Weird tool of the week?

[Eric The Viking]

San Juan Capistrano is a pretty place. It's a bit sad too, as the Spanish settlers spent ages building a large church, that lasted four years then fell down in an earthquake, kiling the congregation in the process (they might have asked the natives first, but hey).

Apart from an "ancient" settlement*, it also has at least one wonderful antique/bric-a-brac shop, which, frustratingly my son and daughter-in-law only allowed us to enter 1/2 hour before closing (I think it was deliberate).

It is a bit of a tourist trap - overpriced in the main and stuff you'd regret buying the moment you got home. There were some interesting coopers' planes, with no practical modern use I can imagine, and this:

That's an ornery china door handle above, to give an idea of scale. The label helpfully said "Hand Tool" (really!).

I have a theory as to what it is, but only a guess. I really don't think it's woodworking.

Any takers?

E.

PS: I didn't buy it ($12.50 !).

*1775: USA values of ancient, obviously. http://www.missionsjc.com/

 

[mickthetree]

is it a tool for stretching something? say, skins over drums?

 

[Eric The Viking]

I wondered that.

But then I had another idea, given the location.

I genuinely don't know though - not knowingly leading anyone up the garden path.

E.

 

[AndyT]

At first, thinking you were in Cuba, I wondered if it was something to use on old 1950s wire car wheels, as some sort of combined tool to pull a bent spoke into place and then tighten the fixing in the wedge shaped slot. And I found a few images of spoke tools that sort of looked similar.

But extending that thought, that the strong hook is for wire, and that the handle & prongs could twist it, I wondered about the sort of wire-twisting tool that seals up sacks of potatoes.

But going wider still, but staying with twisting wire, an image search for 'wire twist tool' brought me this image which is of a tool for twisting fencing wire, with the same strong hook and pair of notches, though it lacks the nice handle.

The picture comes from http://www.fencingsupplies.co.uk/?page_id=535 which says it's for twisting fencing wire, so I reckon that is what your tool does.

Checking properly and finding that you were in a wine growing area, I'll stick my neck out and suggest that it could be for tightening up straining wires to support grape vines, but this is all guesswork; five minutes ago I'd never seen such a thing and had no idea at all!

 

[bugbear]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf9LYBne5Q

BugBear

 

[Eric The Viking]

Well that didn't last long, either :-(

You guys are way too good!

I did wonder about fencing wire myself. I didn't have time to do any better than a coin for scale, but the hook's about 1/4" inside. I think the handle would make it a lot more comfortable to use than the one in the video. It's hard to imagine that 100 years ago the LA basin still had swampy bits and ranches, but it did.

 

[AndyT]

Much as I enjoy this sort of mystery tool thread, (Keep 'em coming!) it might be an appropriate time to mention that the Tools and Trades History Society (TATHS) are now putting their popular "Whatsits" identification service on their website. This page has details including an email address to send fresh queries to.

http://www.taths.org.uk/tools-and-trades/queries

One to remember for when we are all truly stumped!

 

[Eric The Viking]

They should charge. A few more of these (better than my lame attempt, obviously) would have funds flooding in...

... oh and the vine wire thing might well be it. I was thinking barbed wire initially, partly because elsewhere in the shop they had one of those weird barbed wire displays that used to be in farm supplies - short lengths of about ten diferent types looking like sticks in a vase.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I'm not convinced it's a wire strainer. Bearing in mind where you found it, I think it might be a Grockle Fleecer. It's clearly a non-working one, since you didn't buy it....

 

[Eric The Viking]

Aye. I forget that I'm a grockle elsewhere in the world. There were definitely a lot of those (grockle fleecers) elsewhere in the shop - one had to be very careful.

I was quite amused by the cooper's planes. I couldn't get pictures easily, but they had one each of these:

I didn't notice on the one in the shop I visited, but the iron on the top one is skewed. i'd guess that would be essential for the job as it's almost all cross-grain work. The geometry is very impressive. Also the size of the barrel the one I saw would do, too (radius looked like about 2' !). I assume they must have come in a variety of sizes.

E.