Mystery objects. All three are of (at least) dual purpose, and they all three have something in common.
I'm sure that Crowbard will have a fair idea of what they are, but I shall be pleasantly surprised if even he will be able to specify their full purposes accurately.
10 comments:
Something to do with casting musket balls or similar?
Top two are bullet-moulds, the half-moon in the smaller one's handle is a sprue-trimmer, not sure about the gouge at right-angles to the handle tip - looks like a scraper for cleaning a small bore or large touch-hole perhaps? Bottom item is perhaps for napping flint cum screw-driver for dismantling the side-plates & gun-lock...
or they may all be naval chirurgeon's surgical & dental implements!
You are quite right, Sir B. The two top items are bullet moulds for casting ball; the bigger one casting a medium size ball for a military pistol, the smaller would cast a small ball, probably for a muff pistol, I should think.
Crowbard, I had forgotten to count in the sprue cutting device with which many ball moulds are made. This means that the middle device serves FOUR purposes.
Oh someone has beaten me to it:)
That is very annoying Pat. I'm sure your answers would have been the right ones!!!
They are grampling irons for tadgering a whittleo in the style of Rambling Sid Rumpo.
Me deario.
Only joking! Of course they are the tools required to operate the new Facebook version of Scrabble.
I believe your first definition Rog. Especially when compared to your second suggestion. The only tool that might help with the new version of Scrabble on facebook would be a battleaxe applied to a sensitive part of the anatomy of the idiot who reorganised it.
I don't think that would help much, but I needed a rant about it.
Here are the answers which, no doubt, Pat was about to give, in her comment above, when she realised that someone had beaten her to it:- The top item is a bullet mould for casting round lead balls for a flintlock pistol. If you look at the left of this item the hole is visible through which molten lead could be poured into the spherical mould inside. If you look at the shape of the mould on the left of the picture you will see that the head of the tool is decidedly hammer shaped so that the tool could be used as a small hammer to tap back the edge of a blunt flint, which would resharpen it.
The middle tool is also a bullet mould to cast balls for a very small bored pistol. It also has a device behind the head of the mould to trim the lead sprue from a cast ball and leave it completely round. If you look at the right hand end of the tool, you will see that the nearer arm is shaped so that it can be used as a turnscrew, and the other arm has a tapered square projection would have been to fit into the muzzle of a small screw barrelled pistol to unscrew it or to tighten it up. So this one is four tools in one.
As is the next tool, which has a screwdriver to the left, and is also a small hammer for reshaping blunt flints. the hammer head then tapers to a stout spike which would have been used to tighten or loosen the jaws holding the flint. The spike has also been case hardened so that it can be used as a fire steel to throw sparks to light tinder.
The connexion between the three tools is that they are all accessories for early guns.
You are, of course, quite right Pat. I couldn't have put it better meself.
I enjoy these mystery item posts - keep them coming!
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