After she passed away her home was sold and the whole family gathered to clean it out. I was the logical one to go through the toolbox, and beneath all the standard tools was an odd looking homemade wrench. It was about 7" long, was sized for a 9/16" bolt, and had been cut out of 3/8" steel with a band saw. The head was at an odd angle and it had a long, narrow handle. I asked if anyone in the family knew anything about it and all they knew was that she had gotten it from her father, a tool and die maker from Connecticut. No one was particularly interested in the wrench and suggested I just throw it away, but I thought it was neat and decided to take it home.
That's been at least 10 years ago and I still think it's one of the neatest things I own. I think the reason I'm so fascinated by it is that it was obviously made for one particular job, a job where a standard wrench just wouldn't work. Maybe it was made to reach one of the starter bolts on a car he owned, or to tighten a bolt on one of the tools at work. I'll never know exactly what it was made for...maybe that's why I like it so much.
My grandfather-in-law's wrench
The inside of the open end is exactly 0.563" and filed smooth...
...but the saw marks were left in the handle where they didn't effect it's useability.
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