What are these tools?

[David Jackson]

Here are some tools I can't identify. It is possible I asked about the little sort of pliers before, I think it says Lodi on them somewhere. As they are stamped steel they seem kind of cheesy, but maybe they are for some special application.
I have no idea about the second thing, I could find no maker id or number.
Ditto the third object. I snapped it next to a wooden match box so you can see its size.

DJ

 

[larry_g]

I do believe that the second tool is a ring expander for piston rings.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Provincial]

Larry is correct.

The third item looks like a sleeve to protect an oil seal when sliding it over a shaft with a keyway or splines that might damage the lip.

 

[RTM]

What is the patent date on the Lodi tool?

This is probably it, but it looks like 1884 from the pic

http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?number=526,479&type=

 

[Private Lugnutz]

LODI is indeed a Schollhorn Bernard branding name (economy line, vs. PARAGON). If you had used the search tool it would've tipped you off to our thread on that mfgr. You can use the index in the Stickie to find it. (That's not scolding; it's training. Someone will always answer questions here if they can, but if you want to be more independent, read the Stickie.)

 

[David Jackson]

Taking your comment in the spirit in which it is given, Which Stickie? I have tried to use the search about 20 times and I have never come up with anything I was searching for, from brand name to what I thought might be a key word to find a particular thread. I guess I simply have no idea how to use the search function and get results.

 

[Provincial]

The Stickie is the top (first) thread posted in the Vintage Tool Discussion Forum.
To use it, read the first post, then scroll down to the desired information. If the manufacturer is listed, click on the name. If the manufacturer is not listed, scroll back to the "Threads categorized by TYPE OF HAND TOOL" area and click on the type of tool.

The Search function of this Forum isn't very effective. That is the reason Private Lugnutz created the Stickie. It saves a lot of time.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The Index in the Stickie is a godsend, but sometimes you have to search, and I don't seem to have nearly as much trouble with the Search function as others do. For example, if you go to Search, go to Advanced Search, type in "LODI", and click only on the Vintage board right now, it will return 5 threads: this one, and 4 others, in which the term "LODI" is mentioned. One of those 4 includes the Schollhorn thread.

I have instructions for searching in the Stickie, too.

 

[David Jackson]

Well Lugz, I got that to do just what you said it would do. I will try it for some items I am seeking and see what comes up.
I did not see the particular pliers I have; maybe I need to look harder. The patent date is what RTM saw.
I don't see how the tool Larry thinks is for expanding piston rings to be a good one, the end gap is too big to even get the ring on the tool! End gap should be 6 thou, at least on motorcycle rings, at the most as I recall. The ends of that tool are far from being that close, but who knows? Maybe the handle ends can be pulled apart ... I will have to play with it a bit.
That third item ... to protect oil seals Provincial? Could be I suppose, but that's a lot of expansion of the inner lips, but maybe that's what it is.

 

[Provincial]

I have a ring expander tool that is almost identical to the one you posted. The tips of mine sit flat together when released, so either your tips have been modified or they are for a special application.

 

[ddawg16]

That first tool? Looks like a cheap *** pair of pliers

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well Lugz, I got that to do just what you said it would do. I will try it for some items I am seeking and see what comes up.

Well done. I am sure you saw that when you click on a search-returned thread, your search term will be highlighted in red inside the thread. Of course, as with any search tool, the more common the term, the more threads you're going to get back. To get the most out of this tool, you have to narrow your returns with more peculiar terms associated with the main term.

I did not see the particular pliers I have; maybe I need to look harder. The patent date is what RTM saw.

If you read the thread you will discover that the patent date (SEP 25, 1894) is on nearly every pair of pliers Schollhorn ever made. It is the first patent, for forming each half of a pair of pliers out of stamped steel and making them function as pliers with a spring and single pivot. (Schollhorn is most famous for compound pliers made the same way but with a leverage pivot, used by mechanics and sheet metal workers and especially armorers during WWII and beyond for years, inherited by Schollhorn's successor - Sargent.)

Your pliers are gas and burner pliers without cutters. I have the same pliers with side-cutters, which have a second patent date on it for the cutters. (Bernard was a genius. He invented basic cost-effective pliers and then he invented dozens of different types of jaws and punches and ticket stampers etc to add to them, which is why he had two dozen patents to his name, why many Schollhorn pliers have more than one patent date on them, and why Schollhorn was an industry to themselves for nearly 50 years.) You can see my burner pliers with side-cutters in the Schollhorn thread.

 

[David Jackson]

Here is another goodie. It is a little clamp, marked PL100 on the moveable jaw, which makes me think there must be other sizes. The screw can be adjusted to provide an "over center" feel, not unlike that provided by Vise Grip pliers. It may be a special purpose sort of tool, but I have never seen another like it.

 

[David Jackson]

Lugnutz, what are "gas and burner pliers" and what are they used for?

 

[David Jackson]

Hi Provincial, I am embarassed now by how much I have forgotten over the years since I actually rebuilt any engines. Of course it is a ring expander, I still have one outer ring for it. I have some ring compressors as well.

DJ

 

[Provincial]

Here is another goodie. It is a little clamp, marked PL100 on the moveable jaw, which makes me think there must be other sizes. The screw can be adjusted to provide an "over center" feel, not unlike that provided by Vise Grip pliers. It may be a special purpose sort of tool, but I have never seen another like it.

These "toggle" clamps are fairly common. They are used in aircraft sheet metal work, among other things. They are favored for their quick action and ease of adjustment. They are limited in clamping pressure, but work well within their limitations.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Lugnutz, what are "gas and burner pliers" and what are they used for?

It's an old term for mainly antique tools. They were used to adjust burners and remove jets on antique gas stoves and heaters. Actually, the curving serrated jaws of a standard pair of combination slip-joint pliers - making a sort of eye shape - owes its shape to oldtime gas and burner pliers.

 

[Modern Garage]

Yup, that is a piston ring expander, used for installing piston rings over the top of the piston. You're right, the jaw does seem a bit wide and likely bent by someone for a specific purpose.
Without holding it in my hand, I wonder if the "third" item is a valve stem seal installer/driver. I don't think it's a seal protector due to the knurling on the outside, but it reminds me of a tool to slip down over a valve guide to push a seal squarely into place with the step on the inside. I may be jumping to conclusion because of the presence of the piston ring tool though.

Joe