Enormous 42" wrench

Actually, it's 42.5", and weighs somewhere between 25 - 50 pounds. I didn't think to measure the inside opening, but it's probably around 6 or 7". Pictured below in the back of a minivan (for scale).

One side is marked with a molded "20", and the other has a mystery mark. I looked on both sides of the head for an impressed maker / company mark, but it's so scuffed and dirty I didn't see anything. The yellow stuff in the middle is masking tape and residue. The piece of paper it was holding on disintegrated in my hands, unfortunately.

I can only find one similar on a pinterest link that loops to nowhere. I know next to nothing about tools and am mainly hoping someone can point me in the right direction with keywords, etc. I saw one page that said these types of oversized tools were used for bridge construction, railroads, etc. - "structural tools". ???

Thanks!

 

Sometimes you just need a really big wrench. Any heavy machinery/construction could use bolts that size.

 

Right - it definitely looks like it was used for something. I live in an area with refineries every few miles, so could also be something related to petroleum industry.

 

This may provide a clue about the 20 marked on it?
http://www.wrenchingnews.com/wrench-logos/logos-page-1.html
Cool wall decoration.

 

Thank you for that link. I stumbled across a wrench that has a very similar shape, at least, in a 2009 auction catalog page. The tapered and rounded end is what I was focusing on. I'll keep looking around.

http://wrenchingnews.com/ervin-matz-auction-2009/catalog.html

"0059. 2F5131 (with Billings logo) (Caterpillar?) - - 20.25" large, heavy wrench with a single 2-1/4" opening. Excellent, painted. (not in Rathbone)"

I copied the pic from there:

 

from back in the day where men were men, and not pussies !!

 

If it's 2 inches , it could be an after market Model T exhaust nut wrench........

 

and at home waits the wench...

useless to discuss without measuring the open end. could be a metric 20 mm.

 

I think the only person I remember calling one of these a spanner here in my part the states was my friend from Scotland. Maybe others have had other experiences.

 

Here in the States we would call a spanner an "open end wrench", to distinguish it from an adjustable.

 

and in German a spanner is a Peeping Tom...

 

That must be a slang?

 

not at all !

 

You think yours is big, this one is 49". They don't seem to know what it was used for however theirs is marked Williams USA 5 3/8 so I thought it may be useful in searching.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1950s-giant-williams-wrench-1821867109

 

I found some that are 42" with the number 20 and head angle of 15 called engineers wrenches. At least at this site they go up to 5" opening. This one is 4 5/8" as an example. They are very expensive.

https://www.aftfasteners.com/single-head-open-end-engineers-wrench-black-4-5-8/