Evening all,

I wanted to share a few recent things I've picked up, and also ask the 
collective wisdom of the hammer foru... I mean, porch, about a few of them.

First up, some Australian-made planes. Turner. Red acetate handles, 
which you'll either love or hate.

This one was from a garage sale 2 weeks ago - the first I've seen in 4 
1/2 size:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579995303807410
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731580013471630450

As you can see, it needs some cleaning up. I'll get to that eventually. 
Here it is with a number 4 size that I acquired a little while back:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731580028084749298
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731580045198290018

I just can't resist the red acetate:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731580074323874674

A recent garage sale yielded a small, but pleasing haul:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579781869677330

A couple of punches, a rat tail file, an Eclipse 77 saw set (now I can 
set 6 saws at the same time, if I could just grow 4 more arms) some 
needle nose pliers, an awl-y thing, some side-cutters and a knife-y thing.

So the first whatsit is the knife-y thing:
When I found it, it was like this:
https://plus.google.com/photos/106530426219267526445/albums/5731579758372527169/5731579835292398194?banner=pwa

I assumed "Oh, it's a retractable knife, how neat!" but the blade flares 
out at the end to such a degree that the sharpened part of the blade 
won't retract into the handle. Theory number 1 sunk!
Here it is with the blade pulled out: 
https://plus.google.com/photos/106530426219267526445/albums/5731579758372527169/5731579804180183986?banner=pwa

and here's the stamp on the blade: 
https://plus.google.com/photos/106530426219267526445/albums/5731579758372527169/5731579847591657170?banner=pwa

(Wingfield and Co. Sheffield) - maybe the same Wingfield as this 
hawksbill knife I own? 
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/CFAHaul#5331750585802507250

So... any theories about this knife-y thing? What is it, why is it? It's 
very particularly made, but for what purpose?

Second whatsit: an awl-like object with a triangular point: 
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579882848180994 
and 
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579908863089138 
- it might be handmade. Some part of my brain is saying "leatherwork 
tool" but... any ideas? The shank is so irregular that it might well be 
a home-made job. But again... for what purpose?

It came from a garage sale that was obviously the tail end of what had 
once been a magnificent shed-universe. I found myself wishing I'd got 
there earlier, to get all the good tools... then I realised what I 
really wanted was to have got there when the shed's owner was alive. 
Going by the home-made tools and the bits that were left, I reckon he 
would have been a fascinating old bloke. Wish I could have shared a beer 
with him and asked why he'd converted so many screwdrivers into 
highly-specialised tools that were almost, but not quite, like awls. His 
son had a look on his face much like I imagine my own children will wear 
one day as they clear out my shed... the look that says "I wonder why he 
kept all these brass taps and 17 worn-out hacksaw blades???"

One micro-gloat from that garage sale was these sidecutters:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579953600888722
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579971593058882
They didn't look like much, but they cleaned up nicely, and they seem in 
as-new condition as far as operation goes - no slop, and absolutely no 
dings or nicks in the edges. I tested them on some heavy-gauge copper 
wire - a perfect cut, with a firm *snick* - score! From what I can 
gather from Mr. Google, the PWA stamp reflects that these were 
manufactured by Crescent under contract for Pratt-Whitney Aircraft, 
though I can't find what period this contract covered... I guess these 
might be 1950s vintage or so. Whatever the case, they're rather better 
than my cheapie side-cutters, so they take pride of place in the shed 
(though they're not going to replace my 1000V insulated pair that I use 
at work :-)

Cheers from Melbourne,
Philip.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh yea, that's a gloat!

A recent garage sale yielded a small, but pleasing haul:

https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579781869677330
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Philip,

That "awl-like" object looks like a bird cage awl that was the subject of 
recent discussion 
(http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php?message_id=228700#message).

By the way, the pieces you identify as punches look like nail sets.  Is 
this a case of people divided by a common language?

Jeff

At 4/22/2012 04:49 AM, Philip Yarra wrote:
>Evening all,
>
>I wanted to share a few recent things I've picked up, and also ask the 
>collective wisdom of the hammer foru... I mean, porch, about a few of them.
>
>...
>Second whatsit: an awl-like object with a triangular point: 
>https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579882848180994 
>and 
>https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Apr2012#5731579908863089138 
>- it might be handmade. Some part of my brain is saying "leatherwork tool" 
>but... any ideas? The shank is so irregular that it might well be a 
>home-made job. But again... for what purpose?
>
>...
>Cheers from Melbourne,
>Philip.
>
>
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------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Jeff,

On 23/04/12 02:27, Jeff Grothaus wrote:
>
> That "awl-like" object looks like a bird cage awl that was the subject 
> of recent discussion 
> (http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php?message_id=228700#message).

I did wonder that, but all the pictures of birdcage awls that I have 
seen show the sharp edges continuing up the shank - not the case here, 
it's only a short section, with a roundish shank. Also, this is 
triangular, not square in section... still, I'm open to all ideas, and 
it certainly seems to behave much like the birdcage awl in the way it 
severs fibres to start a hole.

>
> By the way, the pieces you identify as punches look like nail sets.  
> Is this a case of people divided by a common language?

I've heard both terms used interchangeably, I suspect it's a regional 
thing... wikipedia lists this tool as a nail punch and notes "nail set" 
as an alternate term: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_%28tool%29#Nail_or_pin

Cheers,
Philip.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 4/22/2012 10:01 PM, Philip Yarra wrote:
> Hi Jeff,
>
> On 23/04/12 02:27, Jeff Grothaus wrote:
>>
>> That "awl-like" object looks like a bird cage awl that was the 
>> subject of recent discussion 
>> (http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php?message_id=228700#message).
>
> I did wonder that, but all the pictures of birdcage awls that I have 
> seen show the sharp edges continuing up the shank - not the case here, 
> it's only a short section, with a roundish shank. Also, this is 
> triangular, not square in section... still, I'm open to all ideas, and 
> it certainly seems to behave much like the birdcage awl in the way it 
> severs fibres to start a hole.
>
>>
>> By the way, the pieces you identify as punches look like nail sets.  
>> Is this a case of people divided by a common language?
>
> I've heard both terms used interchangeably, I suspect it's a regional 
> thing... wikipedia lists this tool as a nail punch and notes "nail 
> set" as an alternate term: 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_%28tool%29#Nail_or_pin
>
> Cheers,
> Philip.
>
Am I mistaken in thinking a punch is generally flat-tipped, and a 
nailset tip is concave?
Don
-- 
I have tried too in my time, to be a philosopher; but I don't know how, 
cheerfulness was always breaking in. - Oliver Edwards
------------------------------------------------------------------------