The tool pictured below came in a box of random tooling I just bought recently (for its  excellent selection of Starrett dividers and calipers). I’m planning to sell it to help offset the cost, but I need to know what it is first! The tool is about 7-1/2” long when completely stretched out, and the round pieces on the end are 1/2” in diameter.

It was suggested elsewhere that it might be part of the base for a dial indicator, but I’m open to other suggestions.

Click on photos to enlarge.

 

 

The proper name escapes me at the moment, but the solid cylinder goes into the collet or chuck of a milling machine, or drill press,for example, and a test indicator into the bored cylinder end.  then the machine spindle is rotated as the indicator tip is in contact with the table, thereby "tramming" the angular relationship between spindle and table.  Many other uses.....

No coffee yet, but definitely a test indicator attachment.

Robert Taylor

Thanks, Robert. Let me know if the name comes back to you; I plan to list it on eBay, and I want it to be properly searchable. 

Search images:  Axial test indicator support.

Robert Taylor

Yeah, that's the closest I've been able to find, although all those seem to be round rather than square. Well, I'll put it up on eBay and see what happens.

Thanks for your help!

That one is a unique, one-off, custom crafted tool......

That one looks like a homebuilt, not a factory item.

I think so too, but it’s definitely well-crafted.   

I think that one may be old. I remember one similar to that one in my grandfathers tool box that he used with a dial indicator to check main bearing journals.

That's just a homemade widget holder. Like someone above said, probably an indicator holder to tram a mil. Don't get your hopes up it might be worth a few dollars to someone, however if you need to tram in a mill you can make your on indicator holder really fast. So what you got there is a fancy piece of scrap if you don't have a mill honestly.

Thanks, setlab. We shall see. Frankly, anything I manage to get for it -- even if it's only a couple of bucks -- is more than I would have had before. I'll see if it sells at my asking price; if not, I'll put it on auction.