the question
I asked the librarian "How did the monkey wrench get its name?"
It sure did not atke long to get an answer.
Hello, Margaret (mgrundmeier@gailborden.info)
Chat Transcript: How did the monkey wrench get its name?
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: Librarian 'NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha' has joined the session.
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: Hi! I am a librarian with the QandANJ.org service in New Jersey. Your library and my library are part of a nationwide group that provide backup for each other's service. I'm reading over the information that you've provided and will be with you in just a moment.
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: Here is some information from the davistown museum about the origin of the name:
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: The following short article by Herb Page on these wrenches appeared in the Fine Tool Journal fall 2002 issue: Reach for the wrench, pg. 17-18. The origin of the curious appellation "monkey" as applied to adjustable wrenches of the side opening (Coes) type has been a subject of conjecture and debate for well over a century. Although perhaps less so lately, as younger generations unfamiliar with old-style wrenches have less exposure to the term. In any case, this quaint colloquialism for a very long time was widely used and a "monkey wrench thrown into the works" meant that things were really fouled up. Also, it is amusing to note that the Omaha Mechanics Band in 1926 saw fit to issue and be identified with "The Song of the Monkey Wrench." Of course, over the years, some speculation indicated that the original inventor, a man named Monk or Monck was responsible for the name. However, this has been refuted by diligent historical and patent research. New England industrial pioneers, Loring Coes and Laurin Trask, around the end of the 19th century related the more plausible account. They indicated that the term "monkey wrench" was already in use prior to Goes' early patent (1841) and referred at that time to the earlier English type of adjustable wrench where you turned the handle to adjust the jaws. I now provide some further evidence to back up Coes and Trask's allegation, in that a wrench labeled "Monkey Wrench" was depicted in the English tool catalogue issued by Timmins & Sons, which hails from the early to mid-1840s. Also, I show a very early English wrench from my collection that I reckon to be from about the same or an even earlier era. This item, with its rounded head and "twist the tail" (handle) to adjust the mouth feature, could easily inspire the image of a monkey. I conclude that the name came along with these early wrenches when they were shipped to America. This particular wrench is marked "5. Johnson Sheffield" with an "S.J." in a flag logo and exhibits the very fine detailed workmanship characteristic of early Sheffield tools. Now perhaps I can quit monkeying around and finally put this matter to rest.
Newest Message NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: http://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioBostonWrench.htm
It sure did not atke long to get an answer.
Hello, Margaret (mgrundmeier@gailborden.info)
Chat Transcript: How did the monkey wrench get its name?
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: Librarian 'NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha' has joined the session.
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: Hi! I am a librarian with the QandANJ.org service in New Jersey. Your library and my library are part of a nationwide group that provide backup for each other's service. I'm reading over the information that you've provided and will be with you in just a moment.
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: Here is some information from the davistown museum about the origin of the name:
NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: The following short article by Herb Page on these wrenches appeared in the Fine Tool Journal fall 2002 issue: Reach for the wrench, pg. 17-18. The origin of the curious appellation "monkey" as applied to adjustable wrenches of the side opening (Coes) type has been a subject of conjecture and debate for well over a century. Although perhaps less so lately, as younger generations unfamiliar with old-style wrenches have less exposure to the term. In any case, this quaint colloquialism for a very long time was widely used and a "monkey wrench thrown into the works" meant that things were really fouled up. Also, it is amusing to note that the Omaha Mechanics Band in 1926 saw fit to issue and be identified with "The Song of the Monkey Wrench." Of course, over the years, some speculation indicated that the original inventor, a man named Monk or Monck was responsible for the name. However, this has been refuted by diligent historical and patent research. New England industrial pioneers, Loring Coes and Laurin Trask, around the end of the 19th century related the more plausible account. They indicated that the term "monkey wrench" was already in use prior to Goes' early patent (1841) and referred at that time to the earlier English type of adjustable wrench where you turned the handle to adjust the jaws. I now provide some further evidence to back up Coes and Trask's allegation, in that a wrench labeled "Monkey Wrench" was depicted in the English tool catalogue issued by Timmins & Sons, which hails from the early to mid-1840s. Also, I show a very early English wrench from my collection that I reckon to be from about the same or an even earlier era. This item, with its rounded head and "twist the tail" (handle) to adjust the mouth feature, could easily inspire the image of a monkey. I conclude that the name came along with these early wrenches when they were shipped to America. This particular wrench is marked "5. Johnson Sheffield" with an "S.J." in a flag logo and exhibits the very fine detailed workmanship characteristic of early Sheffield tools. Now perhaps I can quit monkeying around and finally put this matter to rest.
Newest Message NJ Mt. Laurel Samantha: http://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioBostonWrench.htm
posted by Margaret G. at
July 10, 2008
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