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I’ve had this tool (see attachment) since 1991, which I inherited from my father, a retired cabinet maker. It looks like a really handy tool. However, I haven’t been able to figure out what it is. I’ve showed it to lots of people over the past nine years and no one knows what it is. It looks like a jig of some kind, maybe for windows?? It’s well-made and he even stamped his initials on it. It is missing a scribe point that goes in the adjustable holder on one end. On the other end is a round pin maybe for registration. I looks like it’s designed to fit over a window edge or something and hinges like a door hinge. I would certainly use the heck out it if I could only figure out what to use it for. Does anyone on the planet know what this thing is?
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Replies
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johnr,
I have no idea, but I'll give you $10 for it.
:-)
Ed. Williams
*$15;-)Steve
*I think You need a hardware man. I don't think it is a tool but part of some mechanism perhaps a specialized lock. Skip
*Bet he had a great sense of humor and had that made just to drive you nuts! :)
*Johnr, You've got the only metal one I've ever seen. The really old ones were generally made from the dipthongs of cattle and didn't have a movable scribing pin.
*Johnner, it's for opening a beer bottle. All the better hotel rooms have them hanging on a string just inside the door. I've also got a contraption from outer space. It's an expensive complicated looking thingee. I'll have to dig it up and post a picture for further guessers. Joe H
*OK, OK,$16.75.........but that's my last offer. Hey, why not put it on eBay. Those people will bid on anything.Ed. Williams
*John, I had a friend of mine at SGF Hardware in Atlanta look at the item you posted. He said that he thought it was part of the locking mechanism for a center stile revolving glass door of the kind common in the 50's and 60's in department stores. He also thoughty that the JR was a coincidence and that it was most likely manufactured in Dallas Texas by Ewing Brass and Chrome Store Fronts and Revolving Doors. Unfortunately little else can be found out as EB&CSF&RD went out of business when the owner was shot and killed and left no one to continue the business. Skip
*Skip,Does this somehow tie in with the Lee Harvey Oswald/Lloyd Ruby conspiracy theory? Mystery, murder,Dallas and all. Just wondering.......John
*
Interestingly, Skip, about three months after the owner was shot and killed, he showed up again alive, and reopened EB&CSF&RD. It's gone now though.
Johnr, I might just take Ed. up on his offer if I wuz you... ;-)
Dave, in Dallas
*http://webx.taunton.com/Web?14@@.ee9b90a/7Thanks for the comments everyone. My dad did work on store and bank fixtures throughout the 40's, 50's & 60's so I think you're right, Skip.The bid stands at $16.75. Do I have another bid?No checks please.....
*... So if I understand it the appropriate question would be: "Who shot Ewing's JR?" That does have a certain 'Dallas' ring to it ...
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johnr... skip may be right.. but it looks to me like it is laying on it's side..
whatever it is .. it is designed to be used so it sits on the four dogs..
and it slips over some type of thin goods... maybe veneer.. possibly metal
the adjustment is made with the thumb knob and the hinge folds down over the material to be marked and then you strike the dull rounded dowel which makes an impression on the bottom of the thin goods..
now... why ?
did you check at the fine woodworking site ? i think this is a veneer tool of one kind or another...
*Agreed, with an added point.That thin material being marked has a built-up, bent or rolled edge. Pizza pie pan ? Vent cap ?i the adjustment is made with the thumb knob and the hinge folds down over the material to be marked and then you strike the dull rounded dowel which makes an impression on the bottom of the thin goods.. i now... why ? In the case of the vent cap... Once made, it is usualy conical in shape, not flat. Not impossible, but difficult to make quick measurements and marks on. The tool could be to make marks in the spots where the legs are to be pop-riveted or spot-welded. Stamped marks would be more enduring than a sharpie...
*Mike - I think that the dogs are intended to be pressed into some kind of track, like an aluminum extrusion channel.Jeff
*yes .. i think you're right.. but it's still lying on it's side..and it's some type of scribe for thin stock ?????
*Wasn't Oswald arrested in a movie house and then this object turns up on breaktime, coincidence? I wonder. Skip
*That's right boys,I'm from Dallas..........and I really know exacly what this thing is.......however, if I told you I'd have to kill you and start an ugly govermental cover-up AND a TV series. I'm just trying to save everybody a lot of trouble.You better just send that thing to me........I'll get rid of it in the usual manner.Ed. "Iknownothing" Williams
*Ed, remember those negatives you sent me a while back and asked me to hold for you? I was wondering if you wanted them back. To refresh your memory, I've attached one of the pics from your roll of film.Now, guys and gals, this is private between me and Ed, so don't any of you go opening this attachment.Shaken, and stirred, Mongo
*bank fixtures, now I get it...it's a jig where the pin fits into a safe door, and tapping the pin marks the appropriate location to drill in case you have to open the door after you "forgot" the combination. The thumbwheel adjusts for the appropriate setback for different models of safes.Rich.
*Stuff like that is why I keep a screen hankie handy. Spittum all over the screen. Rip snorter!! Skip
*nice pic! what kinda cam you got?
*Mongo,MY GOD WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?Oh well......at least now the truth can be told.Those are the original members of the Dead Kennedys.Ed.
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That thingy is a veneer scribe. It is used to mark the edge of a laminate that is to be butted to a laminate that is already affixed to the surface of your work. The smooth pin on the end of the hinged leaf follows the edge of the affixed laminate. The (missing) scribe point marks the loose laminate so the edges are a near-perfect fit. To use the tool you overlap the laminates and secure the loose piece so it cannot shift out of position. Slip the hinged part between the two and allow the guide to drop over the edge of the affixed piece. Swing the scribe point down onto the loose piece and follow the edge of the affixed piece to make your cut line.
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I've had this tool (see attachment) since 1991, which I inherited from my father, a retired cabinet maker. It looks like a really handy tool. However, I haven't been able to figure out what it is. I've showed it to lots of people over the past nine years and no one knows what it is. It looks like a jig of some kind, maybe for windows?? It's well-made and he even stamped his initials on it. It is missing a scribe point that goes in the adjustable holder on one end. On the other end is a round pin maybe for registration. I looks like it's designed to fit over a window edge or something and hinges like a door hinge. I would certainly use the heck out it if I could only figure out what to use it for. Does anyone on the planet know what this thing is?
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the tool is called an "underscribe" and does just that.laminate,inlaid sheet goods ,most any thin material.you can dial in a net fitwhen the "pin" lines up with the radius following the material you're working with.