What is it? Set 349

[Rob H.]

I need some help with the second item this week:

[Alexander Thesoso]

2005 Guess... These are pin tumblers from lock cylinders. Further guess... from a lock museum. The various grooves are to make it difficult to pick the lock.

[Stormin Mormon]

2005: Security type top pins, used by locksmiths (I are one, locksmith that is.) These are sometimes called "mushroom pins" or "drivers". 2006 no clue 2007 no clue. If it really is a machine gun magazine, it may need to be registered with BATF so they can confiscate it later. 2008 looks like a really rich person's doll house 2009, my impression is that it's used for wool carding. 2010 Bored person's marble game.

[Rob H.]

Good guess, it was marked "primitive wool stretcher".

Rob

[Lobby Dosser]

Stretching is not the same as carding, primitive or not. Take a look at some carders. 2009 has too few teeth, too far apart. Carding is an essential step in the preparation of wool for use. The only time I ever heard the term stretching used with wool was with respect to stretching a garment that had shrunk. Any stretching in the preparation stage is done using a drop spindle.

This is off the top of my head based on two wives hand prep, spinning and knitting of wool.

[Rob H.]

I changed my answer for this tool to read:

"This was marked 'primitive wool stretcher', but it might actually be an apple picker that has had its long handle cut off."

If it was an apple picker it also would have had a bag hanging under the metal part to catch the apples.

Rob

[DanG]

I'm sure I'm very wrong, but the thing sure looks animal related to me. A way to walk a bull or horse and have his undivided attention.

[Lobby Dosser]

And maybe ruin a good stallion or bull! :()

[riverman]

Hmm, it looks remarkably like a 'groundhog rake'

[Rob H.]

I haven't been able to verify the previous guesses so I went ahead and added this idea to the answers, at least this one has a link.

Thanks, Rob

[J Burns]

's a quahog rake. Like a groundhog rake, it has its hoop in a plane perpendicular to the tines.

The hoop of the mystery tool is different. It doesn't look good for raking, but if you inverted it, laced a bag to it, and reached for fruit higher than your arm, the shape of the hoop would help catch fruit better than a quahog rake or a groundhog rake.