What is it? CCIX

[R.H.]

Set number 209 has just been posted:

[Snag]

1166 is a ball starter for a muzzleloader . The rest still have me puzzled .

[joelblatt]

1163: A seal puller for wheel bearing seals. 1160: Might be a puller for small things like watch hands or gears

Joel in Florida

[BillM]

1163 Oil seal puller.

1166 "short starter" for muzzle loader balls

[jim49631]

1163 is a seal puller for mechanics. Jim

[Leo Lichtman]

1160 is intended to push down with the center part, while pulling up with the two outer nibs. If the center "pusher" is round, it is for pulling off clock hands or gauge pointers. If the pusher is flat (it's hard to tell in the photo) it's a screwdriver that holds the screw head.

[Andrew Erickson]

1160 -- I assume the reverse side of this is very similar to this side, otherwise it would have been shown. The side thumbscrew obviously adjusts the two side pinchers somewhat, and the top one presumably moves the inner plunger up and down. Is this perhaps a jewel setter for putting jewel bearings in watches or clocks? 1161 -- Presumably this is a part to some larger construction. The logo on the back appears to say GJG Model PDC04; there are several GJG companies, but the one that seems most likely is GJG Electronics Ltd, which makes scoreboards, digital temperature measurement systems, and some other products. I suspect this may be a sensor for one of their products, either a temperature sensor or a scoring or other sensor for use with a scoreboard. 1162 -- This seems to be intended to hold a card at a calibrated angle and azimuth. Based on the non-linear and somewhat arbitrary appearing index lines, I suspect it may be used to sketch certain perspectives, possibly for surveying maps or for scaling images in different ways. 1163 -- This sure seems like it ought to be familiar, but I cannot place it. The business end rather obviously fits around shafting or bars somehow. Maybe this is a prybar for testing crankshaft bearings in gasoline engines? 1164 -- Like 1163, I think I've seen something like this before, but no clue what it is now. 1165 -- This looks rather like an automotive ball joint removal tool. 1166 -- Mallet for carvers who can't make up their mind about what sort of striking surface to use.

Now to see other guesses....

[DoN. Nichols]

1160) This looks like a hand puller for watches and perhaps small clocks. It would also work on dial indicators. 1161) Well ... it *could* be a electromagnet, or a demagnetizing coil -- perhaps even for use on the burnout device at cash registers to deactivate the anti-theft device in much of today's merchandise.

It could also be a transducer like perhaps a tweeter as part of a speaker setup.

1162) A fixture for holding something (some unknown thing) at a compound angle. It looks to be marked as 23 and (I think) 12 degrees on one of the scales, but I'm not sure why someone would want those specific angles. And I can't see enough to tell whether the vertical angle arc is also marked. 1163) This looks like a tool for pulling stuffing out of packed grooves, such as the oakum used for waterproofing the seams in old wooden ships. 1164) Perhaps ice cleats for fitting over the heals on shoes when you need to walk on icy streets/sidewalks -- or frozen lakes? 1165) Perhaps a wrench for removing and installing cleats on shoes? 1166) Hmm ... the brass tip on the wooden dowel looks as though it could be used for seating spherical bullets in muzzle loading firearms, but I'm not quite sure what the function of the brass part on the larger diameter section might be.

Now to see what others have answered.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Steve R.]

1160 Looks like it may be a watchmakers hand remover, although it could also be a roller table remover.

1163 looks like an automotive trim & seal removal tool.

[BillM]

Put the chunk of patching cloth across the muzzle. Ball in the middle, push it in with the brass part on the larger diameter section. Use you patch knife to cut the patch off flush with the muzzle. Use the longer end to push the patched ball a few inches down the bore. Finish seating with the ramrod.

Bill

[DoN. Nichols]

Aha -- Thanks.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Lee Michaels]

1164 is ice cleats for a horse??

I looked at those and thought they may be half crampons for mountain climbers. But the cleat design was all wrong. It never occured to me that they may be for a horse.

I wonder how common these things were at one time. I can not imagine they are used much anymore.

You certainly specialize in the obscure and arcane don't you?

[R.H.]

I looked on google patents for this one, never did find it but was surprised at how many variations of it there were. They must have been pretty common

100 years ago.

Probably not as much, though I found a good article about winter riding strategies here:

[BillM]

Use my name if you want, or not---up to you. No problem at all using it on the answer page. Heck---I was thrilled that I knew what a couple of them were this week!!

Bill

[Bill Rider]

Horse ice cleats occurred to me, but I thought, "Naaa..."

I think the blades on the bottom would soon be as slippery as dull ice skates. Their depth could make them fragile if the horse stepped on a rock. I don't see how the three studs on top would help secure them.

Could they be for brief use on a draft horse on soft ground? The handles look useless. Might a farmer need them to lift a horse's foot?

Do you have evidence that's not clear in the photos? Do the blades form a box that might be wedged over the end of a rectangular post?

[R.H.]

I don't have any evidence, the reason that I say they're horse shoes is because that's what the owner of them said, he was trying to sell them for thirty dollars. The only text on them is "pat. pend." and "small", so there should be a patent on them, but as I mentioned earlier I couldn't find it. I think that they probably are horse cleats, but not exactly an optimal design. If anyone can find evidence to the contrary I'd be happy to take a look.

I didn't buy them so I can't take a close look to see if they form a box or not. I took the photos months ago, so I don't have a strong memory of them.

When I get some time I'll take another shot at searching the patents.

Rob

[R.H.]

for the links, you're right, those snow shoes are kind of odd looking.

Rob

[Leon Fisk]

Hi Rob,

Take a look at this patent:

is another patent from the same individual, but a bit earlier edition. Notice how the cleats he designed for biting into the ground are similar:

be wrong, but the first one looks to be pretty darn close...

[Bill Rider]

I looked at every Google patent with "horse" and "ice". Nothing resembled it. I searched for "horse" and "mud" and "shoe" and found some similar cleats but nothing with a handle. I should look more carefully through the horse overshoes to see if any has a pattern of three studs on top.

Were there only two? For two legged horses? How about ice-fishing shacks about 1880? You wouldn't want to blow across the ice when the wind came up. So you put these under posts at diagonally opposite corners. You lever up the corner and use the handle to position the device without taking off your mitt or mashing your hand.

[Bill Rider]

That convinces me it was a horse overshoe. That crafty inventor didn't mention ice or mud!

A wet clay bank can be hard to climb if the clay is firm. I wonder if the device in the photos was for slick spots like that. I think the handles would have been detrimental in the long run but might have made the overshoes easier to put on and remove.

Herman also invented a match safe and a tire chain. Maybe he fashioned the device and filed for a patent, but it wasn't feasible and no patent was granted.