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Old Bicycle wrenches

Old 05-21-21, 06:36 AM
  #1  
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Old Bicycle wrenches

I just picked up a couple old bicycle wrenches off ebay. I've seen them on there before, but this time I got 2 for much cheaper than I usually see one listed for. I was curious if anyone knows the history. The nicer one says TDC Made In England. I'm thinking it's all Whitworth as it seems to fit the bolts on my Raleigh Sports nicely. I've seen what looks like the same wrench branded as Raleigh before. Anyone know what TDC is? The second wrench may be older? It's got a rusty finish and looks like it has a lockring tool on it. I think the lockring would work on my Raleigh, but isn't really a great fit as it doesn't follow the roundness of my lockring. I'm hoping somebody knows some history on these and just what all the different holes and notches are supposed to do. I'm guessing these are a sort of vintage emergency multi tool?
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Old 05-21-21, 06:53 AM
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Yes, they came standard with a lot of old English 3-speed cycles.
Very handy and will fit every nut on the cycle, including cones (though not large enough for a headset adjustment)
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Old 05-21-21, 07:00 AM
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The hook spanner may fit the SA hub ball ring
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Old 05-21-21, 07:11 AM
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TDC was T.D. Cross & Sons, a Birmingham based manufacturer of bicycle components dating back to 1870. They are best known for their freewheels (which used a unique three prong remover) but also produced headsets and bottom brackets. For a short period they also manufactured derailleurs and chain rings. I've seen reference to a "3 speed gear" though I'm not sure if this was an IGH or their derailleur. They also produced sprockets for the automobile and motoorcycle industry, with a very brief , two year venture, as a motorcycle manufacturer.

Edit: T.D. Cross was Thomas Damby Cross, (1839-1908), who had previously been in the firearms trade with two of his brothers. The TDC moniker was also developed into a company motto, The Distinctive Components. The company survived at least into the early 1970s bicycle boom.

Last edited by T-Mar; 05-21-21 at 07:33 AM.
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Old 05-21-21, 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
The hook spanner may fit the SA hub ball ring
Or the TDC bottom bracket lockring.
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Old 05-21-21, 08:13 AM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
T.D. Cross was Thomas Damby Cross, (1839-1908), who had previously been in the firearms trade with two of his brothers. The TDC moniker was also developed into a company motto, The Distinctive Components. The company survived at least into the early 1970s bicycle boom.
When I checked a few years ago, TDC was still in business, but not the bicycle component business. They were making industrial conveyor and gear-train equipment. I just looked again, and they don't seem to be around anymore.
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Old 05-21-21, 08:30 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
When I checked a few years ago, TDC was still in business, but not the bicycle component business. They were making industrial conveyor and gear-train equipment. I just looked again, and they don't seem to be around anymore.
It would make sense that they diversified into other products after the Asians started to take over the bicycle component industry in the post boom era. We saw TDC freewheels in the early 1970s on some UK marques, but I can't recall seeing any post boom. So, it appears that bicycle components were there prime product line for at least 85 years. Pastorbobnlnh may have a better idea of their last bicycle activity years through his freeewheel research.
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Old 05-26-21, 10:50 PM
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got these with a bunch of other bike related bits .
Any thoughts on what they are for ?
The one on the left is marked phillips
The serated jaws on the two on the left are odd .


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Old 05-27-21, 01:20 AM
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^Just speculating, but the ones on the left look like they could be used as tire levers. The graduated steps on the other end seem like they could be used on a variety of differently-sized nuts. Nice little tools to bring along with a pre-hex key bike. Not sure about the two on the right,,,pin spanner, chainring nut wrench?
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Old 05-27-21, 02:08 AM
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I don't remember using them much, but I remember having some wrenches like these.



I'm not quite sure where they ended up.
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Old 05-27-21, 06:50 AM
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I grabbed a box of these little tools on eBay about 5-6 yrs back. It was an impulse buy, and what I'll ever do with them is beyond me. Often at yard sales you'll see these little guys jammed in with old household tools. I have about 20. I' guess they might fit in a tool bag incase a nut comes loose out on the road but my just sit
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Old 05-27-21, 07:02 AM
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Originally Posted by 1simplexnut
got these with a bunch of other bike related bits .
Any thoughts on what they are for ?
The one on the left is marked phillips
The serated jaws on the two on the left are odd .


-----

thanks so much for sharing this curious find!

always fun to see these tools designed for a consumer kit for carriage on the cycle

the creators have the challenges of:

cost

weight

size

to constrain the designs...

the open end spanner steps are interesting

note that the open ends on the two non-stepped spanners are slightly tapered in an effort to achieve something similar

the pins/slots on the third spanner have me scratching ye olde cranium

when one gets back into the interwar period and earlier fittings designed to be turned with some manner of pin tool were much more common than they became later

does it appear that there were originally round pins there which have been deformed with use?

tried enlarging image and could not be sure

if that is the case can picture its use with a headset locknut or adjustable bottom bracket cup

does anyone recognize an application for them?

-----

Last edited by juvela; 05-27-21 at 07:12 AM. Reason: spellin'
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Old 05-27-21, 07:21 AM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by juvela
-----the pins/slots on the third spanner have me scratching ye olde cranium
when one gets back into the interwar period and earlier fittings designed to be turned with some manner of pin tool were much more common than they became later
does it appear that there were originally round pins there which have been deformed with use?
tried enlarging image and could not be sure if that is the case can picture its use with a headset locknut or adjustable bottom bracket cup does anyone recognize an application for them?-----
Or it's not a bicycle tool at all, particularly with the square opening which shows extensive use. I have a number of old tools in my bike stuff that were repurposed from other applications.
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Old 05-27-21, 07:59 AM
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Universal cone wrenches?
if the square hole measures 3/8” or 1/4” it could be for a socket wrench extension.
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Old 05-27-21, 09:30 AM
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The first two look like they'd be handy for removing the years-stuck-on cap from an old tube of Tubnasti.
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Old 05-27-21, 06:47 PM
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Originally Posted by madpogue
The first two look like they'd be handy for removing the years-stuck-on cap from an old tube of Tubnasti.
Nice !

also I guess the other ends would make good tire levers
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Old 10-19-21, 10:36 PM
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Thank you for the above info T-Mar !!!
A buddy of mine recently bought a later model Mcleod's Hiawatha (I decoded the serial numbers as December 1978 production) 5 speed which is totally different from my gold 1972 Hiawatha that you helped me mightily with.
This Hiawatha is made in Canada and it appears/appears to have all the frame cues of being made by Raleigh Canada. Amazingly it has a TDC 5 cog freewheel teamed up with a Huret Alvit der......and, yes, it has the unique
3 slot hub in the freewheel. I foresee a struggle to get it removed because it really needs to be disassembled/cleaned/lubricated. I'll take a pic of it and put it in my album.
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Old 10-20-21, 04:39 AM
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Originally Posted by H2Rick
Thank you for the above info T-Mar !!!
A buddy of mine recently bought a later model Mcleod's Hiawatha (I decoded the serial numbers as December 1978 production) 5 speed which is totally different from my gold 1972 Hiawatha that you helped me mightily with.
This Hiawatha is made in Canada and it appears/appears to have all the frame cues of being made by Raleigh Canada. Amazingly it has a TDC 5 cog freewheel teamed up with a Huret Alvit der......and, yes, it has the unique
3 slot hub in the freewheel. I foresee a struggle to get it removed because it really needs to be disassembled/cleaned/lubricated. I'll take a pic of it and put it in my album.
Slot-type freewheel removers are pretty easy to make with a Dremel tool and some cut-off wheels and time.

Start with a socket (of the turn-nut type) that will fit, and cut out the parts that need to be removed to make your teeth. For you, if possible use a six-point socket and leave the thickest parts to me the teeth. As you have a three-prong tool to make you can probably eyeball the teeth size and location - make them a little big and then trim to fit. When that's done cut or grind some flats on the other end of the socket for your vice to grip.

Wear eye protection because you WILL break those cutoff wheels, and if you use less than half-a-dozen you have good steady hands.
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Old 10-20-21, 06:33 AM
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Originally Posted by H2Rick
Thank you for the above info T-Mar !!!
A buddy of mine recently bought a later model Mcleod's Hiawatha (I decoded the serial numbers as December 1978 production) 5 speed which is totally different from my gold 1972 Hiawatha that you helped me mightily with.
This Hiawatha is made in Canada and it appears/appears to have all the frame cues of being made by Raleigh Canada. Amazingly it has a TDC 5 cog freewheel teamed up with a Huret Alvit der......and, yes, it has the unique
3 slot hub in the freewheel. I foresee a struggle to get it removed because it really needs to be disassembled/cleaned/lubricated. I'll take a pic of it and put it in my album.
There are two styles of TDC freewheels. One has only three notches. The other has a 4th notch, diametrically opposite one of the three primary notches. This allows them to be removed with one of the two prong freewheel removers, either Regina or Maeda, though I forget which is the better fit. It's been a long time since I've had to remove one. Hopefully, you have the latter design.
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Old 10-20-21, 06:48 AM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
Or it's not a bicycle tool at all, particularly with the square opening which shows extensive use. I have a number of old tools in my bike stuff that were repurposed from other applications.
The square opening reminds me of old steel roller skate keys...
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Old 10-20-21, 07:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
The square opening reminds me of old steel roller skate keys...
Square headed chainring bolts were fairly popular on some of the older, British (and Canadian) cranksets. I've seen them on the Triplex cranksets of early 1950s CCM Prolite Flyers. The size looks about correct, based on the wrench's cone openings.

Last edited by T-Mar; 10-20-21 at 12:23 PM. Reason: corrected spelling on Prolite
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Old 10-20-21, 07:38 AM
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Well we can't leave these out:
Mafac tool kit on Flickr
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Old 10-20-21, 07:39 AM
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Got this one in 1973, with my Motobecane Mirage. It's stamped England on the reverse side and I somehow recall it cost $3 although I've forgotten the price of the bike.
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Old 10-20-21, 04:35 PM
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Thnaks for the instructions, oneclick.
However, I think I'll convince him to dismantle the freewheel from the outboard side just as if the freewheel was off the wheel. Thus the freewheel hub can stay attached to the wheel hub. I realize the reassembly process will be a little more time consuming with this method but this way will be a LOT less time consuming (hopefully) than making a custom remover for a freewheel neither of us will ever be likely to encounter again.
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Old 10-20-21, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
There are two styles of TDC freewheels. One has only three notches. The other has a 4th notch, diametrically opposite one of the three primary notches. This allows them to be removed with one of the two prong freewheel removers, either Regina or Maeda, though I forget which is the better fit. It's been a long time since I've had to remove one. Hopefully, you have the latter design.
Sadly, this one is the pita 3 notch type so, as I posted above in reply to oneclick's suggestion, we'll work with it still attached to the wheel. I hope to take a pic of it this evening and post the pic in my albums later.
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