the gizmo competition

[condeesteso]

I recently acquired this thing. It's a vice of course, but it's quite rare to find them with almost all the loose bits:

So, WITHOUT trawling the internet (have to be on trust, that will) - what are the more obscure objects for??

We have 2 awls, 2 screw driver bits, a chisel*... and 3 'things'.

Best and most accurate response gets a truly useful workshop tool which might be a small brass-headed mallet, something nice and useful anyway.

* I'd quite like to have met the bloke that thought the chisel would be a really useful inclusion, 'twas obviously a bloke.

p.s. I know the answer, but I cheated.

 

[AndyT]

I have not looked this up, honest, I'm just looking at the picture.
You have actually given us two puzzles. The first one is to work out which are the three things, with only a tiny picture on a phone to go by. I'm assuming the three are the bit on the left with a hole through it and the two with right angle bends.

I think if the two bent bits have cutting edges at their tips you could thread them through the hole as a pair, maybe using the small screwdriver to tighten them as a pair. Then clamp the big bit into the similar sized hole in the handle. That could leave you with a gasket or washer cutter. You would press down on the central pivot point and swing the handle round to cut out a ring of leather or maybe lead

I've got a feeling it might be American but I can't place it any better than that.

 

[JustBen]

It's quite clearly a thingymajigy for doing whatsit-macallits!

Do I win?

 

[bugbear]

I've got one of those - very useful, since the rear end is a taper, that can be held in a brace. This makes it a very useful "universal bit holder" for a brace.

I've used it mainly for tapping.

BugBear

 

[Vann]

Editted.

 

[AndyT]

Didn't Alf find a rusty one at a car boot a few years ago?

 

[RossJarvis]

Is it an early "multitool" like a screwdriver with different bits? But for metal engravers to hold different engraving bits. Or possibly for dentists, those bits look like dental scrapers :shock: . The tool itself could be clamped on teeth for extractions

 

[david123]

A small hand held vice vice, a bit like watchmakers use. And I assume it could also be used as a screwdriver and scribe. With the veriouse tools fitting into the v grove on the vice..... looking at the picture it may be a bit big for that.....just a thought .

 

[Billy Flitch]

I`v never owned one of these tools so this is just a WAG, the two tools on the right could be cranked screw driver heads, but why have two? Well one could be an Electricians screwdriver and the other a Carpenters,the Electricians screw driver being thinner than a Carpenters.Then again one could be a draw lock chisel but don't see how you would use that with the vice?
The one on the left maybe fastens into the vice and one end looks like part of a hammer head, so maybe used as a pin hammer,but really just WAGS probably simple when you know what they are for.
When you look at the vice there is a hole in the middle whats that for? Don't really know?

 

[condeesteso]

I think we can call this closed now. Andy... 30 minutes it took you (on a phone screen too). Outstanding performance from the prof!!
The 2 to the right are the pair of cutters, they fit into the hole in the thing on the left. That 'thing' then fits into the vice and is shaped so as you close the vice the jaws clamp down onto the pair of cutters. The central pin extends beyond the cutters amnd hence you have a washer cutter.
The hole in the body of the vice takes the handle and is threaded. The part I am missing is the bit shank, but i'll get over it

Here's one reference in an Orr & Locket catalogue (1898):

I note handle in rosewood with lignum cap - I'll do some pics later.

The brass mallet is yours Andy... just needs making, give me a day or so as I appear to have run out of suitable stock #-o

 

[AndyT]

Coo, er gosh, thank you! But it was probably just luck that I had a few minutes to check the forum before going down to breakfast. I'm sure other people would have said the same.

Now I am back home again, I have looked it up properly, and found the same Practical Machinist forum post as you Douglas. A Miller's Falls #1 vise.

But tell us, does it actually work in practice? And do you have the tapered part so you can spin the thing round in a brace?

 

[AndyT]

I just re-read your post where you said you don't have the bit shank. Can you please measure the thread it needs to have?
I have a plan...

 

[condeesteso]

I like the sound of a plan, would this plan involve a treadle lathe by any chance? I can check tooth pitch and o/d easily - does this pre-date those American threads so might it be a good old Whitworth maybe? And this is turning into a thread thread. I'll be back.

 

[AndyT]

You got it Douglas!

And if you could measure the length of the missing part, that would be a great help. I'm guessing about 3 1/2".

 

[Tom K]

I just re-read your post where you said you don't have the bit shank. Can you please measure the thread it needs to have?
I have a plan...

Are you making one of these?

This was on ebay sold now though.

 

[bugbear]

Since I'm lucky enough to own one of these...

The thread measured 20 TPI. The OD is 0.368", which is probably 3/8". 3/8" x 20 TPI is BSF, which is a surprise.

Here's a carefully taken (and corrected for barrel distortion) photo, including scale, which should be enough
to allow replication.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

Thanks BB - no excuses left to me now!

 

[bugbear]

I took another photo with camera-subject distance at 20" to reduce parallex issues when taking measurement from the image.

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

Interestingly there is one of those gizmos on page 150 of the PDF of the Goodell Pratt and Co catalogue scan on Richard Arnold's thread!

How weird is that!?

Jimi

 

[AndyT]

Interestingly there is one of those gizmos on page 150 of the PDF of the Goodell Pratt and Co catalogue scan on Richard Arnold's thread!

How weird is that!?

Jimi

I've had a look and I think that is the "ordinary tool of this kind" sniffed at in the Millers Falls catalogue. It's just a parallel jaw hand vice, without the multitool properties, and a handle fixed at one position only. I think they were a standard design, one step up from the even commoner pattern where the jaws are hinged together, so only grip well on a very small range of sizes. Good spot though.