A Mystery Tool - Christmas puzzle.

It almost looks like you could cap a bottle with it.

-- Maplewood, MN

dont know much about cappin bottles stewart but if you want to talk uncappin i have all the tools this dosent look like one of them !! merry christmas verne

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

??? The L thingy might fit into the hole in an anvil. I’m only guessing, but maybe it’s something for making metal cables.
Happy Holidays. Stewart (Happy Boxing Day -never sure what day it is there).

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I have two or three old thick hardware store supply cataolgs. I’ll do some leafing through the pages.

-- Paul, Texas

My son, who keeps his eyes open for old tools, seems to think it is a type of capping press. The claw would fit around a bolt of some type and the ‘petal’ part would be pulled down to fold a cap over an opening of some sort, kinda like a bottle capper. Regardless of what it is, he thought it was cool.

-- If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a darn fool about it.

A railroad spike puller!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

It’s a circumcision tool for horses. In the days of the royals it was deemed proper to have your horse circumcised and his hair powdered and braided in a clockwise manner. They would also paint the horses hoofs too.

*Just a wild guess.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

looks like a handle to a coal powered steam locamotive engine

-- a legend in my own mind ...

I’m with Tom. It looks more like a puller than a putter to me. The flower could be a fulcrum with ‘feet’ for stability.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

The seldom seen stuck shower head remover…..Or an experimental device to put horseshoes on pigs.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

I’m wondering if the reason you have not found a “correct” answer may be that there is not one. Could it be one of those “one-of” tools that someone made to accomplish a job at hand and that was the end of it. I know it looks elaborate for a one-of – but considering how elaborate some of our jigs are – it’s not to far fetched.

-- Betsy - There is no strength where there is no struggle

Its a Whickdicker, it was used to seat the hubs in wagon wheels.

I am positive that I am uncertain about this.

-- " Stubborn tenacity substitutes for natural ability" ANDY

It’s definitely a Bung inserter/extractor. Or not.

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

I don’t know for sure what it is – but in the hands of a good tactician it would make a man confess to just about anything he ever did. There are times that I could use one of those :-)).

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

I feel like I’ve seen this beast before. But I’ve looked through four old hardware store supply catalogs ranging from 1923 to the 50s and can’t find anything like it. I’ve also looked through about a dozen tool catalog reprints and no lluck. I thought for a while it might be some kind of pump handle but have moved away from that thought.

Have you posted your pic and “what is it?” anywhere else?

The Mid West Tool Collectors Association and the Early American Industries Association (check the Internet for contact info) both have member journals that may publish a pic and query for you.

-- Paul, Texas

google search something with parts on it that sort of fits 1846

-- a legend in my own mind ...

I work in a used tool store and we get oddball stuff like this in all the time. I recognized it immediately:

It’s called a Vermier Prier. It was used in the late 1800’s for pulling old crowns off of vermier dials at a time when the iron crowns were becoming obsolete and being replaced with brass. The “flower” you referred to would fit snuggly on the ball joint below the dial and the “horse shoe” shaped part in the front pried off the crown. The part that hangs freely is just to scrape off the old gasket which the crown was seated on.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Either Blake knows his stuff, or I’d hate to play poker with him.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

I love poker! Texas Hold’em payed for a lot of my college bills when I went to school in LA.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Perhaps used cars are in your future Blake!!!

-- Betsy - There is no strength where there is no struggle

Good one Blake, but wrong.

Dan Walters is the closest to being correct. It’s a tool used to adjust the mechanical governor which controls the maxium speed a steam engine can go. They will tear themselves apart without it.

The “flower” part actually fits over a hex headed bolt and the “horseshoe” part goes under a flange on the governor shaft. Pressing on the handle compresses the weights. Then you hook that rod on the tool under a lower part of the shaft so that you can have both hands free to make the adjustment.

That being two nuts below the flange that you used the tool on. The nuts are “jammed” together. Using two wrenches to break them loose you adjust them up to lower the max speed and down to raise it. Then you jam the nuts (tighten the nuts against each other) and remove the tool. I don’t know the exact name for it though.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

new I’d seen one of them somewhere before … thanks Gary

-- a legend in my own mind ...

By the way, I’m full of crap. I was just trying to see who would call me on it. Gary called my bluff. He should get together with me and peter for a game of cards!

Thanks for the interesting post, Stewart!

-- Dust collectors suck.

Good one Gary. Blake, I intend to use your quote against you in the future.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Does this mean it wasn’t for horseshoeing pigs? Jus Dayuum :-(

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

That was fun. Thanks Gary!

Anyone else have a “what’s it?”

-- Paul, Texas

Thanks so much for all that, ladies and gentleman. I have just returned to the PC after a couple of days away to find the wonderful gems above. I’ve laughed and laughed. I appreciate all your time and imaginative answers – just amazing! Blake certainly had me believing him for a while.

And now I’m believing Gary with a slight amendment; the ‘flower’ rotates – probably enabling one of the three pairs of recesses to be located on maybe a 1/4” wide bar (rather than a hex bolt) & each of the three settings would provide a different degree of pressure.

Failing that, we’ll try Dadoo’s idea at our next open day!

I’ll print off all the above and file it with the object in the museum – it should bring a smile to future researchers!

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business.

Glad I’m not a horse. Would hate to have my hair powdered and braided.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

My money is on a poppet valve spring compressor for re-building engines. The horseshoe end of it goes around the valve stem and spring. You use the handle to gain leverage and compress the spring. The rod locks the spring in the compressed position, so that you can remove the two “collet” pieces that hold the spring on the valve… (seriously.)

-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever... - Keats