Mistery tool ( I know at least for me!!)

[orafo]

Hello everybody.....I bought long time ago a box of tools that belonged to a great engraver that used to work in US for many years....I can't figure out this little tool and its use.....I know there is somebody that will illuminate me ....Grazie mille!!!

 

[SamW]

Appears to be a sharpening fixture to me.

 

[Beathard]

I agree. For what I have no idea.

 

[Jared Eason]

I've seen something similar. It was a straight line scribe . It was made a lil different though but close

 

[Red Green]

It could be a simple depth gauge, or if it was found with a measured template it may have been used to mark increments on rules and such.

Bob

 

[orafo]

CONSOLIDATED ENGRAVERS INC 656 Broadway NY

 

[Red Green]

A company 'Consolidated Engravers' was closed in 2001 and was purchased by a NC company. It was a New Jersey based 65 year old commercial engraving and gravure printing company. Your tool looks older than that and the address is NYC. If it has a patent number you can trace it that way.

Bob

 

[JJ Roberts]

Bob's right it is a depth gauge made for a mechanist work,the engraver must have used it for inlaying.Checking the depth of the cavity before setting the gold.Ken Hurst designed one just for that purpouse. J.J.

 

[rod]

I am with Bob, and J J,

It is a depth gage/gauge. The slightly fancier ones we used in Rolls Royce had micrometer spindles, and indeed would be very useful for measuring consistent depth, when doing background relief.

Rod

 

[Steve Adams]

I have a very old Starrett depth gauge similar to this.

 

[Doc Mark]

This is an interesting tool. I too thought it was a depth gauge but if is, why in the world is the face of the tool at such a strange angle? I'm wondering if it was to either measure or perhaps even scribe undercuts. If the tool is placed on it's face then the "pointer" or scribe will be aimed at what appears to be around a 30 degree angle. This would not be correct for a standard depth gauge. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Crazy Horse]

I don't think it is a depth guage. Any depth guage would have demarcations. This item does not. Also with the base of this tool being tapered, there is no way one could get a proper depth reading as all depth guages have a flat bottom that stabelizes the tool.

Having worked as a machinist, toolmaker, and modelmaker for near 30 years I can confidently say this item is not a depth guage.

 

[Red Green]

Please ignore the rust I haven't used the tool in a minute, this is a depth gauge. The reason it has the angled grind is for minimum surface contact.

Bob

 

[Doc Mark]

Ahh! Now I get it! In the original photo, it did not look like the probe was exiting from the apex of the tool faces. I thought it was exiting from the side of one face only.

 

[rod]

Just search Google Images for "depth gage" to see many examples from older simple style all the way through micrometer to digital.

Rod

 

[Red Green]

These are the depth gauges I could put my hands on in a few minutes, I thought about digging through my tools but I think this covers the subject in reasonable depth. Indeed there are many ways to skin a cat, it depends on what purpose you wish to use the fur that counts.

Bob

 

[orafo]

Thanks everybody!!!!

 

[bigransom]

I've seen something similar. It was a straight line scribe . It was made a lil different though but close

Looks like an old edge scribe to me too.
br.

 

[scott99]

HI, I see the same tool I made for myself for comparative measurements. No, it has no markings it just will tell you if your depth of a cut is even. Normally I set the depth with gage blocks on a surface plate.Making a block stack the correct height and with the gage set on the blocks move the scribe until the scribe point contacts the surface plate.

You can them run the unit over the work and not only will it tell you where things are flat but will leave scratches where the work is too shallow. Carefully remove the scratches and you will be fairly flat.

If the work is too wide for the tool you need to make a "bridge" that will support the gage. just add the thickness of the "bridge to your gage block stack.

This tool is offset so as to make it easy to reach into corners.

I am not surprised that people do not recognize the tool from years of machine shop work. I learned about it from my Grandfather now long dead from when he used to sink dies with a die sinkers chisel. Even back then tools with measurement capacity were used as well but as a die was sunk the tool was set up and used to check things as you went along. It was fast ,easy to use, and made progress easy to see and gave a nice mark where you needed to remove a bit more metal.

Try it ,I think you will see right off how it works and where it can and canot be of use to you.

Keep in mind all the fancy tools were just a dream and if you needed tight tolerances you used calipers(not the dial ones the plain 2 legged version) set with gage blocks or snap gages set up the same way

scott99