Unusual looking machine.

[Knobs]

Hi all.
Came across this piece of machinery recently in a garage sale.
Nobody can tell me what it is of for. Maybe someone here can enlighten me.
The blade on it looks like an old type slitting saw. It was clogged with what looked like white metal.
this was on the name plate
Sec- Op-Mil. Registered. Manufactured by Erma Ltd. Wembley. Middlesex. Serial No.3607.
Cheers Vince

 

[adidat]

Key cutter by the looks of it?

Adidat

 

[Knobs]

I thought that too but there does not seem to be a profile holder for it to follow. Also the cutting blade seems too thick for a key.

 

[adidat]

Posher version here. They don't seem to have come up with a suitable answer.

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=132182
Maybe it's not a key cutter...

Adidat

 

[Knobs]

Wow Adidat that sure looks like our machine. Thanks for all the info and link.
The same company made high tolerance instruments for measuring and machining I think.
Cheers

 

[TFrench]

I was going to say, sec-op would be second operation but it was all covered in adidats link. Looks to me like it's for putting the slot in the head of a screw.

 

[Alpha-Dave]

Looking at the pivot points, I’m wondering if you could put a blank headed screw in the hole in the ‘lever’ next to the saw so that if you then push it into the blade it then cuts a slot in the head so that it is perfectly ’clocked’?

 

[Limey Lurker]

Could be a Woodruff keyway cutter; but I suspect that it is a universal second operation machine BASE, on which a firm's toolmakers would build their own assemblies depending on the operation needed.

 

[Keith 66]

I suspect it could be a screw head slotting machine from a gunsmiths. Alignment of screws is critical for aesthetic & practical reasons so screws were made with long blank heads that were screwed in, marked then heads cut & profiles & slots cut in. A tool like this makes such a job easy.

 

[baldkev]

I suspect it could be a screw head slotting machine from a gunsmiths. Alignment of screws is critical for aesthetic & practical reasons so screws were made with long blank heads that were screwed in, marked then heads cut & profiles & slots cut in. A tool like this makes such a job easy.

I would never have thought of that

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've lost the link, but there is someone trying to identify an identical machine on a gun smithing forum.
Google the company name and address and you'll find it - there were no answers there, though.