Thread: Mystery Item - Help please

What issue of Woodsmith?

I have seen this before and possibly even held one but I cannot think what it is for.

Looks like a heat sink if it is made of metal - aluminium or similar.

If it is, it is bolted to some electrical component which gets hot, the fins allow air to circulate around it drawing heat away from the component and so protecting it.

I could be totally wrong but haven't seen it in any form of woodworking as some sort of tool.

From outside of the box, if it is made of plastic/nylon then possibly bolted onto something and used for some sort of handle.

Just some thoughts.

Thanks for your input to those that have taken the time to reply. I ended up solving the mystery. Apparently it is a commercially made tool for installing those brass threaded inserts into timber. You screw the insert onto the end of the thread and then push down on the tool with the insert sitting above the pre drilled hole. The spring keeps downward force on the insert while you turn the head of the bolt with a spanner from above. Keeps everything nice and square. This explains why there are two different size threads in the tool 1/4' and 5/16". I think I'll hang onto it as it might just come in handy one day.

That would make sense. Are those Nyloc nuts on the bolts?

Yep - Nuts are Nyloc. I didn't even realise the threads were different until I looked closer