Tool to sink ships?
William Duffield on the Cohansey
>I discovered this one at our local Maritime Museum this afternoon. The docent has no idea what it is. No one he had discussed it with had any idea what it is.
At least this one has a better chance of being a woodworking tool. It also has significant gizmosity factor. It is all ferrous metal. The cutting portion appears to be some sort of tool steel, and is still somewhat sharp. The two knobs sticking out of the sides of the collar actuate a ratchet mechanism. They can be pulled out and turned 90� individually to lock the cutter, ratchet clockwise, ratchet counterclockwise, or turn freely in both directions. The short handle opposite the cutterhead turns freely.
The collar is marked on one side "REED TOOL CO." and on the other side "ERIE PA USA"
All the other tools in the museum are most definitely connected with ship building, so I have no doubt that this one is as well, but it may of course have wider applications.
We would really appreciate it if anyone could help us out with this one.