early 1910 Hub Cap Wrench

[Vrayfoster]

This was made from picture of the wrench, creating a cad file and sent to a 3D printer shop and printed out of stainless steel for ~$120 . All I know for certain is the hub cap end of the wrench fits and I have pressed pins into the spanner pin holes. I haven't a clue what the rest of the wrench is supposed to fit thus I haven't checked it for proper fitment. The wrench is now painted

[Mike Silbert]

I am not an early car expert but here is what the Encyclopedia has to say about this wrench.
It's more of a non company specific universal wrench.
Hopefully someone knows that the features actually fit.

Screenshot 2026-03-07 071608.jpg (22.44 KiB) Viewed 308 times

I love the use of technology to solve a problem.
Being printed in metal it should be a functional tool.
If you just wanted a display item and not functional it could be printed in in plastic, body worked, and painted.
Plastic could look fine on display if that is the desire.

Old problem, New solution
Mike

[Tbird]

Very cool!
Here is some more information about the early hub cap wrenches
https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/1 ... 1302721699

[Allan]

I am absolutely amazed by what printing technology can do. How on earth can you print stainless steel? It would seem you could almost replicate anything!
But it is still a replica, with flawless, crisp detail and edges to all facets. Is it possible to make the printer soften the corners, duplicate the rounded edges in pressings and generally round it out a little?
Modern production of parts like Lang's loose lug rim clamps and rim bolt nuts and Chaffins wire wheel lug bolt nuts are a wonderful contribution of parts now quite scarce as originals. These parts are like peas in a pod, exact copies of each other, produced by CNC machining, but they lack the imperfection, detail differences and manufacturing marks bestowed on parts made in completely different ways. It makes good original parts particularly valuable to restorers. Having replicas is just as appreciated by those who are doing their best to keep a Model T going down the road.

Allan from down under.

[Mike Silbert]

For those that want to learn more about printing 3D metal parts here is some information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdiwBiw5dyo

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 6316325496
https://www.protolabs.com/resources/gui ... als-guide/
https://markforged.com/3d-printers/metal-x

And this is just the tip of the iceberg that is evolving fast.
It is also becoming more and more common and more easily accessible.
There is laser sintering out there also.

With todays technology we are only limited by our imagination, time (effort) and wallet size.
Mike

[Vrayfoster]

[image]

[/image] Then here are 2 - 1915 hub caps. One is an original, one I made. After some 30 years I finally ended up with 4 original 1915 hub caps. Ditto early 1910 hub cap wrench. One of these days I may end up with an original but until then I have a reasonable looking faux wrench

[Allan]

Victor, I an guessing the original hubcap is on the left. It shows some roundness in the pressed Ford script. In contrast, the one on the right is crisp and even all over. I suspect it is not a pressing. It is certainly a great acquisition to complete a car restoration, while you hunt out a nice original, as others have done. Different techniques can/are used to make us the parts we need to keep our T's on the road, but the original ways of making parts makes them just different enough in appearance to make it worthwhile biding time hunting for them.

Allan from down under.