Wrench Opening Gages (Metric) What Are They Used For?

Thank you. I understand that answer completely. And it seems they are not useful for everyday use. I was going to try to sell them. But it may be wasted time. So I will be happy with the very nice wood boxes and leave them all in there. I tried by the way to look up the Ansi code stuff and they charge for that. So Thank you again.

The ANSI codes just give the dimensional limits that these gages were intended to check.

I suppose the next time you go to Home Depot or Sears to buy a set of metric wrenches, you could whip out your gages and check each wrench to be sure that they meet specifications. I'm sure that the sales person would be really impressed.

"I suppose the next time you go to Home Depot or Sears to buy a set of metric wrenches, you could whip out your gages and check each wrench to be sure that they meet specifications. I'm sure that the sales person would be really impressed."

LOL. I will do that for sure!

Based on my "experiences" with the "sales" people, I don't think the vast majority would be impressed, but you will likely get quite a few odd looks from them. Might be a chance to educate some of them as well.

In factories, refineries, power plants, and other locations where critical standards and records are required the tool room attendant(s) use the gages regularly to certify open end wrenches.

I would suggest you advertise them on E-BAY, Craig's List, and any other website that can be viewed by these organizations if you wish to re-sell them.

its for certification and spec work, GA

Just as an aside: At one point in my career I worked in a metrology department where such gages were calibrated and certified

Looks like a Government Inspectors set - test all those $$$ government produced tools!

They may have some value to retired inspectors as a reminder of their former life.

When new, I'd guess that the items pictured cost thousands of dollars per box.

They were manufactured to extremely close tolerances and checked at least once a year.

Calibration/certification was a big business back in the days of early space flights.

And they were checked with even fancier tools that cost tens of thousands of dollars per box...

And it still is today with ISO 2000 certification requirements. Every gage or instrument used in any production must be certified and calibrated using traceable standards.

I did a quick eBay search and there are no hexagonal GO NO-GO that I could find. Either you have a goldmine or a sows ear?

That is a really nice set of gages you have. Now.... what to do with them?

Good luck....

"I did a quick eBay search and there are no hexagonal GO NO-GO that I could find. Either you have a goldmine or a sows ear?

That is a really nice set of gages you have. Now.... what to do with them?"

I would say a sow's ear, except the wood boxes are very nice. I hate to sound like a girl(I am 51) but I bought them because of the boxes. They usually don't put cheap tools in boxes like these. So I figured I couldn't get hurt to bad. I have a little less than $18 in each box. The thread plug gage's will cover that. Thanks.

You are very true. I'm 50 and grew up with the wooden toolboxes in my machine shop. There is nothing like hand crafted items. And yes. The gauges themselves are worth a bit on eBay. If you have the time then you could price them attractively for collectors. Good luck and a very nice buy there.

Might be useful in a third world country environment.....I would write off the tools and keep the boxes...

These are beautiful gauges. Complete too.

Auction them as a lot on your favourite internet garage sale site, eg E bay.

Antique tool section...

They are industrial jewelry and a collector will buy them.

Be patient and they'll sell. Don't disassociate them from the cases.

"These are beautiful gauges. Complete too.

Auction them as a lot on your favourite internet garage sale site, eg E bay.

Antique tool section...

They are industrial jewelry and a collector will buy them. Be patient and they'll sell. Don't disassociate them from the cases."

That is Good advise and I think I will try it that way. Thank you very much.

Thank you all. You have been Great and my questions have been answered in a manner that I understand. I Appreciate all of your answers and comments. And I know where to come if I find another lot of really nice boxes full of good tools.

DOT341,

Thank you for sharing the pictures of the gages. We truly appreciate fine precision tools here in this forum.

We also appreciate your participation, your quick replies and all the information you presented us with.

Hope to see more of your special purchases!

Happy tool hunting.

Bryan

If I were a wrench manufacturer these would obviously be a necessity. Otherwise a large assembly facility or large repair shop using a lot of wrenches - to check the condition of your tools. I know I've spread a few wrenches out of spec from over tightened or rusted bolts. Then the bad wrenches only cause more problems. Toss them and replace.

Hi dot341,

It looks like the ends are coated in an anti corrosive dip and have not been used since they were calibrated.

A stunning set of engineering memorabilia.

John

It's called Seal-Peel. Most shops keep a pot hot all the time for use as a protectant.

I don't think I want to try that personally.

I used that stuff by the GALLON when I worked in the saw sharpening shop in Burbank. It was an art to cover the carbide teeth on a 30" saw blade that weighed close to 20 lbs and had to hold it by hand and spin it without spreading the hot plastic coating on my forearm.

That stuff would stick, burn and blister.....

These days, they use a split soft plastic tubing to cover the teeth!

The thread gages are still usable by anyone who needs to check screw threads. The hex wrench gages are also still quite useful for checking metric measuring instruments such as micrometers, vernier and digital calipers and dial indicators. They could also be used as gage blocks. Normal gage blocks are usually round or rectangular, but all you would need are 2 parallel faces. Even if you had to convert the metric size to the imperial size, they can still be useful.

I have a couple more questions Please. I thought I had enough info, but I don't. There are numbers following the - (dash) after the size. What do they mean? Like 9/16-18 and 9/16-12? And the difference between UNC and UNF. What do they mean?

UNC is a coarse thread and UNF is the fine thread. So a 1/2" - 13 is the coarse thread while a 1/2" - 20 is the fine thread Either 13 threads per inch or 20 TPI