Scott,

A great master shipyard Machinist once wrote that the difference between the
average worker and a Master is that the Master can determine what special tools
are needed to do the job, and then s/he can MAKE the tools.

Pretty them up, indeed.  I recently encountered a 4” open-end wrench flame -cut
out of 1-1/2” thick plate.  Looked like whomever did it just put the finishing
touches on the inside of the jaws with a hand-held grinder and files.  The rest
of the surfaces were left “as torched.”

I presume that a “real” 4” wrench was either not easily / quickly obtainable or
was “not in the budget.”  Surely this “ersatz” wrench cost considerable labor,
but may have none-the-less been the sensible thing to do.

John Ruth
Wondering if any member of the “Flat Sole Society” has ever attacked the sole of
a Bailey with a Machinist Scraper, bluing, and a surface plate!