To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Whatzit? A tool found roadside thirty years ago...

4xdog

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
5,628
Location
Santa Fe, NM
I found this by the side of a road in northwest Columbus, Ohio in the early 1980s and never came up with even a ridiculous idea of what it could be.

Any thoughts? I'd love to figure out what the heck it is.

Don

i-Mp4vt2P-L.jpg


i-54wRKrj-L.jpg
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
4

4xdog

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
5,628
Location
Santa Fe, NM
Looks like it came off a boat, a removable tie up thingy ?

Good thinking. I've often wondered the same. It shows too much hand work to be any sort of high volume production tool. It's custom made in a small shop no matter what it is.

The faces inside the clamping area are smooth -- no knurling or teeth of any sort. Whatever it clamped, it wasn't designed to dig into it.
 

Big-Foot

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
1,951
Location
Midlothian, TX
It has all the appearances of a left-handed knudder valve that has been modified to fit on the right hand side. Knudder valves were a common gynecological tool back in the 40's and 50's and were commonly misused as a device to enforce abstinence or to hang your underwear from..

In other words - I don't have a clue, but neither do you!!!! LOL
 

woody 73

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
11,546
Location
The Great State Up North
Darn I just remember being on the North side of town back in 81 when my meat slicer fell off the machine and I could no longer make any cornbeef sandwiches...:lol:
Man I bet if some doctor used that on a poor women she would have fled their office in sheer terror:scared:
 
OP
4

4xdog

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
5,628
Location
Santa Fe, NM
...on the North side of town back in 81...

I found it on Sawmill Road just north of Bethel... back when those roads looked nuthin' like they do today. Given how undeveloped that area was then, it's more likely they'd belong to a veterinarian than a gynecologist!
 

neophyte

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2012
Messages
9,783
Location
Pennsylvannia
Could be for twisting something, but my vote would be for stretching something or at least keeping it taut. Just a guess but looks like it would be good for pulling leather lashings either individually or multiples strands if your making a lasso or whip. The smooth jaws would prevent marring the finished surface of the leather. The T-handle would be more comfortable for longer hours of use. I checked C.S. Osborne's website but didn't see anything resembling it.
 

Andersonfarms

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Messages
69
Location
NoDak
looks like it would be a pretty good tool to clamp off hoses on a two stroke motor for a leakdown test
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

ambenz

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
4,237
Location
NW Chicago Suburbs
I am pretty sure that is a multiple wire clamp. Used to twist multiple wires to make cable, this clamp would have a mate on the other end of the wires, allowing 2 men to twist the wires together, in opposite directions to form a cable as a guidewire for anchoring telephone poles.
And "Yes, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!"
 

woody 73

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
11,546
Location
The Great State Up North
I found it on Sawmill Road just north of Bethel... back when those roads looked nuthin' like they do today. Given how undeveloped that area was then, it's more likely they'd belong to a veterinarian than a gynecologist!

Funny thing Sawmill is so congested today with traffic it can take a long time to go from one end to the other. Also strange you can sit in traffic in the middle of the city and have farm animals walk within 20 feet of your car.
The people that reside there never complain about the smell but you should hear them complain about all the airplane noise from the OSU Airport.

But I hear you big time I remember my Father taking me to that area as a little boy, back then it was all farm land, too bad my parents never bought any land during the boom years that land was going through the roof!
 

spotco2

Well-known member
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
1,050
Location
NW Georgia
You know, back in the early 80's we were working up in that area and had a flat somewhere around Sawmill Road just north of Bethel. One of my guys dropped that out of the truck when he got out to change the tire.

We had those made for us and he ended up having to use mine the rest of the time that we were up there working.

I appreciate your taking care of it for me all these years.
 

djb2

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Messages
639
Location
Redwood forests
My first thought was a hose bib handle, for turning a square tang stem.

You pretty regularly see outside valves without handles, where they don't want random vandals to turn on the water.
 

Danglerb

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 6, 2007
Messages
9,736
Location
SoCal
All chrome or whatever it is thats shiny strikes me as important. Maybe so it could be NSF cleaned or something.

Handle shape could be pull or twist, but it looks a bit more pull than twist.

Construction seems odd, cobbled together out of some existing parts instead of a clean design. Pins too light to withstand much force, smooth faces on the clamp portion.
 

Conductor562

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Messages
2,312
Location
West "By God" Virginia
For no legitimate reason at all I get the feeling it's a medical instrument :dunno:

Edit: After looking at it again, it's definitely not a medical device. I haven't the foggiest clue.
 
Last edited:

Jbullfrog

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Jan 9, 2007
Messages
2,347
Location
Avoca, Iowa
It's one handle of a bone or horn cable saw. It holds a length of aircraft cable that is looped around a horn and pulled back and forth. It takes longer, but cauterizes as it cuts so there is less blood loss and a burner isn't needed.
 

Big-Foot

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
1,951
Location
Midlothian, TX
I found this by the side of a road in northwest Columbus, Ohio in the early 1980s and never came up with even a ridiculous idea of what it could be.

Any thoughts? I'd love to figure out what the heck it is.

Don

i-Mp4vt2P-L.jpg

So there I was sitting in the Dentist's chair this morning getting a root canal and I look up and see.......

Even the Dentist knew what I said with a mouthful of his hand and instruments...
Well son-of-a-b!tch....
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    68 KB · Views: 90

Kevin54

MEMBER EMERITUS
Joined
Jan 12, 2005
Messages
29,341
Location
Urbana, Ohio
Funny thing Sawmill is so congested today with traffic it can take a long time to go from one end to the other. Also strange you can sit in traffic in the middle of the city and have farm animals walk within 20 feet of your car.
The people that reside there never complain about the smell but you should hear them complain about all the airplane noise from the OSU Airport.

But I hear you big time I remember my Father taking me to that area as a little boy, back then it was all farm land, too bad my parents never bought any land during the boom years that land was going through the roof!

I remember back when the northeast corner of Sawmill and 161 was nothing but a field and the big controversy about developing it because of it being somewhat swampy. I think there was only one building partially completed at that time.

Now when we go over to Columbus, I tell my wife that if one doesn't go over at least weekly, you totally miss whats going on. It seems like a bridge over the highway or a huge shopping complex goes up overnight.

I've also mentioned to her that it's only a matter of time before Columbus, Dublin, and Marysville will all be one, and it's getting fairly close to that now. Last month when I went to the docs in Columbus, I came back on 33 and caught 42 going into Plain City and saw that they have now tore down Ranco. Columbus building just goes on non-stop :eyecrazy:


Oops...Didn't mean to hijack. About the tool....the square portion under the tee handle only slides back and forth just a tad because of the dowel pins in it, Correct? I have no idea what something like that would be used for with so little adjustment. And the clamp only clamps in the square portion but it's not removable. :headscrat

Just think though, that tool is over 30+ years old and no clue on it. :lol:
 

El Barto

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 21, 2011
Messages
108
Location
Southern California
Off topic: I guess a sign of getting old is that when you said that you found it 30 years ago, I was thinking you found it somtime in the 1950's.
 
OP
4

4xdog

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
5,628
Location
Santa Fe, NM
I remember back when the northeast corner of Sawmill and 161 was nothing but a field...

...the square portion under the tee handle only slides back and forth just a tad because of the dowel pins in it, Correct? I have no idea what something like that would be used for with so little adjustment. And the clamp only clamps in the square portion but it's not removable. :headscrat

Yup, that area has changed almost beyond recognition. I grew up about 50 miles east of Columbus and it used to be kind of a deal to go there -- typically for holiday shopping or a school outing to the zoo/museums. Now it's a quick drive for dinner and there's almost no open land on I-70 anymore.

Back to the tool... Yes, the block under the T-screw floats a bit and is held by two roll pins that are partially out of their holes on one side. It doesn't move much but it clearly was designed for a little wiggle.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom