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help with a whatzit *LINK*

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help with a whatzit *LINK*

#1

help with a whatzit *LINK*

walt Q

>Here's a confusing one for you..The pictures on the link are of a weird piece of handtoolery that was give to me by my most favorite flea dealers on Sunday.He had no idea what it was. Me either; I played with it for ten minutes (frozen solid-nothing turned) but figured..free is

free and I may get some use out of the thumbscrews.. When I got it back

to the shop and started to clean it up I found that it just needed a

little WD-40 and some mild persuasion to get it cranking and I think

I�ve figured out what it does..but I still don�t know what it is. When

you turn the crank clockwise the barrel rotates into the body of the

tool. The outboard arm holds a piece of tool steel and by adjusting the

depth of cut you can hand cut a thread onto a piece of wood and I�m

assuming steel also. A �hand crank� mini lathe? Anyway it worked pretty

darn good on a wood dowel I inserted in the chuck. It came with an extra

collet but the only markings on it are �BT-17�. I figure that the thread

size and pitch is dependant on the size and shape of the cutter. If I

have more time, I�ll have to experiment with it..but in the meantime has

anyone else turned up one of these? Could it be a pipe threader? or a

portable "lathe"...Or should I just scavenge the thumbscrews and knobs?

also picked up a nice heavy flywheel for a treadle lathe I've been

putting together for 1 1/2 years....just gotta wait for the right

parts.... :-)

any ideas?

walt Q


img

whatzit page

Re: help with a whatzit *LINK*

#2

Looks like some type of

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>metal working tool. The collet look like ones used in mills or lathes. I don't think it's used for threads because the cutter would have to move, or the part would have to slide in the collet. Curious...

Re: help with a whatzit *LINK*

#3

Re: Looks like some type of

walt Q

>Scott,

the whole part that holds the collets moves in and out as you turn the crank..at a controlled rate..in reverse of the direction you're cranking.....and the tool steel bit is pretty heavy duty..cuts a thread in a wooden dowel pretty quickly...I guess if I ground a straight profile on the bit it would actually smooth out a block into a dowel...then cut the threads...??? or if I grind a cove profile it could possibly cut a half-round flute in a spiral..??? but both very short...2-4 inches

many possibilities..but still don't know what it actually was made for...

walt

Re: help with a whatzit *LINK*

#4

O.K. I'm stumped...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>It would seem that it is used for making threads or something then. I don't have a clue, but what else is new;^)

Re: help with a whatzit *LINK*

#5

A mainspring winder??...

John Aniano, somewhere in NJ...

>Hi Walt, et. al.,

I'm guessing that what you may have there is a mainspring winder for clocks. Then again, maybe not. In any event, what you have looks to be pretty heavy duty...

I've seen smaller ones for watches and they have the same features as your unit. There are some of these smaller ones listed on E-bay...

Just a guess...

John

Re: help with a whatzit *LINK*

#6

Why not...........

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>take it to a machine shop and see if they can shed some light into the darkness?

Let us know when you find out.

Todd O.

👍 This page answered my questions

Your vote helps other woodworkers quickly find the answers and techniques that actually work in the shop.