Mystery tool

pic 2

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Here I removed a piece that is shaped like a wedge and is set in grooves in the side of the box like a plane wedge.Also a square piece held horizontally by two uprights that slide in grooves.

pic 3

Jack Guzman from Maine

>This slotted metal plate is an even bigger mystery to me.

and finally...

Jack Guzman from Maine

>The reason I took this picture was to show the pins that project below the bottom of the box. My guess is that these are to give the box a grip on a bench. Anyone ever seen one of these before? Or maybe it's a one of a kind jig built to suit one person's needs.Thanks for listening.---Jack

Re: and finally...

Tom Sontag - St. Louis

>This may be on eof those unsolvable mysteries. For a while there I was thinking it might be some kind of large plane for timber frmaing or something, but the pieced together sides seem much more casual than that. They suggest some kind of bizarre jig that I cannot imagine.

Re: Mystery tool

Warren in Lancaster, PA

>I think this is a miter box with some attachments. If you try to miter some rather thin material, 1/8X1/2 cock beading for example,it is hard to miter in the box because it flaps back and forth with the saw. I usually use a chisel to miter stuff like this. With this box you could lay the flat side on the slanted chute and saw vertically across the width of the cock bead. The little board that rides in grooves may be to help hold small moldings or thin stuff that could be pinched between it and the board below.

I remember seeing somewhere...

James Watriss

>I remember seeing an old miter box that had the ends cut off at a 45. The theory, as I read in this particular book, was that after the board had been cut, it would be wedged into the end, to then be tuned to a perfect 45 with a handplane. Wooden miter boxes being what they are, no doubt this was a necessity. But one of the problems is that sometimes the mitered ends would get planed a bit, and they'd wander from the 45.

Here, 2 boards slide in, at mitered angles, so instead of tuning the end of the box, you only need to make sure the top is square. Maybe this is for a similar purpose, only with bigger boards?

Re: pic 3

Patrick Gibbons, Houston

>The slotted metal plate seems to me to be a way to store the fixture, hanging it on the wall. If it's purpose is to fix the jig either on a wall or on the bench to make accessible an aspect of the jig then there should be the corresponding hanger on his bench or on a wall of his shop. This jig is very intriguing to me. It seems to be a thoughtful and well made mitering jig. What kind of work did the craftsman engage in specifically? That would give some clues on what all was done with it. The wedge seems to be a donkey's ear of some sort. It would be fun to have some drawings of the piece to be able to make it and explore its uses.

Re: Mystery tool

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>I'll make a guess about the projection on the far side (in the first picture) of the miter box: It's to help keep the blade perpendicular when you are starting a crosscut, since it is easier to start with the blade tilted. At that point, you don't have the advantage of being able to engage the saw in both kerfs on both fences. Whether that is the front or the back of the box I guess depends on whether you are cutting with a pull saw or a push saw.

Re: pic 3

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I will be back there soon so I will take some measurements and a few more pictures if necessary.---Jack