Old Billings Wrench

In looking for paperweight (something long, flat, and heavy to keep a book open for reference), I came across an old steel Billings-brand wrench which works well. This particular 8-1/4″ wrench was probably used by my grandfather, Ben Wade Orr Dickinson, Junior, to fix cars.

In finding out about this, I discovered that old tool collecting is popular: there are even web sites devoted just to wrenches. The Billings stamp style indicates that this wrench was made sometime between 1926-1962. From the silky smoothness of the handle and the old-style screw design, it is probably from the earlier part of that time range. (No – it is not for sale!)

B.W.O. Dickinson, Junior (my father’s father), was a master machinist. Here he is working on a metal lathe in about 1970 (in Sharon, Pennsylvania):

Images Copyright 2013 by Katy Dickinson