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Manufacturers Index - Whitman & Barnes Mfg. Co.

Whitman & Barnes Mfg. Co.
Akron, OH; Chicago, IL (USA); & St. Catherines, ON, Canada
Manufacturer Class: Metal Working Machinery

Patents
This page contains information on patents issued to this manufacturer.

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USPTO = U.S. Patent Office . Images of the actual patent can be viewed on the U.S. Patent Office web site but a special TIFF viewer must be installed with your browser in order properly work. More information on how to configure your computer to view these patents can be found at TIFF image Viewers for Patent Images.
DATAMP = Directory of American Tool And Machinery Patents . A sister site to VintageMachinery.org with information on patents related to machinery and tools. A much easier user interface than the USPTO's for finding information on machinery patents.

Patent Number Date Title Name City Description
D13,065 Jul. 18, 1882 Design For A Wrench Blake Frank Pickering Salmon Falls, NH A flat double-headed wrench, formed with tapering jaw-notches in its ends, out of line with each other, and each with inward-facing teeth on one face.
The design was produced by several companies after the patent expired. Vaughan and Bushnell had a range of sizes with the largest being eleven inches long overall.
273,170 Feb. 27, 1883 Monkey-Wrench Frederick H. Seymour Detroit, MI Handle comprised of a wire or rod bent to form two parallel rods. The adjustable jaw slides on the rods, one of which is threaded to engage an adjusting nut. Manufactured in sizes 4" through 21," with several finishes, and with and without the twist handle. Whitman & Barnes took over the ACME wrench line from Capitol Mfg. in 1893; by 1915, Whitman & Barnes (the last of the four makers) had apparently ceased production of the ACME wrench.
The patent was also used as the basis for subsequent pipe and nut combination wrench patents -- e.g. no. 447,665, and was "improved on" by patent no. 460,539.
An early iteration of the combination wrench was called HOLLAND'S ACME, but the "Holland" has not been identified.
315,149 Apr. 07, 1885 Drilling-machine Levi Lysander Lamb Akron, OH "My invention relates to improvements in drilling-machines designed more especially for drilling the heads of mowing-machine knives and sickles for mowers, reapers, &c., the object being to provide the sliding rest for the cutter-head with a wrist or pin to fit the lateral bore of the head, and a ratchet-gage and pawl so arranged that the rivet-holes may be drilled accurately in the proper relative position to each other and to said lateral bore."
452,518 May. 19, 1891 Wrench Frank S. Cook Chicago, IL The major focus of the patent is the reversible jaw element with two wearing faces, and the related jaw structure allowing for inserting replaceable jaw elements. The patent appears with a "Stillson" type jaw in a pipe wrench produced by Whitman & Barnes. The concept, as refined in design patent 28,487, was used on a movable jaw structure in a later Whitman and Barnes pipe wrench.
466,678 Jan. 05, 1892 Handle For Tools or Other Implements Charles H. Gurney Chicago, IL A rod with flattened and tapered end is formed into a loop with the flat tapered section twisted into a section of the rod, forming a loop handle. The specifications describe this as a "duplex spiral twist."
The patent matches screwdrivers advertised by the company to which it was assigned, and successor firms.
The same "duplex spiral twist" appears in design patents 19,980 and 19,981 in a trap door handle and tack lifter.
544,738 Aug. 20, 1895 Wrench Henry J. Martin Chicago, IL Revolving end pieces which may hold multiple wrench sizes or wrench and screwdriver. The size selected is held by a slider within the handle.
544,739 Aug. 20, 1895 Wrench Henry J. Martin Chicago, IL Quick adjust nut wrench with a spring-loaded toothed lever mounted in the movable jaw that engages rack teeth on the sid of the main shank.
557,311 Mar. 31, 1896 Wrench Henry J. Martin Chicago, IL Worm and rack adjustable pocket wrench with the worm engaging teeth cut in opposite sides of a slot running up the mid-line of the handle.
The specifications detail how the parts are assembled in the movable jaw of this design.
Cited as a reference in patent no. 2,444,135.
569,806 Oct. 20, 1896 Grindstone-frame Harvey White Syracuse, NY
D27,471 Aug. 03, 1897 Design For A Wrench Samuel T. Freas Trenton, NJ Single alligator wrench opening, with tapered wrench slot in handle, and small screwdriver on end of handle. Some wrenches marked with the patent date do not have the screwdriver but otherwise conform to the design.
D28,487 Apr. 19, 1898 Wrench Jaw Henry J. Martin Chicago, IL The piece is roughly triangular, with teeth on two faces. It is the renewable gripping surface for the Whitman & Barnes improved pipe wrench. It evolved from the Frank S. Cook May 19, 1891 wrench jaw patent (no. 452,518) which appears on a "Stillson" type pipe wrench produced by W&B.
D29,108 Jul. 26, 1898 Wrench Sanford S. Vaughan Chicago, IL The design includes a thicker reinforcing portion around the perimeter of the handle, and on both faces of the jaws.

The design was used for drop forged alligator wrenches produced by several successive manufacturers and widely distributed. Some are marked with hardware wholesaler's names or as "advertising give-aways."
The same outline appears in a parallel series of stamped steel alligator wrenches. Some of the drop forged wrenches are marked with the patent date.

Vaughan & Bushnell's parallel design patent (no. 29,109) has the reinforcement only at the jaws, and a different arrangement of the wrench holes in the handle.
Term of patent 14 years.
    Wrench Lemuel M. Bushnell Chicago, IL  
D29,109 Jul. 26, 1898 Wrench Lemuel M. Bushnell Chicago, IL This design and a similar smooth surface version appear in some catalogs as the V&B "HANDY." This design has a thicker reinforcing web around the jaw opening.

The design was produced by a couple of successive manufacturers. Parallel design patent patent no. 29,108 was also produced.
Term of patent 14 years.
    Wrench Sanford S. Vaughan Chicago, IL  
670,681 Mar. 26, 1901 Adjustable Pipe and Nut Wrench Henry J. Martin Chicago, IL The center adjusting bolt opens and closes the movable jaws which are hinged by pivot screws at their outer edges. Marketed as the BULL TERRIER by Whitman and Barnes.
Few examples of the W&B BULL TERRIER are known; it probably was not a commercial success compared to the ELGIN (pat. nos. 584,019 & 809,755), or the Charles S. Bonney patent (no. 728,842) distributed as the Diamond Edge and KEEN KUTTER adjustable alligator wrench.
1,285,589 Nov. 26, 1918 Method of Making Drills Herman L. Barnes West Pullman, IL Walace R. Lane - patent attorney