Help identifying assumed vintage tools

[cthendrico]

So I bought some vintage Lutz handles on ebay and they have weird little hollow Shafts that appear to ratchet. looks like they have some kind of spring action like a ratchet down the shafts. One has a hexagon opening and one has a'crown' end. I have spent my whole day trying to figure out what they are? Vintage gun nut drivers? Some kind of clock tool? I am going mad....so I hope you guys can take one look and tell me.

I want the handles for old files and a bird cage awl. I love the vintage Lutz handles. They feel heavier than modern reproductions. The wood feels denser? Like better wood like hickory. The metal is far better as well. But I didn't want to start yanking something valuable out of the handles before I knew what I was dealing with.

 

[cvairwerks]

The one looks like a driver for a specialized castle nut and the other looks like it takes standard hex drive bits.

 

[cthendrico]

So I bought some vintage Lutz handles on ebay and they have weird little hollow Shafts that appear to ratchet. looks like they have some kind of spring action like a ratchet down the shafts. One has a hexagon opening and one has a'crown' end. I have spent my whole day trying to figure out what they are? Vintage gun nut drivers? Some kind of clock tool? I am going mad....so I hope you guys can take one look and tell me.

I want the handles for old files and a bird cage awl. I love the vintage Lutz handles. They feel heavier than modern reproductions. The wood feels denser? Like better wood like hickory. The metal is far better as well. But I didn't want to start yanking something valuable out of the handles before I knew what I was dealing with.

I should say the smaller one fits a 3/16 hex perfectly. The bigger one with the crown I haven't found what it fits yet. There is definitely a spring in the crown one. Also the bigger one someone has etched TD-980 on the shaft. I looked around on the internet and couldn't see what that was referring to. Help!

 

[four.cycle]

There is a thing called a "Brad Driver" (aka "Nail Driver" aka "Brad Pusher") that has a "spring" action and they look similar to what you have there, but yours are a mystery to me.

 

[cthendrico]

There is a thing called a "Brad Driver" (aka "Nail Driver" aka "Brad Pusher") that has a "spring" action and they look similar to what you have there, but yours are a mystery to me.

So I looked at those brad tools and I don't think that is what it is.

The crown tool looks strangly familiar to me for some reason but I can't place from where. The mechanism is a perfect inner tube so I don't think it's a nut driver or even a bit holder - at least modern hex bits which hexagon shaped.

 

[Provincial]

The "crown" tool is built like a "dog" clutch. I have encountered a nut that was like a piece of tubing, threaded inside, and with slots cut in one end at 90-degree angles. That one was about 3" outside diameter, but a similar shape and used a wrench that engaged the same way as your driver. That nut retained a large ball bearing.

 

[larry_g]

I'm thinking the Crown one is a torque limiting driver. Used in an assembly process to click or freewheel when the torque is reached. Search out torque limiting screwdriver. The one with the etched number is probably indicative of the process it was used for or tracking and calibration. We used to have similar tools when I was in manufacturing.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[RMERR]

For the crowned one I was first thinking maybe for threaded inserts? Then spotted these "bearing nuts" on MMCarr. That tool looks like it would be perfect for them, although it's much smaller than the sizes shown here.

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