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Mystery Tools???

Featured Replies

So I found these at my local antique mall, any idea what these are?

 

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One is for grabbing a bull nose the other one is for flaring or crimping tubing

Not sure about the second one, but the first one is a tool for holding cattle or horses, it fits in the nose.

 

Geoff

Greetings Red,

 

The second one is a line mans electrical terminal crimper...  I have a few of them and they are very handy at the forge for holding on to flower and leaf stems ....  Don't give the first on to your girlfriend.. LOL

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

  • Author

thanks guys Im thinking about picking up the terminal crimpers i think they only wanted $12 for them... It would be a nice unique tool, you never know when you will need one.

  • 2 weeks later...

Gotta say I don't know that I've ever seen anything like those used for crimping by lineman.  I'm a Journeyman Electrician not a lineman and I certainly don't mean to assume I've seen it all.  I did notice that the tool is double jointed and sports a profile on the opposite sides that appears to coincide with both jaws making a series of round holes.

 

The gap between points as it's sitting now looks a lot like packing crate staples.

 

The locking ring on the handle seems more in line with a tool intended to clamp and hold stock.  To that end it occurred to me that it might be useful as a nail header, a pipe flaring tool, and a staple bender.

 

Another option that comes to mind is that the two grooves might be to clamp wires prior to twisting them.  The locking handle might be helpful in that respect.  I kinda wonder if it's intended for wire fencing where such operations would be frequent.

Rock star, the AT&T splice is better for fence work, it certainly looks like a crimper to me, but it's probably older than I am, so experience of us "young folks could be limited.

Greetings all,

 

If you look close you will find marked graduations for gages.   Kind of useless for modern crimp style electrical connections but still make a fine tong for flower stems..  IMO 

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

Looks like it might be handy for crimping loop sleeves on smaller wire rope. I've no clue what it's proper use is.

Jim,

 

I can't see those markings on my monitor but I'll take your word for it.  Are there markings on both the single hole and the duplex ones?  Do they say AWG?  I really wish I could see it better - you've got me curious for sure!

 

Maybe I'm just getting stuck on a detail but the locking loop on it strikes me as an indicator of a different purpose.  It took extra work to make that loop so they must have had a reason.

 

Every crimping tool I've ever used was designed to magnify force on the crimping surface then get out of the way. There's never a time I can think of where you'd want to crimp and hold like a clamp.  I can imagine however that this could be useful as a heat sink when soldering.

 

I'd like to know more about these tools.

Greetings Rockstar / Redbeard,

 

If you google antique linemans tools you will find examples..   Also some on EBay..   Take a look

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

I have a pair of crimpers like the ones on the right. I was going to try using them for rounding leather lace. Found mine at a garage sale for a couple of bucks.

The nose pullers could be modified for another application, unless they are cast iron.

  • 4 weeks later...

I believe its one of these. I have a small modern pair.

 

They lock to let the stress of the bent metal relax before you let go.

 

You can use them for rope or wire rope. Slide back the cover of a guy wire from a telephone pole and usually you will see one of the crimps.

 

 

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The first one is used to hold a bovine by the nose. 

  • 3 weeks later...

 

Charles R. Stevens

Posted 25 February 2014 - 07:12 PM

Rock star, the AT&T splice is better for fence work, it certainly looks like a crimper to me, but it's probably older than I am, so experience of us "young folks could be limited.

 

By AT&T splice, do you mean something like this ?

 

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If so, that is more accurately titled a "Western Union Splice" as it originated in repairing the single conductor telegraph lines way back before AT&T was imagined.

 

Kinda, LR, hold the two conductors in the middle, bend one 90 degree and rap it round the other, repeat on the other side. Strain will pull the two to gether instead of apart. Not the pretreat job, but it shows it. Works on mutable strands as well. Just rap around the bundle and keep breaking out a new wire till you run out of wire. The last pic is a loop,and not a splice but it should give you the idea.

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  • 3 months later...

So I found these at my local antique mall, any idea what these are?

I have seen the ball nose tongs in use on a line of cows that my Grandpa was giving pills to back in my misspent youth. They are very effective. 

The first one is a self help tool for bill collecting and the second one is a nicropress.  Versions of nicropresses are used for electrical wire, marine rigging wire and for fence wire splicing.  In regards to barbed wire be very careful putting too much of a load on the pressed splices, my learned that the hard way.

The second probably has threading inserts in the other side.

One configuration for crimping, the other for rethreading a cut off screw.

Maybe?????

  • 2 weeks later...

I use a pair of those bull tongs to keep my wife in line.... That second tool looks like a nut cracker, she has one of those to keep ME in line...

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