Bizarre little multi wrench.

[Lettusbee]

May not be able to see in pictures, but it is engraved with "made in England".
Each wrench is marked with a number.
1 thru 8
1 = 5/32"
2 = 11/64"
3 = 13/64"
4 = 15/64"
5 = 1/4"
6 = 9/32" or .2820"
7 = 9/32" or .2865"
8 = 19/64"

There is a tiny fathead screwdriver and a 1/64" feeler gauge ad well.

I've had this for a couple of decades now. Picked it up at a flea market well before the internet was s commonly used resource.

It made less sense in metric. I just used a cheapo dial caliper and 64ths seemed to be logical.

What the heck is this thing?

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[Stuart in MN]

I would assume it was meant for tuneups - installing and adjusting points, that sort of thing.

 

[Land Rover 109]

That is a set of pocket magneto spanners, more than likely Terry brand.

Most probably marked in BA sizes, rather confusing to anyone not used to the peculiarities of British manufacturing- but just what you need if you are into old British motorcycles.

The two oddball blades, one is a flat screwdriver and the other is a spark plug gap gauge- 0.012"?

 

[Lettusbee]

That is a set of pocket magneto spanners, more than likely Terry brand.

Just did an image search on "Pocket Magneto Spanner"

Lots of images came up that are similar, and some are very near to identical.

Thank you!

 

[Land Rover 109]

Just did an image search on "Pocket Magneto Spanner"

Lots of images came up that are similar, and some are very near to identical.

Thank you!

No worries.
They still come up for sale here now and again, part of the pleasures of living in a Commonwealth country, plenty of tools from the old country still kicking around.

 

[Roberts210]

That's what I love about GJ. SOMEBODY here will know the name of every damm oddball tool in creation, where it was made and what it was used for.

 

[MattT]

Most probably marked in BA sizes,

Number sequence is backwards for the BA series. With BA the smaller the number the larger the screw.

 

[Land Rover 109]

Number sequence is backwards for the BA series. With BA the smaller the number the larger the screw.

That is true, but for some reason Terry's marked the pocket spanners 1 through 8 with 1 being the smallest.
There was a bit of a problem with BA, BSF and BSW thread pitches all being different, but similar sized nuts and bolts of each differing thread had a similar head size.
I am not 100%, but I think this is the reasoning behind the numbering of the spanners in question.

 

[4xdog]

I have one similar, but with a single pivot, given to me by Triumph (sportscar) friends. They tell me most of these things were made for motorcycle riders.

 

[Land Rover 109]

They tell me most of these things were made for motorcycle riders.

Correct, at least that was the major marketing strategy. A "pocket" tool set for a motorcycle that did not have a trunk or suchlike to carry a more proper tool kit.
That didn't stop them being used for all manner of things from electric motors to tappet spanners.......

 

[Dave455]

Yep, a pocket ignition spanner set, almost certainly made by Terry’s Tools.

I would suggest that these were made for the American market, as the smaller SAE sizes were never used in the U.K. (At least not in the automotive world).

These are quite common in the U.K. (and quite useful too) but always in BA sizes.