My Father's old toolbox - What are these?
Discussion
My sister has passed my father's old toolboxes to me.
Most stuff I know but there's some items I'm at a loss as to what they are so here's a couple of pics.
He was an Mechanical Engineer and I suspect made quite a few bespoke tools over the years, some stuff engraved with his name and a date, often 1945.

A B C
D E F
G
A - From a lathe?
B - ? Made by my father
C- as A
D - as A
E - as C
F - there's a few of these, different sizes, was thinking not splitter but missing the cutter.
G - hr little silver end spins, look like they may either carry spare somethings in the handle or a battery.

H J K
L M N P Q
H - was thinking ball joint splitter but can't see how it works (threads are knackered)
J - some sort of cutting tools but double ended and two don't actually have a cutting end (ground off?).
K - I know these so just for curiosity, Whitworth thread gauges.
L - triangular file with no teeth. Burnishing tool?
M - Router bits?
N - Hardened steel, bullet shape
P - just a piece of S/S angle?
Q - Made by my father? has his name on them.
No prizes but I'd love to find out what some of these things are.
Thanks
Most stuff I know but there's some items I'm at a loss as to what they are so here's a couple of pics.
He was an Mechanical Engineer and I suspect made quite a few bespoke tools over the years, some stuff engraved with his name and a date, often 1945.
A B C
D E F
G
A - From a lathe?
B - ? Made by my father
C- as A
D - as A
E - as C
F - there's a few of these, different sizes, was thinking not splitter but missing the cutter.
G - hr little silver end spins, look like they may either carry spare somethings in the handle or a battery.
H J K
L M N P Q
H - was thinking ball joint splitter but can't see how it works (threads are knackered)
J - some sort of cutting tools but double ended and two don't actually have a cutting end (ground off?).
K - I know these so just for curiosity, Whitworth thread gauges.
L - triangular file with no teeth. Burnishing tool?
M - Router bits?
N - Hardened steel, bullet shape
P - just a piece of S/S angle?
Q - Made by my father? has his name on them.
No prizes but I'd love to find out what some of these things are.
Thanks
Skyedriver said:
My sister has passed my father's old toolboxes to me.
Most stuff I know but there's some items I'm at a loss as to what they are so here's a couple of pics.
He was an Mechanical Engineer and I suspect made quite a few bespoke tools over the years, some stuff engraved with his name and a date, often 1945.

A B C
D E F
G
A - From a lathe?
B - ? Made by my father
C- as A
D - as A
E - as C
F - there's a few of these, different sizes, was thinking not splitter but missing the cutter.
G - hr little silver end spins, look like they may either carry spare somethings in the handle or a battery.

H J K
L M N P Q
H - was thinking ball joint splitter but can't see how it works (threads are knackered)
J - some sort of cutting tools but double ended and two don't actually have a cutting end (ground off?).
K - I know these so just for curiosity, Whitworth thread gauges.
L - triangular file with no teeth. Burnishing tool?
M - Router bits?
N - Hardened steel, bullet shape
P - just a piece of S/S angle?
Q - Made by my father? has his name on them.
No prizes but I'd love to find out what some of these things are.
Thanks
A,C, D &E are various squares, the screw bit holds a ruler with a groove down the middle, there is a peg on the end of the screw bit to clamp the ruler.Most stuff I know but there's some items I'm at a loss as to what they are so here's a couple of pics.
He was an Mechanical Engineer and I suspect made quite a few bespoke tools over the years, some stuff engraved with his name and a date, often 1945.
A B C
D E F
G
A - From a lathe?
B - ? Made by my father
C- as A
D - as A
E - as C
F - there's a few of these, different sizes, was thinking not splitter but missing the cutter.
G - hr little silver end spins, look like they may either carry spare somethings in the handle or a battery.
H J K
L M N P Q
H - was thinking ball joint splitter but can't see how it works (threads are knackered)
J - some sort of cutting tools but double ended and two don't actually have a cutting end (ground off?).
K - I know these so just for curiosity, Whitworth thread gauges.
L - triangular file with no teeth. Burnishing tool?
M - Router bits?
N - Hardened steel, bullet shape
P - just a piece of S/S angle?
Q - Made by my father? has his name on them.
No prizes but I'd love to find out what some of these things are.
Thanks
F is a 'dog' for 'turning between centres'. This is for precision turning where a chuck would not be accurately enough centred. The workpiece has a centre drilled in each end, and the lathe is set up with an accurate point (a 'centre') in the head and tailstock. There is a faceplate where the chuck would usually go, with a leg sticking out parallel to the workpiece, and the dog is bolted to the workpiece and pushes by the leg attached to the faceplate.
H is a toolmakers clamp, J are centre drills for starting an accurately centred hole and for making the centre holes for turning between centres, K is a set of thread gauges.
L is a 'scraper',used for, among other things, making a surface perfectly flat. This can be done using three flattish slabs, marker dye, the scraper and nothing else. It is an engineering fundamental.
M are tungsten carbide tool tips, and each shap has a specific holder it clamps into.
The two x shaped things are V blocks, used in pairs to hold a cylinder onto a flat surface. Your dad would have made these for an exam during his apprenticeship.
B I'm not sure. Do they have polished top and bottoms?
D is an engineer's protractor and should have a ruler, same as the squares.it can be set to any angle
J the square ended thing among the centre drills looks like a tap (for threading holes) that has been ground down to make a centre punch. The tap probably snapped!
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:19
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:23
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:30
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:34
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:36
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:40
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:43
Edited by Super Sonic on Saturday 21st March 20:56
thebraketester said:
J Center drill, apart from the one that looks like a bullet, not sure on that one.
Why would they have a cutting end at both ends rather than a square end? Just for interchangability?Edited by thebraketester on Saturday 21st March 20:32
Oh and there are two single hex sockets with a hexdrive rather than a square drive, assume they are for use with an Allen key.
Skyedriver said:
Thanks for all the rapid replies. I have the ruler with the groove, I'll experiment with it and the items
So the little V blocks are for gripping a cylinder.
Yes A is definitely something he's made himself (and over loaded and bent the studding).
I don't think them v blocks can be used for gripping a cylinder, as they haven't got the side grooves for the clamps. They can however be used on a surface plate with a dial guage for checking roundness and concentricity.So the little V blocks are for gripping a cylinder.
Yes A is definitely something he's made himself (and over loaded and bent the studding).
Skyedriver said:
Why would they have a cutting end at both ends rather than a square end? Just for interchangability?
Oh and there are two single hex sockets with a hexdrive rather than a square drive, assume they are for use with an Allen key.
The centre drills are held in a regular drill chuck that goes in the lathe tailstock. I don't think the square ended one was a drill, I think it was a tap or possibly a reamer that snapped and was repurposed.Oh and there are two single hex sockets with a hexdrive rather than a square drive, assume they are for use with an Allen key.
Skyedriver said:
thebraketester said:
J Center drill, apart from the one that looks like a bullet, not sure on that one.
Why would they have a cutting end at both ends rather than a square end? Just for interchangability?Edited by thebraketester on Saturday 21st March 20:32
Oh and there are two single hex sockets with a hexdrive rather than a square drive, assume they are for use with an Allen key.
Gassing Station | Home Mechanics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff


