Rusty Wrench

This **rusty open-ended wrench** is one of many mining tools. Since the material of the wrench is steel, it has rusted over the years due to oxidation. The wrench is apporximately 35cm long and hence rather big in comparison to a 'typical' wrench from a tool box. It was used to tighten the screws of the chutes, which was a means of transportation for the coal. The chute was 3 meters longs and lead to a cart. During the process the chute was shaking a lot. Therefore, the screws needed to be tightened repeatedly with the wrench. Although this is the **initial purpose** of the tool, see the second annotation to learn more about an **additional and rather surprising use** of this tool… *"You need to image the situation down there...loud and dark. You need to be creative."* - Former miner Created by Deborah Schlenger