. “When I finished Vol. 2, the corrections and additions were already coming in for Vol. 3.”
  Rathbone sells Vol. 1 for $60, Vol. 2 for $50 and Vol. 3, recently finished, sells for $55. All prices include postage. All three volumes are available as a set for $155.
  “If you are interested in farm wrenches, you need to start with Vol. 1,” advises Rathbone. “The following volumes don’t repeat information found in the preceding volumes. They only correct it if a mistake was made.”
  FARM SHOW purchased Vol. 1 to get a firsthand look, and the material covered is impressive. Entries include photos or drawings of wrenches issued by long-gone farm implement companies. Rathbone also offers histories of the companies whenever possible.
  Companies covered go far beyond the standard tractor and field implement companies. The book includes wrenches from buggy, silo, cream separator, windmill and gas engine companies. However, that doesn’t begin to describe the variety of wrenches or companies in the book.
  Rathbone notes that there were thousands of companies making farm equipment over the past century and a half. The challenge is finding information on what they produced and the special wrenches used to work on them.
  Rathbone covers 783 companies in Vol. 1. Some, like the Aetna Company, had one wrench that lasted for 10 years and folded. The flyer reproduced by the company history shows the mower and reaper or “Aetna Self Rake” mower.
  Compare that to the 8 pages of wrenches from International Harvester Co. The historical record starts with the American Harvester Co. forming in 1890 and ends with the sale to Tenneco, Inc. in 1985.
  The companies started or acquired by John and Charles Deere and partners and their wrenches cover 11 pages. They include Deere & Mansur, who developed a rotary corn planter in 1877.
  If the main book is interesting, the supplement is a must have for collectors. It consists of lists of wrench part numbers and the company names that go with them. The last section of the supplements includes names of companies and parts numbers of wrenches sold at major auctions in the 1990’s. Each successive volume offers an updated price guide, as well as additional companies and wrenches.
  Vol. 3 is only 259 pages compared to the Vol. 1 with its 500+ pages. However, it includes 1,200 new wrenches and the histories of another 239 companies. With Vol. 3, the supplement really stands out. It matches 6,000 wrenches with their companies and gives an updated price list.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, P.T. Rathbone, 6767 Pershall Rd., Marsing, Idaho 83639 (ph 208 896-4478; lsr@luckystarranch.com).

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Amazing Farm Wrench Book FARM SHOP Miscellaneous Everything you ever wanted to know about farm wrenches is likely to be found in one or another of P T Rathbone’s series of Farm Wrench Books In a project that never ends Rathbone keeps finding more wrenches to cover “I did the first volume and immediately started getting corrections and additions ” says Rathbone “When I finished Vol 2 the corrections and additions were already coming in for Vol 3 ” Rathbone sells Vol 1 for $60 Vol 2 for $50 and Vol 3 recently finished sells for $55 All prices include postage All three volumes are available as a set for $155 “If you are interested in farm wrenches you need to start with Vol 1 ” advises Rathbone “The following volumes don’t repeat information found in the preceding volumes They only correct it if a mistake was made ” FARM SHOW purchased Vol 1 to get a firsthand look and the material covered is impressive Entries include photos or drawings of wrenches issued by long-gone farm implement companies Rathbone also offers histories of the companies whenever possible Companies covered go far beyond the standard tractor and field implement companies The book includes wrenches from buggy silo cream separator windmill and gas engine companies However that doesn’t begin to describe the variety of wrenches or companies in the book Rathbone notes that there were thousands of companies making farm equipment over the past century and a half The challenge is finding information on what they produced and the special wrenches used to work on them Rathbone covers 783 companies in Vol 1 Some like the Aetna Company had one wrench that lasted for 10 years and folded The flyer reproduced by the company history shows the mower and reaper or “Aetna Self Rake” mower Compare that to the 8 pages of wrenches from International Harvester Co The historical record starts with the American Harvester Co forming in 1890 and ends with the sale to Tenneco Inc in 1985 The companies started or acquired by John and Charles Deere and partners and their wrenches cover 11 pages They include Deere & Mansur who developed a rotary corn planter in 1877 If the main book is interesting the supplement is a must have for collectors It consists of lists of wrench part numbers and the company names that go with them The last section of the supplements includes names of companies and parts numbers of wrenches sold at major auctions in the 1990’s Each successive volume offers an updated price guide as well as additional companies and wrenches Vol 3 is only 259 pages compared to the Vol 1 with its 500+ pages However it includes 1 200 new wrenches and the histories of another 239 companies With Vol 3 the supplement really stands out It matches 6 000 wrenches with their companies and gives an updated price list Contact: FARM SHOW Followup P T Rathbone 6767 Pershall Rd Marsing Idaho 83639 ph 208 896-4478; lsr@luckystarranch com

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