Replies

1. 
   EdHarrison | Sep 27, 2006 02:39pm | #1

   Shrapnel?

1. 
   PJohn | Sep 27, 2006 06:04pm | #2

   Har - and here I thought it was a shovelnosed frammenjammer.
   Keep smilin' --- John

2. 
   outside | Sep 28, 2006 01:06am | #3

   It looks like the movable cutter part of an adjustable auger. Most adjustable augers came with a small cutter and a big cutter, and it is common to find them with only one cutter installed and the other MIA.

   Scott

    

1. 
   PJohn | Sep 28, 2006 01:48am | #4

   Hi, Scott - Interesting, though it doesn't show signs of actually having been sharpened. The offset and half-dovetailed rectangular section on the backside surely suggests that it was mounted in some kind of holder. Have you any notion as to where I might find a picture of the auger type you mention?Thanks,---John

1. 
   outside | Sep 28, 2006 05:43pm | #7

   John,

   Also called expansive bits... try

   http://jonzimmersantiquetools.com/tools/irwin_expan_bit_1.jpg

   Scott

    

1. 
   PJohn | Sep 28, 2006 09:22pm | #8

   Hi, Scott - Thanks for taking time to find a picture. Shoot - if I were thinking, I'd have realized what you meant. I've an Irwin expansion bit, plus a couple of much larger fly cutters, and am certain that the piece isn't for that purpose. There's no evidence of its ever having been sharp, and its geometry doesn't suggest cutting. It's more, in my opinion, reminiscent of a shoe or guide plate, similar (sort of) to the sole of a #97 spokeshave without mounting holes. (I could be ludicrously far from the mark on that interpretation. Surely haven't yet solved the mystery.) Thanks again for pitching in.Regards,---John

1. 
   jeremyillingworth | Sep 29, 2006 03:16am | #9

   Perhaps it is a form, that if mounted in a vice, would allow one to shape metal parts accurately over it.

   jeremy

2. 
   PJohn | Oct 02, 2006 08:08am | #10

   Hi, Jerry - Thanks at least for trying. I'm about to give up hope of finding a definitive answer.Regards,---John

3. 
   BruceS | Sep 28, 2006 08:13am | #5

   It might be the final "key" thich is installed after all of a steam turbines blades have been installed.

   Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S. 

    

1. 
   PJohn | Sep 28, 2006 08:31am | #6

   Hi, Bruce - Boy - we are a diverse bunch, are we not. Can't argue with you - I've no exposure there whatsoever. The grand old guy was a machine-setter at the turn of the century (he was about 40 in 1900), and traveled rather widely to set up machines as the country modernized and automated. He was an accomplished cabinetmaker as well. Invented the term "perfectionist." There are/were all kinds of steel bits he collected - this one just happened to be amongst a group of woodworking tools, so I added 2 and 2 aiming for 5 and posted the question here. Your insight may be more accurate than you'd at first think. In any event, thanks for posting.Regards and best to you,---John

4. 
   GRW | Oct 02, 2006 11:31pm | #11

   John,

   Looks like a steel toe tester to me ;)

1. 
   PJohn | Oct 02, 2006 11:51pm | #12

   Fairy toes, perhaps?? It's only an inch long! Might trip up some o' those pesky spiders, though.Keep smilin'---John