Forgot I had taken a picture of the following item. Any ideas? (comical of factual)
Cheers pete
ball joint splitter for a monster truck :-D
Chris
|Forgot I had taken a picture of the following item. |Any ideas? (comical of factual) |
The pic is too dark to show much. Try again with flash.
Old Blacksmith made 'adjustable wrench'? Not actually adjustable as such, you just shove it against the flats of the 'nut' until it grips and then pray?...well I thought it was a reasonable guess. I am sure I have seen a modern equivalent recently
Thats part of an Hinge of a big heavydoor.
You would probably do best to ask at an industrial museum. I've seen those things in old forges and they are definitely a tool of some sort, but I've never worked out quite what sort.
Colin Bignell
Obviously an early attempt at an adjustable spanner or bottle opener.
The problem I have with the adjustable spanner idea is that, by the time that the technology was sufficiently advanced to make decent screw threads, it was also possible to make proper nuts and spanners. While there might be an odd one off attempt, I have seen a number of these devices, which suggests they were once very common. The serrated jaws would work quite well at gripping irregular materials, such as wood, so it might not be a spanner of any sort. For some reason, which I cannot pin down, I associate the tool with farm waggons.
Colin Bignell
Can't see it very well but i think Sir Ben is right; it's not a tool tis a bit of old iromongery.
cheers Jacob
Having, in my time, forged a few bits for restoration projects, it looks nothing like any bit of architectural ironmongery I've seen. Hinge straps, as suggested, would normally have a lot more fixing holes. The bend part way down also suggests it has been subjected to considerable force at some time. I wouldn't rule out it being a bit off of a piece of farm machinery though.
Colin Bignell
Hi pete any holes near the serated head?
Nope. just one at the handle end. the head/jaw end is fixed to the beam by a flattened out copper pipe clamp.
When we go down there this weekend I'll tran and get a better picture and a close-up of the jaws.
I would think it had only been used on soft material as the jaws are not damaged.
And Brixham is extremely nautical, so I am thinking something ship related rather than farm perhaps.
One possibility that being in Brixham opens up is a rope separator, used during rope making. The serrated V would rest on one strand, while the other two strands would pass either side of the handle. The bloke holding it then walks along the rope walk at a steady pace as the rope is wound, ensuring a consistent twist to the rope. Look for wear marks on the sides of the handle near the head.
Colin Bignell
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "nightjar" saying something like:
Early hand-cut nuts were square. There's a 200 year old water mill near me held together with the things. I'd think that serrated jaw might work ok on them to run them up until the final tightening with a more closely fitting spanner.
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