Thread: Mystery tool.

Originally Posted by Boringgeoff

I had hoped the one I bought would be here by now, maybe Tuesday. Dick did you mean that the mystery tool is indeed a piston ring expander Geoff.

Yep. Its a piston expander. I seached Firefox for "vintage piston expander" and then asked it for images. An identical item came up about five layers down from a "Collectors Weekly" site.

Right.

So all we need now is a Model T Ford to come up on Ebay for a snip and the tool is a useful part of the armoury .

Regards
Paul

Ok, I found it on the MWTCA Gristmill site What's it column, item No 159-7 June 2015 A piston ring expander.
I'm not convinced. I'm not a mechanic but I have rebuilt a few engines over the years and I don't like the rounded front on the jaws. I could be wrong, I was once before.

Geoff.

I'm with you Geoff. I don't see how it could work as such.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I have the perzact same strippers, and they're crackerjack.

dad had a pair almost exactly the same.

there so good he bought 3 additional pairs so the kids wouldn't fight over who inherited them when he died.

I picked the mystery tool up from the PO this morning.The jaws appear slightly different from the one I first posted in that each are cross hatched on one face and the opposite faces have a small step whereas the original one appears smooth. First 3 photos.
I'll see if the lady who owns the original can check it out.
I tried to use it as a wire stripper but all it did was tear the plastic initially. I tried a second time after slicing round the covering with a knife and it stripped it off OK.
When you squeeze the handles the jaws close at this stage the steps on the face are 10mm apart continuing to squeeze the handles forces the two closed jaws apart by 19mm.
Could this tool work as a piston ring expander? I might have to eat my words and admit that it quite feasibly could be but... why the step on only one face of each jaw, and starting at 10mm apart is that close enough to fit between the ends of a ring? Perhaps on and older engine with fairly big pistons it might.
Just previewed, sorry photos back to front order.
Cheers,
Geoff.

I still say wire stripper -- the cutter is just blunt

The jaws are closed by the handles having a wedged profile on their inside where they slide between the heads of the rivets that locate the rear end of the jaws. The first action as you squeeze the handles is to close the jaws on whatever is between them be it electrical wire, piston ring. Once the jaws have a good grip they then start to move apart.
Cheers,
Geoff.

The step makes sense for pushing open against spring pressure. (ever tried removing piston rings with just a screwdriver or two? )

10mm does seem large. Big piston? (How big would it be?)
Cheers,
Paul

images of piston ring pliers

I am thinking is they are Hose clamp pliers for the single spring wire clamps which had short stubs at right angles for pliers to grab.

Those hose clamps you talk about need to be squeezed together not apart.
The mystery tool looks like it could function as a piston ring expander but the gap is very large and it's seriously overcomplicated for the job.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

Ian, the step on one side is a bit worn but the jaws are flat, wouldn't they be curved to be effective as a wire stripper?
One of the features in favour of it being a tool for piston ring removal is being made of brass it's not going to scar the piston. I had wondered being brass if they were for work in an explosive environment but the rivets and pins are steel so probably counts that out. Paul, how I used to do it was spread the two ends of the ring with a pair of circlip pliers then slip the blade of a feeler gauge under one end and slide it around between the ring and the piston.
The type of spring hose clamp you suggested Whitey, in my mind, has crossed tails which means you can release them by compressing with an ordinary pair of pliers.
Cheers,
Geoff.

Geoff, the wire strippers I'm thinking of had two flat jaws, one of which closed before the other, and a "knife" to nick the insulation that closed just before the second jaw.
what you have looks so similar ... it's only missing the "knife"