Thread: What The...? Mystery Tool

Bserlee, you could well be on the money, or what about interchangeable jaws depending on what you want to hold? I took the photos of the tool along to a tool club meeting last week and one of our members thought he had seen this tool and he thought it may have been for rope splicing, a suggestion that has since been discounted.
On first looking at it your mind says pipe threading tool but that's only because of the shape. As far as I can see you've got less than 80 degrees of travel to lock the jaws onto the work piece.
Looking at the second and third photos there are three locations on the back that look like you attach a handle to turn the back section of the tool. So do you put something in the front, lock it then swage or flare the end?
I can see there is only one thing for it, hook up the caravan and head down to Bremer Bay and have a good look at it.

Geoff.

Originally Posted by Boringgeoff

. . . .So do you put something in the front, lock it then swage or flare the end? .

What about a flaring/cimping tool for gutter pipe made out of galv sheet

Geoff, I sent the pics to my sister-in-law's partner and he thinks it might be a cartridge shell reshaper.

Shot is fired, cartridge gets ejected and dumped on the ground and gets a bit dinged up so the part where the shell is crimped on get tidied up a bit.

On looking at these pics it seems to me like the 3rd one is not the same as the other 3.
The third one looks like it doesn't have the scroll but a second socket for a handle, plus the clamp arrangement is different - are you sure they are all the photos of the one tool?

I think pic 3 has the hand holding the scroll.

These look different to me.
Look closely at the handle and the clamp.

I think the smooth bit is hiding the ribs.

Regards

The second photo is top down. The 'smooth' bit is between the clamp and the round bit on the back.
I agree it is some kind of crimping/shaping tool but it wouldn't be precise enough for a fired shell tidy upper.

Originally Posted by A Duke

I think the smooth bit is hiding the ribs.

Regards

OK I get it now. So it has a lot more crimping ability than I first thought it would. It looks like it has more than enough room to crimp a small shell into its casing.

Could it be a clamping mechanism...for something like a segmented wooden wheel hub - to hold it together while a steel ring is heat shrink fitted?

I imagine originally such hubs were likely spun on a lathe from one piece of wood, for hubs on cart axles.....but if made from glued up sections....you'd need to cramp them together to fit the steel ring to one outside edge - then put the wooden spokes in and outside rim on - then heat shrink fit the inner hub ring to keep the spokes in place?

That, or speak to your local circus.

Originally Posted by BobL

OK I get it now. So it has a lot more crimping ability than I first thought it would. It looks like it has more than enough room to crimp a small shell into its casing.

Taking into account what you said and what I said, I think those 'ribs' are actually hinged arms holding the jaws.
I can't believe we're all stumped, usually by now someone who has used one would have turned up.
I still favour the foil on a bottle and/or to hold the cork while the wire is tied up.
Regards

Had another look at the pics and as Watson was always asked, "what do you deduce". Whatever was gripped was round or roundish from the indent in the rubber jaws. Going by the travel in the cams whatever gets clamped is rather narrow at full lock so ammo is starting to look good again. It may just crimp in the projectile itself. A reshaper would need a center pin to form around. I would like to see a pic of a .303 in those jaws for scale.
Anyhoo a very mystery tool indeed.
Regards
John

The rubber jaws look genuine to me. Can you take one out to show us how they are made? Do they close as a cylinder or cone?

If its for crimping wine bottles I hope they don't leak at the cork with it being clamped to the bench.


Ok from the other photo it seems there is some depth to it and the jaws can be replaced obviously pity its not in the hands so we could see some action video.


Does the museum know what it is????

I emailed the museum owner and he doesn't know what it is and is as keen as the rest of us to find an answer. I haven't seen it as the photos were sent to me by a friend.
Regarding the purpose of crimping rifle ammunition, my family had a couple of old Martini Henry rifles of, I think, .450 calibre. They had two kinds of ammo one of which was the normal drawn brass case and the other was laminated (?) made of a number of thin layers of brass crimped round the projectile. If you can imagine something like a shotgun cartridge reduced at the end to fit the bullet. Clear as mud?
The problem with that is how do you hold the projectile while your'e crimping the case? And why rubber jaws?

Geoff.