A bag of old stuff.

[Lee Celtic]

A little History first..

My Great Uncle John passed away many years ago when I was young and my Uncle Pete passed to me a holdall half full of old tools that had belonged to John.. As they were spanners/wrenches and I was training to be a cabinet maker and upholsterer I wasn't in any hurry to sort them out.. jump forward a few more years and I moved to North Wales and the holdall moved with me when I emptied my shed..

Over the next twenty years the Holdall sat in the back of a cupboard in a damp corner of the garage.. until now.

I'm currently working through a refit of my workshop and found it again. The bag itself fell apart as I opened it so I emptied the contents into a plastic tray and dumped the bag. I have just started playing with electrolysis and now had a bunch of stuff to try it on. First up is a double ended ring as we call it or Box wrench as some of you guys call it. I could see very faint markings through the rust but couldn't make them out.. pics 1 and 2 show before and after results.. turned out to be a King **** spanner and though pitted still looks good.

Next up was a double open ended spanner that I couldn't see any markings on. This one I think is pretty cool and I'm trying to get more info on it see pics 3 through 7.. It turned out to be a Billings & Spencer 1116 wrench however the 1116 had an M after it indicating Metric.. I've been on several sites today and can only find them in imperial sizes.. Could it be special..?

 

[Lump]

Neat tools, Lee. I really treasure old tools that have been passed down through generations of my family members.

Wish I could offer you more specific info about these wrenches. Thanks for the pix.

 

[Lee Celtic]

So in addition to the spanners and things were two items that I know about. the first is a small pocket spirit level made by Vest.. I have used this before for leveling picture frames and short shelves.. I actually removed it from the bag when I got it and it has been sat in my tool box ever since but as the other spanners I have are still cooking I thought I'd share..




The second item was a misery to me until the internet really took off.. From what I've read it's a revolution gauge for setting spin speeds for engineers. It's a little seized at the moment so I have it soaking in penetrating oil at the moment in the hope of freeing it up. I'm not going to cook it just give it a polish up.



A couple of things waiting to get dipped and de rusted are more spanners the first has no makers mark I can see yet but is stamped 2BA the other is a small 'Snail' Brand made in England this has more markings but I can't make them out until after cleaning.

 

[Rileysan]

The second item was a misery to me until the internet really took off.. From what I've read it's a revolution gauge for setting spin speeds for engineers. It's a little seized at the moment so I have it soaking in penetrating oil at the moment in the hope of freeing it up. I'm not going to cook it just give it a polish up.

That's a fascinating tool you have there. For a moment, I thought you had discovered a second Antikythera mechanism!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

As far as the spanners/wrenches, I only recognize the King ****. The others are still interesting and I am sure many here on GJ would be happy to add to their collection in spite of the condition.

With items I am unfamiliar with, I try to search eBay for other examples first. If nothing else, it will give me an idea of value (checking sold listings only) and scarcity.

Brian

 

[WWShop]

I've never seen any tool marked USSR. Very cool and thanks for sharing.

 

[chruler]

Wow, I love seeing old tools. Had a box full of them from my grandfather some years ago. Wish I still had them.

 

[Lee Celtic]

The Spanner marked USSR was not in the old bag.. I actually bought an old VAZ2121 as I needed a gearbox for my road car.. The one I bought had been kept at a campsite near the sea about 30 miles from me and used for towing boats out and up the beach, it was rotten.. I pulled the gearbox and engine along with anything else I could sell on ebay to get some money back on the deal and found the wrench under the fuel tank.. (on the Vaz the fuel tank is inside the car and under the back seat.) guess it got lost putting the car together..

 

[Lee Celtic]

So after re wiring my lighting this weekend I grabbed another handful of stuff that used to be in the bag. to see what I had.. I found a couple more Snail brand wrenches and so more interesting bits..

Another set of Record 14" Stilsons (thats 10 sets I have now..)

A nice very large wooden handled screwdriver.

2" Mortice chisel again very large.

An old Saw setting tool.

and a strange threeway stretching tool for electrical work.



then there is this.. now I spent a little time googling like you do but I'll leave it as a whats it for now..lol



And finally in this installment a Vlchek double ring wrench made in the USA. 7/8 - 3/4

 

[woody 73]

Strange something I never have seen before a Metric B&S wrench, I had no idea they made them; I learn something new everyday.

 

[Dave455]

then there is this.. now I spent a little time googling like you do but I'll leave it as a whats it for now..lol

Well, I can"t see the exact size, but it's looking like a rifle oil bottle.

Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee Enfield (SMLE) Mk I to III to be precise, which makes it possibly First World War vintage, though some were manufactured between the wars, and they were used until after World War 2 on heavier weapons!

Loads of this stuff was sold off in the 20's and 30's (the first golden era for surplus). I've got a couple my grandfather acquired in that era, along with an ammo box he fitted out as a tool box, and quite a lot of tools!

 

[Lee Celtic]

Your right Dave455..

This one is a mk IV made by the London small arms company between 1914 and 1917 according to the stamp on the bottom.. I'm going to get my son to get a photo as he's the camera nut.. I only have the phone camera and it's not good at close stuff..