Baconsdozen Whitworth/B.S.F and B.A spanners,sockets,box spanners,taps,dies . A conversion chart for Whitworth to BSF to imperial or metric wrench sizes is at the foot of this page.. For restoring and repairing machines made before metric fittings became common you need imperial inch based tools.Imperial measurements might be obsolete but there are thousands of bikes from AJS and BSA to Triumph and Velocettes and cars from Austin sevens to Wolseley and relatively modern Land Rovers that use them. Metric spanners and sockets aren't made to fit the UNF,UNC,whitworth and BSF or BA nuts and bolts found on most classic vehicles or motorcycles.Whitworth and BSF fixings are not interchangeable with SAE or metric fastenings.I can supply good quality Whitworth/BSF ring,open end and box spanners, sockets and other tools for the older motorbike,car or aeroplane.Some from long established English tool makers,who might have supplied the original tool kit your vehicle started life with.There is no need to damage the imperial fastenings on your restored British classic when I still have the correct spanners on sale Whitworth taps and dies are available as well as BSF and BA. All prices on this site are inclusive.Some items have google checkout buttons,these are for UK delivery only.
Overseas orders welcome contact us for post quotes, ordering details,guarantees ,terms and conditions here. Below is a small selection of the whitworth,BSF and BA tools I have on sale at any one time,I also sell tools on Ecrater in the US.and Ebid auctions and Ebay.. I've been involved in repairing and restoring cars,bikes and boats for over fourty years,I don't sell tools I wouldn't use myself.

Whitworth/BSF sockets,impact sockets,box wrenches,spanners etc.

Set of seven 3/8 inch square drive whitworth/BSF sockets by Laser Tools ,sizes 1/8 to 1/2 inch whit (BSW) on socket rail,bi-hex (twelve point) chrome vanadium steel. Suitable for quite serious DIY motorcycle restoration etc,good value for money at £9..00p Post U.K £3..00p. Larger picture here.

Whitworth 3/8 drive tool kit.(Picture shows 1/2 drive version).Comprises the above seven piece socket set,with the addition of an all steel ratchet handle,75mm,125 and 250mm extension bars.All 3/8 drive.Ideal starter whitworth tool kit for older motorcycle or car. £19..50p plus £4..00p post

OUT OF STOCK MAKERS HAVE LET US DOWN Set of nine half inch drive by Laser. Sizes are 1/8 to 5/8 inch whitworth.On a socket rail,twelve point chrome vanadium.Suitable for the home workshop stronger but slightly bigger than the 3/8 drive versions Priced £12..00p Post U.K. £4..00p .Larger picture here.

1/2 drive whitworth tool set.Comprises the above set of nine sockets plus a 1/2 drive all steel ratchet,75,125 and 250mm extension bars.All components are chrome vanadium steel,chromed and polished.£22.50 plus £4..00p post UK.

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Deep whitworth sockets, six sided (flank drive) by Koken of Japan,set of seven 3/8 drive.Sizes 1/8,3/16,1/4,5/16,3/8,7/16 and 1/2 inch whitworth.Deep whitworth BSF sockets are now very hard to find .Supplied with a chromed socket rail,very good quality,suitable for a commercial workshop enviroment.Sold as a set on socket rail. £42..00 post £4..00p.

Picture shows a eight piece set (9/16 whitworth added) these are available to order,please ask for details.

Set of seven,six sided standard depth whitworth/BSF sockets.Sizes 1/8,3/16,1/4,5/16,3/8,7/16 and 1/2 inch,all are 3/8 inch drive and mono hex flank drive configuration to grip worn or rusty nuts and bolts less damage to brass or alloy fixings.Excellent quality by Koken on a socket rail.£25.50p the set post £4..00p to UK.

Set of eight whitworth BSF sockets,six sided,3/8 drive standard length sockets,as above set but 9/16 added.Six sided or mono hex sockets are less likely to damage tight brass or alloy fixings.Cost £29..50p post £4..00p to UK.

Set of seven,3/8 drive sockets flank drive double hex configuration.Normal high Koken quality suitable for a professional restoration workshop.Sizes 1/8,3/16,1/4,5/16,3/8,7/16 and 1/2 inch. whitworth £28..50p UK post £4..00p.

Set of eight 12 sided 3/8 drive whitworth sockets.As above set but with a 9/16 inch whit added £32.50 post UK £4..00p

Set of eight Koken 1/2 drive standard depth whitworth sockets.Bi-hex (twelve sided) sizes 3/16,1/4,5/16,3/8,7/16,1/2,9/16 and 5/8 inch whitworth. Excellent quality and Ideal for a professional mechanic.£44..50p post £4..50p.

Professional quality individual Whitworth/BSF bi-hex sockets 1/2 drive chrome vanadium steel by Elora.
Sizes 1/8 ,3/16 ,1/4 ,5/16, 3/8, 7/16 inch whitworth all at £3..90p each.
1/2 and 9/16 inch are £4..30p.
5/8 ,11/16 and 3/4 inch whitworth are £5..50p each Post £1..50p each UK

Elora whitworth sockets for classic cars,bikes

Set of eleven whitworth/BSF bi-hex chrome vanadium steel sockets.Made in Germany by Elora to DIN standard 3124/ISO 2725 and DIN 3120/ISO 1174 and of much superior quality to the cheap imported sets normally offered in whitworth and BSF sizes.Please note,they do not come with the socket rail shown..The sizes are 1/8,3/16,1/4,5/16,3/8,7/16,1/2,9/16,5/18,11/16 and 3/4 inch Price £39..00p post UK £5..00p

To order,3/4 inch drive 12 point Whitworth/BSF sockets.(Elora) 13/16 or 7/8 inch £21..00p,15/16 inch £25..00p,1 inch £30..00,One and eigth inch or one and a quarter are £37 or £43 each.Post to UK would be £3..20p per socket..

I also stock 3/8 drive whitworth sockets by the German maker Elora .From 3/16 to 1/2 inch All same price £7..00p each.There is no minimum order.Post £1..00p each to UK.

Whitworth sockets for old british cars and bikes

OUT OF STOCK BEEN LET DOWN BY MAKERS..Set of eight whitworth combination spanners.Made by Silverline Tools Sizes are 1/8,3/16,1/4,5/16,3/8,7/16,1/2 and 9/16 inch whitworth.Boxed,come with a tool roll.Chrome vanadium steel,chromed and polished Economically priced but still suitable for serious DIY use.Cost £16..00p per set.Post to UK will be £4..00p.

Laser.4446 A set of eight combination british standard whitworth spanners.Sizes 1/8 to 9/16 inch whitworth the spanners come in a tool roll as shown .Price £17..25p plus £4..00p post to UK.Larger picture here. Ideal for maintenance etc on older cars..

Six piece set of proper professional mechanics quality whitworth/BSF combination spanners made by ELORA in germany sizes 3/16,1/4,5/16,3/8,7/16 and 1/2 inch whitworth.Drop forged chrome vanadium steel accurately made, to DIN3113/ISO 3318 specification,suitable for constant heavy use in a professional workshop.Price £45..00p Post U.K £4..00 .Larger picture here.

Larger eleven piece set of ELORA 205 series,German made,top quality chrome vanadium steel whitworth spanners, combination pattern.One ring type end,other open.Perfectly suitable for serious professional use,restoring or repairing classic cars Sizes 1/8 to 3/4 inch whitworth.Price £118.Post U.K £9..00p other countries please ask .

Individual whitworth combination and open ended spanners by Elora and other makers.All sizes priced individually,sizes available.1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16 and 3/4 inch Whitworth,use drop down menu opposite for price.Please contact us for price if buying more than one,and for sizes over 3/4 inch..
I have some obsolete open end and combination whitworth spanners by Elora,Matador,King Dick etc (Please ask for price/availability)

7/16 inch whitworth (BSW) scaffolding spanner.The swivel head is six sided (mono-hex) and the handle is solid steel.£4..00p plus £2..00p post to UK.

BA sockets,box spanners and BA socket sets.

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BA (British Association) 10 piece socket sets Laser 0 to 10 BA.Six sided 1/4 inch drive on rail.Hex,chrome vanadium steel.Good value for money Come complete with socket rail.£8..00p post to UK £3..00p Larger picture click here
Individual BA sockets available by Elora.1/4 drive.£3.85p each.Sizes ordering etc,contact us for details
Set of Elora BA sockets.Sizes 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,8 and 10BA.All are 1/4 drive.Proper chrome vanadium steel,German made to a high standard.Price £30.50p Post to UK £3..00p
1/4 drive BA socket set by Koken (Japan) Very good quality Sizes 0 to 8BA.BA nuts and bolts are often found on older electrical components.Six point (mono hex) to grip worn nuts.1/4 square drive complete with socket rail £17..00p post to UK £3..00p.
Set of BA box spanners complete with two tommy bars and covers the sizes 0 to 10BA.Handy for classic cars etc where BA sizes are still often found.Made in Sheffield England by Melco in chromed steel.Now becoming obsolete Price £16..80 post to UK £2..00p.Larger picture here.
Six piece (sizes 0 to 11BA) open end BA wrench set in plastic wallet by Laser.Priced £10..00p Post to U.K £2..00p.Open end BA spanners are now difficult to source,these are forged spanners not the cheaper pressed steel variety.BA fittings are sometimes found on older electrical items,magnetos,dynamos,control boxes and instruments etc.Larger picture here..

A small selection of the whitworth BSF tubular box spanners we sell

Comprehensive set of Melco whitworth/BSF box spanners.Made in Sheffield England,polished steel.Covers the sizes from 1/8 inch to 1 inch whitworth,the spanners range in size from four inches long to seven..This set does not include a 11/16 BSW.Handy for older vehicles where access is restricted around nuts and bolts (ie) head bolts on motorcycles or as an alternative to deep whitworth sockets..Price £27.50 post to UK £4.00p

As above but two smallest box spanners (1/8 x 3/16 and 1/4 x 5/16 replaced with seven inch long versions.£28.50p

Long whitworth box spanner (approx seven inches long) British made (Melco) sizes 1/8 x 3/16 inch whitworth £3..00 post £1.50p (UK).Post Rest of World £3..00p

Seven inch long box spanner 1/4 x 5/16 inch whitworth.(Melco) Two holes for tommy bar £3..00p post (UK) £1.50p. ROW £3..00

5/16 x 7/16 inch whitworth box spanners.(Melco) made in England.(approx four inches long) Heavy duty.£3.10 post £1.60p (UK) ROW £3.10

7/16 x 1/2 inch whitworth box spanner .Heavy duty Made in UK. £3.20 post to UK £1.60p Post ROW £3.20

1/2 x 9/16 inch whitworth box spanner heavy duty £3.20 post UK £1.80

(No picture) very short box spanner 3/8 x 7/16 inch whitworth £1..00p plus post £3..00 UK or ROW..

5/8 x 1/2 inch whitworth box.Heavy duty UK made approx four inches long.£3.20p post to UK £1.60p

Double ended whitworth/BSF box spanners available singly while stocks last (Old stock,limited supply) English Made .All approx 7 inches long all made in England.Sizes 1/8,3/16,1/4,5/16,1/2,9/16,5/8,3/4,7/8 and 1 inch whitworth.

One and a quarter inch whitworth double ended box spanner.Heavy.Made in UK. £5.50 post to UK £4..00p

Whitworth and af hub nut box spanners available in various sizes .1 and 1/4 inch awhitworth (52mm) illustrated Please contact us for prices and availability,stocks are limited as most of these are now long discontinued by their makers.

For a.f and metric sockets click here

I stock some impact whitworth/BSF sockets,six sided,deep or standard length.1/2 inch drive made in England,please ask for prices and availability..A small selection of new army or goverment surplus tools is shown below.

Bedford.Highly polished whitworth combination spanners Sizes 3/8 and 1/2 inch whitworth Old stock (probably ex WD) but never used

1/8 x 3/16 whitworth open enders by Elora (no markings on spanner) £2 each post £1..00p

5/8 x 11/16 whitworth deep cranked ring spanners Elora, a big spanner for £4..00 post £3..00p.

Elora open ended spanner 9/16 x 7/16 whitworth

Heavily chromed (but chrome not very smooth) old stock but never used.King Dick whitworth spanners.7/16 x 3/8 whit or 9/16 x 7/16 whit.

Very old stock, KD 5/16 x 3/8 whitworth ring spanners £2..00 post UK £2..00p

It would be virtually impossible to list all the imperial tools in stock,only a selection is listed on this site.In addition to around two tons of secondhand spanners and sockets of all types and sizes,I have huge stocks of old,but never used,sets and single whitworth/BSF open ended and ring or combination spanners of German and English manufacture King Dick,Britool,Bedford,Gedore,Snail Brand,Williams and ELORA etc some dating back to the 1940's.I stock six sided impact sockets,even deep ones in whitworth and af sizes.I can often replace missing sockets or spanners to complete a set.Older motorbikes and cars often had imperial tool kits supplied by makers that are no longer trading,Vincent for example used a lot of 'Jenbro' spanners made by Jennings brothers who ceased trading some years ago.Whilst I cannot always supply identical spanners I can usually match the sizes of missing tools.I guarantee everything that I sell fit for purpose.Some whitworth impact sockets are difficult to source at an economic price but using very cheap tools is a false economy.In cases of non availability of the correct whitworth/BSF sockets most engineers accept that 18mm is comparable to 3/8 whit (actually 18.03mm),33 mm is an acceptable replacement for 3/4 whit (33.02mm) and 52mm for 1 1/4 inch whitworth.
I can also supply model specific wheel braces in imperial sizes.Forget worrying about breaking your 1/2 drive bar undoing tight wheel studs,some of these braces are made in England from two inch diameter solid steel bar!.
I sell whitworth and BSF tools suitable for all older machinery,from Armstrong Siddeley to Gipsy Moth,from a AJS to a Velocette I can supply spanners to suit.

Taps and Dies.

Those working on older machinery are likely to come across various thread forms.The modern metric plus unf,unc,BA,whitworth,BSF,cycle thread,gas and others.I can supply most of these,or direct you to someone who can,please ask.

Whitworth/BSF/Imperial/Metric conversion tables. The markings on a spanner or wrench for whitworth or bsf indicate the thread size of the bolt not the head,for af (Across the Flats) they indicate the width of the nut or bolt head in fractions of an inch or mm..


Whit/BSF and the metric or imperial (inch) Equivalent.		Imperial to Metric

Whitworth	BSF.	Metric.	Imperial (af).	A.F	MM.
1/8	3/16	8.64	.340	1/4	6.35
3/16	1/4	11.3	.445	5/16	7.94
1/4	5/16	13.34	.525	3/8	9.52
5/16	3/8	15.24	.6	7/16	11.11
3/8	7/16	18.03	.710	1/2	12.7
7/16	1/2	20.83	.82	9/16	14.29
1/2	9/16	23.37	.92	5/8	15.88
9/16	5/8	25.65	1.010	11/16	17.46
5/8	11/16	27.94	1.100	3/4	19.05
11/16	3/4	30.48	1.200	7/8	22.22
3/4	7/8	33.02	1.300	15/16	23.81
7/8	1	37.59	1.480	1.00	25.40
1	1.1/8	42.42	1.670	1.1/16	26.93

A tubular box spanner or six sided (six point) socket the closest size upwards might be a solution in an emergency (ie) a 19mm spanner will probably fit a 3/4 inch af nut.These have greater tolerance than 12 sided sockets but there is always a risk of damage to socket and or the fastening.Impact sockets are almost always six sided (mono-hex).Six sided sockets are less liable to mark or damage brass,alloy or chromed fixings such as wheel or hub nuts.

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Footnotes...It's recorded at least one English motor manufacturer in the 30's-40's using imported engines with metric threads,ground the heads of nuts and bolts down so that mechanics whitworth spanners would fit.Some smaller or more specialised makers used whitworth fastenings for some years after everybody else had decided they were obsolete and went over to UNF/UNC or metric,so even without any previous owners swapping and repairing bits it's not unusual to find an assortment of fastenings on old (and not so old) cars. Land Rovers for example have a transmission design with parts of it dating to the 1930's so it should be no suprise to find sundry whitworth fastenings scattered round the gearboxes on early models and I'm told BA fittings are still found on modern JCBs. This is why joining an owners club and talking to other classic car and motorbike enthusiasts makes sense. I've seen on at least two web sites that some whitworth and SAE (UNF/UNC) or metric nuts and bolts are interchangeable.This is wrong and,if applied to critical components (suspension/brakes etc) downright dangerous.The thread rate (threads per inch) might be the same in some cases but the thread angles are different (55 degrees for whitworth and 60 for metric,UNF and UNC) resulting in loss of strength,thread stripping or fastenings coming undone in service.The use of a decent thread guage to identify threads on classic car and bike restoration is advised.(see our repair,servicing tool section for a range of imperial,metric and whitworth thread gauges.We still send these old imperial tools all over the world,there are still old DeHavilland bi planes flying in New Zealand and Australia,we have sent whitworth and BA sockets or spanners to aviation museums from the UK to USA and railway enthusiasts from Darlington to Darjeeling.There are countless examples of British engineering over fifty years old still working or being lovingly restored in the most unlikely places.There once was a 'Great' Britain.