Tool Barn Photos

[Toolgal]

It has been suggested that I post some photos of the barn where I work, so here you go. I'd also like to let you know how important the contributions you have already made are, not just to me, but to the world.

In the museum world absolute accuracy is the standard we try to hold ourselves to, that's why I am consulting my team of experts (y'all) for the names of these tools I can't ID.  Museums as a whole are one of the most trusted institutions that offer educational information, so we don't like to screw up. Identifying these tools is great fun, so is the banter about their possible uses; I can tell some of you are having a good time with it too, but I want you to know that I consider your contributions worth more than gold. Most of us museum folk consider what we do in caring for objects to be a stewardship, we are saving our history one piece at a time in order to educate future visitors. Many of us work behind the scenes conserving, stabilizing and preserving, making sure these objects last at least 500 more years. Few of us make much money (except the directors) but we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are doing important work. The things you tell me about the objects gets recorded and added to the catalog, along with measurements, lengthy descriptions, photographs, past usage, its condition with abnormalities noted, location where it came from and who it came from, and any other info we have.  I like to add reference pages, videos, and any articles that describe a similar piece. Researchers can view our objects and information online from anywhere, so the thoughts you have shared with me could have circled the globe already and be a part someone's doctorate. Yes it is a bit scary.

Here are some photos from my world.

[KLO]

what would you like to id from here?

I can name most of the bladed tools and axes from the second photo.

 

[Daswulf]

Last photo T284 "Blacksmith Tongs" could use a more defined explination of what they are for. Personally I'm not sure on those. ( someone here would surely know). One thought is sheet metal bending tongs? Or for cinching a metal band around something?

 

Thanks for the photos! Always love seeing old tools. 

[Judson Yaggy]

I've been loving the whatzit posts and will help out when I can.  Also love seeing tools preserved in a museum for posterity, but am having a hard time reconciling the 500 year hopeful estimate with the photos of peg board and pine timbers.  Both of the backer materials in the photos are moisture resivoirs (moisture is the bane of both wood and iron).  If they have been kiln dried and are in a climate controlled environment that's great but will the environment survive 500 years?  I know, I know, budget is the penultimate factor for small museums.  But some time spent thinking about the system as a whole might be worthwhile.  Budget cleaning and oiling every 6 months?

Peg board is some sort of MDO (medium density overlay) or MDF (medium density fiber) sheet particle board wood product.  There have been well documented problems with MDO and MDF off gassing formaldehyde .   Don't know how that would effect the conservation of ironwork but it might be worth looking into.

[SLAG]

A lot of historically valuable artifacts have been lost due to fire.

(this situation has been all too common for the last 2,000 years. (yes thousand)),

I hope that that building has fire suppression systems in place.  I see a lot of wood and wooden products in the photos.

Yes Mr. Yaggi,  moisture will play "hob" with iron and steel implements.

SLAG.

[SLAG]

T284 could they be a hoop tong variant?

SLAG.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

The cooper's tools in the top picture caught my eye.

 

[Toolgal]

On 7/19/2018 at 9:28 PM, Judson Yaggy said:

but am having a hard time reconciling the 500 year hopeful estimate with the photos of peg board and pine timbers.  Both of the backer materials in the photos are moisture resivoirs (moisture is the bane of both wood and iron).  If they have been kiln dried and are in a climate controlled environment that's great but will the environment survive 500 years?

I couldn't agree more about the peg board and pine, neither are known as materials that are friendly for longevity. Preservation is a delicate balance, what I weigh is the duration that the objects have been in the environment vs. how they will react to a new environment. Anything that is made of more than one material already has structural problems in a poor environment, parts of objects expand and contract at different rates so they are always in some sort of moving state. In a framed painting for example you have the canvas, the pigment, the frame, the framing hardware, all dealing with the temperature and humidity they are stored in.  I always imagine a "push me-pull you" sort of thing going on.  Of course we want to rush these objects into the perfect climate, that's in our nature, but sometimes that is exactly the wrong thing to do. My board offered to add air conditioning in the barn but I turned them down, I don't think the building would stand up to that much change.  Putting tools, let alone a building, that have somewhat acclimatized to a poor environment into a totally different one sets them up for self-destruction. Replacing the peg board is already on the list, I'm not thrilled with anything sitting on wood, so the shelves will have to be dealt with too. The main thing I can try to provide for them is stability, along with the oiling and cleaning that you mentioned,  that is an ongoing chore that I am happy to do.   If the environment doesn't last 500 years I won't be worrying about hammers and saws.

[Toolgal]

On 7/18/2018 at 10:11 AM, Daswulf said:

T284 "Blacksmith Tongs" could use a more defined explanation of what they are for.

They seem to be fairly unusual I can't find another set exactly like that one.  You're right that they are sort of like an off-set seamer, made to accurately bend metal but it doesn't seem that the bits could close forcefully enough to get a decent grip.  With that high arch just before the bits I thought they might be might be fire charging tongs to place things into a crucible, but the bits meet more like an anvil than a pincer. Another thought is that they are box jaws tongs, but again the jaws don't meet in a way that would hold things. Clearly help is needed!

Thanks very much, again.

ToolGal

Sorry, I was replying to a comment Daswulf made about a set of tongs, T284, in one of my photos.  I didn't want to leave everyone else wondering what I was talking about. 

[Toolgal]

On 7/20/2018 at 4:01 PM, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

The cooper's tools in the top picture caught my eye.

 

I'm not surprised, they are really beautiful. I had never seen cooper's tools prior to working in the barn; they are the first group of tools that sent me to YouTube to see what they were for.  

You probably know that the tool with handles in the top left of that same photo is a pit saw box.  That one had me stumped for awhile too.  Obviously it wasn't the box the pit saw came in! Once I learned how a pit saw worked it was easier to understand what it was for.  Couldn't it have just been called handle??

Live and Learn,

ToolGal

 

On 7/19/2018 at 9:48 PM, SLAG said:

A lot of historically valuable artifacts have been lost due to fire.

(this situation has been all too common for the last 2,000 years. (yes thousand)),

I hope that that building has fire suppression systems in place.  I see a lot of wood and wooden products in the photos.

Yes Mr. Yaggi,  moisture will play "hob" with iron and steel implements.

SLAG.

Fire is always always a concern, yes there is a fire suppression system in place and the fire station is less than a mile away, but that doesn't mean I breathe any easier.  Gainesville is known as the lightning capital of the country (I think every state has one of those places ). So lightning strikes are always a threat. We are currently in hurricane season until November, so for now my biggest fear is that the barn and I will get scooped up in the wind and deposited somewhere far, far away.  As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say, it's always something!

[Daswulf]

10 hours ago, Toolgal said:

but it doesn't seem that the bits could close forcefully enough to get a decent grip. 

Tong handles can be adjusted for tighter or lighter grip depending on what is needed and what is comfortable to hold.  Also specialty tongs are often purpose made for one task in one project, so it may be a one off.  Someone may be along with a better idea eventually.