Moore Drop Forging Company [Under Construction]

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Selected Tools
• Contract Production
• References and Resources
• What's New (Last Updated Sept. 1, 2009)
  Recent changes to this page:

  • 09/01/2009: Added patent table.
  • 08/31/2009: Moved to separate page, still under construction.
  • 03/18/2009: Added a Moore Drop Forging 9N17014 Open-End Wrench
  • 03/16/2009: Added a Moore Drop Forge Open-End Wrench.
  • 03/07/2009: Added a Moore Drop Forge 40-17017 Spark Plug Wrench.
  • 04/18/2008: Added a Moore Drop Forge 12 Inch Pipe Wrench.

Introduction

Company History

The Moore Drop Forging Company was founded in 1900 by Arthur L. Moore as a merchant drop-forge operator, with an initial location on Birnie Avenue in the Brightwood section of Springfield, Massachusetts. A 1902 report from the Massachusetts Tax Commissioner listed incorporation date as October 15, 1900. A 1903 directory of iron and steel operators, published by the American Iron and Steel Institute, noted the company as a maker of steel forgings for bicycles, automobiles, and machines, with an annual capacity of 500 tons.

Patents

Trademarks

The company registered a trademark for their M-Circle logo, with the first use listed as 1908. The M-Circle logo will be found marked on both Moore's own tools and as a forge mark on some of their contract production.

Selected Tools

Moore Drop Forging Stillson-Pattern 12 Inch Pipe Wrench

Fig. 1. Moore Drop Forge 12 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Marking Detail.

Fig. 1 shows a Moore Drop Forge 12 inch Stillson-pattern pipe wrench with a wooden handle. The shank is stamped "Stillson's Wrench" with "Made by Moore Drop Forging Co." and "Springfield, Mass. U.S.A.", followed by the M-Circle logo (see middle inset). The M-Circle logo also appears as a forge mark on the moveable jaw of the wrench.

The overall length is 12.0 inches closed and 13.8 inches fully extended. The finish is plain steel.

Contract Production

Moore Drop Forging 40-17017 Spark Plug and Head Bolt Wrench

Fig. 2. Moore Drop Forging 40-17017 Spark Plug and Head Bolt Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Marking Detail.

Fig. 2 shows a familiar wrench for Ford spark plug and head bolt service, a Moore Drop Forging 40-17017 wrench with a 1 inch open end and 11/16 hex box end. The wrench is marked with "M" and the model number forged into the reverse shank (see lower inset).

The overall length is 10.1 inches. The finish is plain steel with traces of the original black paint.

Moore Drop Forging "FoMoCo" 9N17014 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 3. Moore Drop Forging 9N17014 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Reverse Detail.

Fig. 3 shows a Ford "FoMoCo" 9N17014 11/16x1-1/16 open-end wrench, made for Ford by Moore Drop Forging. The wrench is marked with the FoMoCo logo and "USA" forged into the shank, with the M-Circle logo and "15" forged into the reverse.

The overall length is 10.5 inches. The finish is plain steel with traces of the original black paint.

Moore Drop Forging 9/16x5/8 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 4. Moore Drop Forging 9/16x5/8 Open-End Wrench.

Fig. 4 shows a 9/16x5/8 open-end wrench made by Moore Drop Forging, marked with the M-Circle logo and "30" forged into the shank.

The overall length is 5.6 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

References and Resources

Photographs and observations of particular tools are based on items in the Alloy Artifacts collection.

Catalog Coverage

Currently we have no catalogs for Moore Drop Forging.

Patents and Trademarks

Patent and trademark information was obtained from the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) web site at uspto.gov. Patent documents were obtained from sites offering free downloads, notably freepatentsonline.com.

Feedback

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