Is this a railway tool, please?

[clouseau]

No big deal; just asking the experts on here for info on what it is. TYIA.

I was given this today by one of a rare breed, here in France, a guy who has a stall every Sunday at a vide greniers (car boot sale), but doesn't ask crazy prices for rust and is pleasant to deal with!

Whilst I was rummaging through a few boxes of that rust I came across this thing. He didn't know what it was, and neither did another guy who was also looking at it.

It is made by Dowidat of Germany, is 50cm long, just over 19.5 inches, but has "Ligne 3" handwritten on it which obviously translates as Line 3.

It also looks like it could have been broken in a couple of places around the business end, (didn't have my glasses with me to take a closer look), the square joint revolves around inside, but as the guy pointed out, the more you actually work in the right direction the more it tightens on itself.

Anyway, it didn't cost anything, and is no big deal. Just a rookie looking for info.

Must be millions of them around but, out of curiosity, could somebody please let me know what it is for? Otherwise I won't sleep tonight!

Thanks.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

It's a gearless ratchet/ratchet wrench.

 

[Wrenches of Death]

It's a gearless ratchet/ratchet wrench.

That looks interesting. The ring tightens in one direction and loosens in the other. Kind of like a band type oil filter wrench.

Is this a common design in Europe? I don't think I've ever seen one that operated like that before.

WoD

 

[Moose-LandTran]

That looks interesting. The ring tightens in one direction and loosens in the other. Kind of like a band type oil filter wrench.

Exactly. Like a band clutch.

Is this a common design in Europe? I don't think I've ever seen one that operated like that before.

I wouldn't say common, but they're out there. Mostly used in agriculture and industry, being very simple they're very reliable and almost totally maintenance-free. I've never seen on that wasn't German.

The square end does suggest it's for railway screws.

 

[clouseau]

wow, thank you moose.

It took a couple of minutes to sink in what you were explaining, but that makes sense.

Much appreciated.

I need to improve my lateral thinking!

 

[Moose-LandTran]

You can still get them, they're still made. Gedore do various sizes with different size interchangeable "rings" for them.

 

[Wrenches of Death]

Mostly used in agriculture and industry, being very simple they're very reliable and almost totally maintenance-free. I've never seen on that wasn't German.

Interesting, thanks!

WoD

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Gedore refer to them as "friction-type ratchets".

 

[lwlobo]

That's great, thanks for posting it up! For some reason European tools fascinate me, I've never seen anything like that in the US.

IMO, this type of thread is what makes GJ great, not endless ******* matches about HF vs SO and such, thanks again!