Vintage turnscrew

[sonnycrockett84]

Is anyone able to identify or have any information on this turn screw? I have never seen one so ornate. There's no manufacturer's marks anywhere. It's over a foot long. It appears to have been used very little.

 

[four.cycle]

At first glance, it's too perfect to be real.
I'm thinking "presentation piece", maybe?
Like an "Annual Award for Best Screw Turner" or something?
Maybe a salesman sample?
You see any sort of wear on the business end of the thing?

 

[RTM]

A toolmonger friend says those fancy ones are often home made, or user embellished, to the point that no references to the original maker are left.

Nice find.

 

[four.cycle]

Jeff speculated that it might be an instance of the previous owner testing his capabilities of engraving, OR possibly (as I speculated above) some sort of "presentation piece". (e.g, "Screw Turner of the Year Award")

 

[The Cobbler]

looks wood lathe toolish to me

 

[sonnycrockett84]

At first glance, it's too perfect to be real.
I'm thinking "presentation piece", maybe?
Like an "Annual Award for Best Screw Turner" or something?
Maybe a salesman sample?
You see any sort of wear on the business end of the thing?

Not really wear. I'd call it patina. It does look like it was "sharpened" after it was etched, but that may have just been the process of creating the flat.

 

[four.cycle]

looks wood lathe toolish to me

^ agreed. the handle doesn't look at all like "production screwdriver handle". (at least not to me.)

 

[RTM]

^ agreed. the handle doesn't look at all like "production screwdriver handle". (at least not to me.)

Looks like a lot of my bigger turn screws, not the little ones so much that may have been factory made. Pix later.

Edit: maybe not. Can't find my two biggest ones in the garage. Time to see if I can find pics online.

 

[bigredcornhead]

I was going to say some akin to piano tuning equipment

 

[paulsomlo]

"Bring me the royal screwdriver!"

 

[four.cycle]

Steve G. thinks "home made" as well.
Also speculated that the handle may have been re-purposed from a chisel.

 

[four.cycle]

piano tuning equipment

piano tuning wrench is just a tiny socket on a handle, generally. some are double-headed (two sockets). some use interchangeable sockets.
no idea why they call it a "Hammer"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/800303960239

 

[crguy]

looks wood lathe toolish to me

It's not.

 

[RTM]

Here is one of my big ones, front edge of the tailgate, 22” long, made from a file. Ferrule looks relatively normal for a turnscrew.




Here is a 16.5” Marples

 

[sonnycrockett84]

Is anyone able to identify or have any information on this turn screw? I have never seen one so ornate. There's no manufacturer's marks anywhere. It's over a foot long. It appears to have been used very little.

 

[sonnycrockett84]

I'm beginning to wonder if it was part of some fancy engraved firearm presentation.

 

[DocsMachine]

Firearms are generally engraved with a graver- basically tiny chisels. That piece was chemically etched, probably with ferric chloride, after being coated with a masking agent, which was then scraped away by hand, to create the pattern.

That lends credence to it being a one-off and DIY/shopmade, as anything produced in quantity would likely have been punched/stamped, not etched, and anything done professionally- as a presentation- would have been a lot more consistent and, well, professional, in the symmetry and evenness of the etching.

We could even argue that it either is, or a very close cousin to, wrought iron, as the close ups of the etching strongly suggest a 'grain' to the metal, which is characteristic of WI.

Doc.