[Q] What is this hand tool?

[Alf]

I happened to have the Buck and Hickman catalogue out, and I honestly don't think it's a scraper. Three-sided, yup. Four? Apparently not. I'd go with reamer, if pushed.

 

[lanemaux]

I would have to agree with the post that states that it is a babbitt bearing reamer (smoother, shaper ) as in an episode of woodwrights shop I saw an extremely similar weapon wielded to that purpose. The guests on that show ran a sash making shop powered by flat belts and lovely and lethal looking machines that they had restored. Part of the show dealt with restoration and maintenance featuring said reamer as well as the wickedest belt stapling device you could imagine. I guess that means my vote is in the babbitt camp.

 

[bugbear]

I happened to have the Buck and Hickman catalogue out, and I honestly don't think it's a scraper. Three-sided, yup. Four? Apparently not. I'd go with reamer, if pushed.

I've found online reference to triangular scrapers. I'm slightly confused; the "classic" bearing scraper has a smooth shaft ending in a sharpened cutting head, and you use the shaft as a handle to apply pressure and control during use.

If the whole length of the edges are sharpened, these 3 and 4 sided scrapers must be handled in a quite different way.

BugBear

 

[jasonB]

Thats why I don't think its a scraper, all the ones I have seen the flutes do not go all the way upto the handle, something like this, one hand on teh handle the other on the plain shank above the cutting edge and the tool is drawn sideways over the surface.

http://www.toolbank.com/p/C3177/FAIEHST4

The drawing you have just posted is a flat scraper where the end of the tool has the cutting edge, think of it as a chisel with a 85degree bevel. and the toop is pushed away from the user to scrape the surface.

Jason

 

[Digit]

Those are the designs with which I am also familiar. The OP's tool would be rather uncomfortable to use as a scraper actually.

Roy.

 

[kirkpoore1]

I happened to have the Buck and Hickman catalogue out, and I honestly don't think it's a scraper. Three-sided, yup. Four? Apparently not. I'd go with reamer, if pushed.

I've found online reference to triangular scrapers. I'm slightly confused; the "classic" bearing scraper has a smooth shaft ending in a sharpened cutting head, and you use the shaft as a handle to apply pressure and control during use.

If the whole length of the edges are sharpened, these 3 and 4 sided scrapers must be handled in a quite different way.

BugBear

The scraper pictured above is used to hand scrape cast iron or other machined surfaces to get them flat. It is used on areas like the ways of metal lathes, milling machine tables, or areas where machined surfaces must bolt together with a very fine tolerance. Here's a description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_scraper

Bearing scrapers used on babbitt or white metal use the same overall approach, but babbitt metal is much softer than cast iron and it doesn't take as much force, so you can scrape sideways along the curve of the bearing (as opposed to along the axis).

I still think the mystery tool is a scraper, but I don't know anything about broaches so I suppose that's a possibility.

Kirk

 

[Digit]

All the broaches that I have ever seen look rather like a square file with cutting edges one or more sides. These could be of some length and would have been used to cut key slots in such things as gear wheels.
Obviously other shapes could be cut in this way.
See here...

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source ... TQ&cad=rja

Roy.

 

[jasonB]

You are thinking of keyway broached, you can also get square and hex ones, they are driven through a hole and each tooth is a little larger than the previous so take sa small shaving off until the shape or keyway is formed.

Jewlers and cutting broaches look more like a reamer and have several flutes (must admit most are 5 not 4 flute)

http://www.hswalsh.com/Large_Clock_Broa ... 62-Z&c=703

I also thought the boat building "nails" used with the copper washers were refered to as rivits

Jason

 

[Digit]

To me they are rivets as well Jason as the end is turned over to prevent them coming loose, but boat builders call them nails in my experience.
Here in west Wales almost every coastal village once built boats, and I very much doubt that anything but hand tools were used, wooden pegs, dowels to you and me, were also used, but not at the ends of the planks as the planks could 'spring' and pull the dowel out. Hence 'sprung a leak'.
Only a screw, nut and bolt or a clenched nail would prevent that, or 'stitching' of course, but I doubt that method has been used in the UK for many many years.

Roy.

 

[Harbo]

Here's a link to a three sided scraper - it is dragged sideways across the metal to remove high spots:

http://www.hswalsh.com/Scraper_130mm_.a ... S1853&t=63


Rod

 

[jimi43]

Here's a link to a three sided scraper - it is dragged sideways across the metal to remove high spots:

http://www.hswalsh.com/Scraper_130mm_.a ... S1853&t=63


Rod

But it's not tapered as the OP one is...

ALF says reamer so it's a reamer...lady's privilege! 8)

Jim

 

[bugbear]

Here's a link to a three sided scraper - it is dragged sideways across the metal to remove high spots:

http://www.hswalsh.com/Scraper_130mm_.a ... S1853&t=63


Rod

Interesting - it appears to be a completely different beast (in everything but name) to a bearing or engineer's scraper.

BugBear

 

[Handrubbed]

bearing scraper

 

[AndyT]

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but having just posted a link to this video http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2600/2612.html in this thread on old videos, I watched it through - and at 11:10 there's a sequence showing how to use one to scrape babbit metal in a cast bearing - confirming that Wills Mill was right.