What is this tool?

[Ramrod39]

A friend of mine's Grandpa passed away recently. He was into woodworking and metal working to a lesser degree. They found this tool in his shop. No one knows what it is.

It appears to measure the lenght of something from about 54/64" to about 60/64". The silver knob-like thing appears to be for calibration, and is marked as being 58/64".

Anybody know what this thing is for?

 

[cowboy73]

He didn't perhaps make golf clubs in his spare time also. The L for lob, S for sand and the numbers for the degree of loft?

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

It is specific to some particular object manufactured to that length, and is custom made for that, so it is pretty much unidentifiable without knowing what factory or machine shop it came out of and what they were doing at the time the tool is made...
I seems pretty damn clever to me, not just a rigid measuring box but a handmade indicator gauge that will show the variation in length directly.
Unique object related to a unique process that is probably unknown to anyone who did not work at that particular process and place!
It is an ideal tool for checking up on all the 58/64th" pieces of rod you own. Can't be too careful about details.

 

[TheGrooveking]

I may be wrong (not the 1st time and definitely not the last) but I am thinking that it is for setting the sights on gun barrels.

TheGrooveking

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

The "L" and "S" are almost certainly "Long" and "Short", and since they mark lines at edges they probably are the limits beyond which the measured part is junk.

 

[scott37300]

Does the handle pivot or is it locked in at that angle? It is deffinately for measuring the length/depth of something. By the looks of the handle I would say that you measure something on a machine or that is in place. Take the tool to the part being measured, not bring the part to the tool.

The L and S probably either mean long and short or large and small. If long and short it might be a pass/fail or go/no go gauge for something similiar in diameter to the caliberating peice you have. If large and small it might be a quick way to identify two different parts used for something.

Was there any markings on the case anywhere or the handle or tool? Like mentioned unless someone here has used this same tool or you can find a little more info to do some searching it is going to be very hard to guess what this tool is.

It looks like it was a specific tool and a specialty tool that would have been used many times a day to save time. Otherwise they would have just used a caliper to measure the object.

Hopefully someone can identify it because it sure does look interesting.

 

[speed bump]

I would bet its for doing something like checking the installed heights of dowel pins.

 

[Ramrod39]

The handle does not pivot or turn in any way. The handle is stamped "Made in the USA" and a serial or part number (8295982) is stamped on the end of the business end of the tool. There is also a part or serial number stamped on the smooth face of the silver knob or calibration tool, but I don't have that number handy right now.

 

[larry_g]

I would bet its for doing something like checking the installed heights of dowel pins.

X2 This is a specialized tool for some production work. The knob is for checking calibration as you suspected. Set it over some thing and it will tell you of it is at its 58/64" or long or short. Dowel height as mentioned is a good guess. I also suspect this thins is old as fractional measurements have not been used in a longtime.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[q miester]

that is a setting gauge used by two companies rock island arsenal and general motors corp electro-motive division. obsolete now but therehas been two orders placed recently by govt

 

[Ramrod39]

that is a setting gauge used by two companies rock island arsenal and general motors corp electro-motive division. obsolete now but therehas been two orders placed recently by govt

Used to set what? Do you have more info on the history, etc?

 

[Ramrod39]

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