Help identifying this gizmo, please!

[REFURBER]

This little hand-cranked disk sander was my father's. Not sure where he got it or if he ever used it, but he was an old school mechanic back when they rebuilt everything rather than replacing. He starting out maintaining generators for Bofors anti-aircraft guns in the Pacific Theater in WW2.

I *think* he might have told me (50 years ago!) that it was for dressing ignition points. The tool was old then, so I'm guessing it's close to 100 years old. The sanding disk is 2" in diameter. Only marking is "PAT PEND." The only remotely similar thing that I have found on the Internet is a piston ring grinder, but this doesn't look quite right for that task, especially with that 1/4"-thick platen and the handle location.

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Oregon Dave]

Stick a butcher knife into and between the pegs, spine down; rest it on the flat and on the bosses - cant it over to the disc and check the fit - you may have a double-angled, hand operated, rotating blade sharpener.

 

[4xdog]

Maybe it’s a pencil sharpener?

 

[Farmer J.]

It could be a saw set... Well, somebody had to say it!

 

[MShaw]

Looking at the hole in the casting perpendicular to the disc it could be for dressing the end of valve stems after refacing the valve. From the days before adjustable lifters.

 

[Old Man Roger]

It could be a saw set... Well, somebody had to say it!

That someone is supposed to be me! Bit hack.

 

[REFURBER]

Stick a butcher knife into and between the pegs, spine down; rest it on the flat and on the bosses - cant it over to the disc and check the fit - you may have a double-angled, hand operated, rotating blade sharpener.

That's a good guess...I didn't think of that. I just tried with a butcher knife and can't see how it would have functioned. Spine down puts the cutting edge too far from the disk, and spine up puts the cutting edge on the disk hold-down washer. Of course, there may well be some parts missing.

 

[REFURBER]

Maybe it’s a pencil sharpener?

Not inconceivable!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Whatever it is, it's cute as a bug's ear! Thee smallest hand grinder I have ever seen, but no stone! My first thought was to not doubt what your pop told you, but I am trying to imagine a contact point from a distributor that would fit through the opening in that guide, and the need to dress it with a grinder. As I am sure you're aware, they're pretty delicate, and any grime or small wear from the cam usually addressed in place by hand with a small ignition file or even a piece of fine sandpaper, if not just replaced. But hey, it's possible. Maybe a kind of ignition point and practice I'm not aware of. Very cool and thanks for posting.

 

[Provincial]

I suspect that there are some missing parts. The four guide pins probably located a fixture that guided the work against the disc. The hole in the front casting is another possible guide point.

After this long, it could have been adopted for a purpose far removed from its original design.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

@REFURBER
Apparently there is some real good precedence for removing the points and grinding them true in the antique era. I'm not absolutely sure the description on the first example I found (a Maclean) is your model, per se, but it seems to be describing a very similar hand-operated grinder. No illustration, unfortunately. The second is an electric motor powered upgrade from Sioux. I found ads of the Sioux showing it in the palm of a hand! I stopped looking after that, satisfied your memory of your pop's description is very trustworthy.

 

[RTM]

This might be an early patent thread to follow

US1610206A - Interrupter-point grinder - Google Patents

 

[REFURBER]

@REFURBER
Apparently there is some real good precedence for removing the points and grinding them true in the antique era. I'm not absolutely sure the description on the first example I found (a Maclean) is your model, per se, but it seems to be describing a very similar hand-operated grinder. No illustration, unfortunately. The second is an electric motor powered upgrade from Sioux. I found ads of the Sioux showing it in the palm of a hand! I stopped looking after that, satisfied your memory of your pop's description is very trustworthy.

Thank you so much for that info!

 

[REFURBER]

This might be an early patent thread to follow

US1610206A - Interrupter-point grinder - Google Patents

Thank you!

 

[Oregon Dave]

The chamfered ends on the dowel pegs, the transverse hole in the casting, the milled top on the journal; display an effort that strongly suggests ‘missing attributes’.



The precision linear shaft adjustment. It appears the crank handle also serves as the set screw for its collar; can this and the stop collar when loosened allowing enough adjustment to mate up to your ‘butcher knife’.

Puzzlement is though: mounting bolt holes rather than a clamp suggests permanence/stability over portability - paper vs stone abrasive, suggest wood rather than metal. Would work better on long rectangular work pieces - like slats for a roll top desk etc.

Fun to ponder.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On another note: Bofors anti-aircraft guns in the Pacific Theater in WW2.

My Dad operated one of these guys on the deck of a PT boat from the Solomons to the Philippines. As a retiree, he got the engines operating on a boat at Portland Oregon. A group of PT boaters operationally restored one; there is a Bofors mounted on it. If your ever in the area, it is on Swan Island and you can arrange to see it via:

Save The PT Boat, Inc.
5554 N Lagoon Ave, Portland, OR 97217
(503) 286-3083
ws: https://www.savetheptboatinc.com/About_Us.htm

Dad’s picture is among those in the Last Patrol section.

Best Regards

 

[REFURBER]

The chamfered ends on the dowel pegs, the transverse hole in the casting, the milled top on the journal; display an effort that strongly suggests ‘missing attributes’.



The precision linear shaft adjustment. It appears the crank handle also serves as the set screw for its collar; can this and the stop collar when loosened allowing enough adjustment to mate up to your ‘butcher knife’.

Puzzlement is though: mounting bolt holes rather than a clamp suggests permanence/stability over portability - paper vs stone abrasive, suggest wood rather than metal. Would work better on long rectangular work pieces - like slats for a roll top desk etc.

Fun to ponder.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On another note: Bofors anti-aircraft guns in the Pacific Theater in WW2.

My Dad operated one of these guys on the deck of a PT boat from the Solomons to the Philippines. As a retiree, he got the engines operating on a boat at Portland Oregon. A group of PT boaters operationally restored one; there is a Bofors mounted on it. If your ever in the area, it is on Swan Island and you can arrange to see it via:

Save The PT Boat, Inc.
5554 N Lagoon Ave, Portland, OR 97217
(503) 286-3083
ws: https://www.savetheptboatinc.com/About_Us.htm

Dad’s picture is among those in the Last Patrol section.

Best Regards

Thank you! Cool PT story.

My father was in the Army 102nd Antiaircraft Battalion. They were at numerous locations in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines, following immediately behind the Marines as territory and airstrips were retaken. Their Bofors were trailer-mounted.

Their insignia "The Scrapper" carries Bofors towable 40mm autocannon and M45 Quadmount .50 caliber machine gun, the Battalion's primary antiaircraft weapons. The Bofors fired 120 high-explosive rounds per minute, and the Quad .50 (nicknamed "the meat chopper") fired 2,300 rounds per minute. Wings and cloud indicate that the Battalion was air-transportable.