gna

I'm hopeful that one of our UK members can advise me. I'm getting tired of using crescent wrenches when working on Raleighs. What size Whitworth spanners should I buy to work on classic English Three speeds? Or will I have to break down and buy a set?

treebound 

Probably no help but here's a chart with inch measurements.

And just how exactly did they come up with the Whitworth fractions?

1/4W = 5/16 British Standard = .525 inches = 13.34 mm. I just got a headache looking at that.

edit: forgot the link: https://www.samstagsales.com/whitworth_table.htm
Whitworth will do that to you.

old and new

I'm not from the UK but AM from a hardware backround including but exlusively English Cars.
Whitworth pertains to the thread pitch not the wrench size. Odd fractional sizes required for the heads of bolts and to a lesser extent allen screws are just that, odd. Old USA wrenches came in sizes meas. to 32ths of an inch. I've used 'em 'cause I have 'em; only occassionally and not on bikes as I recall. I've not worked on numerous Raleighs either. For Allen sizes, I can't see metric (or frac.) not working. Pertaining to the Whitworth open ends or "spanners"... let's see what Brits have to say. Whitworth, to extent that is was ever used; Raleighs & others and on Triumph Cars has been gone for forty years. As it pertains to you, it does to the old ones.

rhm

Search for the words "dumbell spanner" on ebay. You can get them in both metric and SAE sizes, either one has ten sizes, the biggest around 15 mm, and it's small enough to fit in the smallest toolkit. I bought one of each, and am now wondering why I didn't get more. The SAE one fits the nuts on my English three speed bikes. They're a very useful tool to have with you when you go for a ride.

gna

Thanks rhm--done! One each for my wife and me.
I also found some Whitworth spanner sets on eBay, but I'm unsure what to buy, so I'm hoping to hear from someone who's fluent in Raleigh.

sailorbenjamin

I found on Ebay a pair of "Raleigh bicycle wrenchs". I guess they were part of an old toolkit. They have a pretty decent range of sizes stamped in to heavy sheet steel. Sort of like old fashioned dumbell spanners. You see them every now and then, so they're not rare.

fiataccompli

I've been asking the same questions looking at the hardware on my '65 & '66 Robin Hoods. Seems like a 17/32" socket would be the size I need for most stuff....but from the post above, I assume that's a 1/4W or 5/16 BS......whatever it is, the bike is so UN-buggered that it would be a horrible shame to mar up all the nuts just 'cause I was too lazy or too cheap to buy a few funky wrenches. In the meantime, I'm hoping a british car friend from around town might have a spare or two he could hook me up with.

Ex Pres 

The internet and ebay certainly would have helped me work on my BSA m/c back in the 70's. No one in the SW Va hills could find me any Whitworth tools.

dedhed

Great question. When I picked up an old Sprite last year and went to overhaul it I was surprised when neither my metric or SAE stuff fit. Needless to say I used knuckle buster crescent wrenches on a lot of it. Some of the parts I was able to use "normal" wrenches with "good enough" fit. I was familiar with Wentworth from my old Triumph Bonneville days, but didn't own any.

fiataccompli

I learned about them about 15 years ago when a friend became a BSA/Matchless/Triumph collector and we were comparing 'shop' stories on our projects. I'm gonna see what I can find among friends today & also find out if a 17/32" socket is obtainable here in town.

gna

FWIW, I asked on the Gentleman Cyclist Google group, and was advised that 1/4W x 5/16W, 3/8W
x 7/16W, and 1/2W x 9/16W wrenches will take care of most of my needs. I got sticker shock looking at most of the recommended tools, but I found and purchased a set from britishtoolsonline on eBay motors. Now I'm waiting for them to arrive.

fiataccompli

THat's still a little shocking for me, but it is what it is. thanks for the tip.

Sluggo

My recollection from my bike shop days is that 1/4 and 5/16 are the two sizes you really need.

And yes, fiataccompli, we can arrange for you to use these.

bernardmarx

It's my understanding that Whitworth screws, bolts, etc. were normal 1/8 inch fractions - if you're measuring the shank, not the head! lol Even other British bike manufacturers didn't use Whitworth. And, yes, the threads are a different pitch. No wonder the French call an adjustable wrench a "cle Anglaise." Older Americans think a "spanner" is an adjustable wrench - probably for the same reason originaly.

gna

There was a smaller set of open ended wrenches for under $30--that's the one I got. Maybe more will come up for sale.

fiataccompli

Those are nice...Thank you!....Snap-On, no less!...I was lucky and a friend lent me a set of "spanners" and sockets this afternoon so I can check some things out, but ultimately, I may need to borrow those Snap-Ons some time or, in reality, buy the few I really need. Having something mechanical and not having the proper tools to repair or maintain it is a form of torture for me.....though I sometimes wish I didn't care.

tatfiend 

My brother still has a full set of Craftsman Whitworth wrenches from the 60s from a friend who raced a Triumph TR2 IIRC. He has open end, box end and socket sets.

Not sure what the Craftsman lifetime guarantee is worth though as these wrenches have not been made in years and you are NOT going to get a replacement from Craftsman if you break one.