July 2015 Mystery Tool A
Unidentified. Some readers have suggested this is a fishhook remover, but at 13 inches long, the piece seems oversized for such a task. Photo submitted by Doug Olson, Darlington, Wisconsin.
July 2015 Mystery Tool B
Cookie dough dropper. Identified by Harry Jones, Brookings, South Dakota; Carol Erb, Sidney, Illinois; Lorena Bowers, Harrisburg, Oregon; Charlotte Spurgeon, Cuba, Missouri; Veryle “Short” Parker, Yolo, California; Linwood Windsor, Onancock, Virginia; Doc and Sharon Harker, Kewanee, Illinois; Lavone Rosencrans, Independence, Iowa; Gilda Smith, Iowa Falls, Iowa; Jeffery W. Loope, Manlius, New York; Esther Doerksen, Burrton, Kansas; and Randy Winland, Prospect, Ohio. “It looks exactly like an item that we sold in the housewares department of our hardware store many years ago,” Harry says. “It is used to pick up portions of cookie dough and slide them off onto a cookie sheet for baking.” Photos of this item submitted by Virgil Nelson, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and Kneale Alpers, Muskegon, Michigan.
July 2015 Mystery Tool C
William Reedy, Brandon, Iowa, believes these to be two examples of an outside divider board from a Milwaukee reaper. “They are probably not from a binder,” he says, “as binders generally had wider outside divider boards, and they were usually a bit shorter.” Photo submitted by Bret Wilkins, Glenford, Ohio.
July 2015 Mystery Tool D
Unidentified. Possibly a bundler of some type. Photos submitted by Murray Carlson, Janesville, Minnesota.
July 2015 Mystery Tool E
Lasting pinchers, used in making shoes and boots. Identified by Randy Winland; Stephen Clemens, Mazeppa, Minnesota; Gary Studebaker, Larwill, Indiana; Charles Bahner, Smithton, Missouri; and John S. Rauth, Ridgely, Maryland. “Lasting pliers have serrated jaws designed to grip leather,” John says. “One or both jaws are thickened at their base to form what is known as an ‘anvil’. This anvil serves both as a fulcrum (the pliers acting as the lever) and as a hammer for driving tacks. A tack can be held in the jaws of the pliers, pushed through the upper into the last and then hammered in with the anvil.” See patent 372,246 for a similar tool. Photo submitted by Harry Patnode Jr., Marlborough, New Hampshire.
Patent 372,246: Lasting-pinchers. Patent granted to Frank W. Whitcher, Boston, Oct. 25, 1887.
Remember This?
Royce Winge, Ames, Iowa, expands on the beading implement identified in the June issue of Farm Collector. “Patents 886,394 and 1,162,871 pertain to Item A from the April 2015 issue of Farm Collector. The first patent (886,394) refers to an earlier version of Item A. U.S. Pat. May 5, 1908 is stamped on one side of the hammer head; Can. Pat. Sept. 17, 1907 is stamped on the other side. These patents were granted to George E. Morris, Regina, Saskatchewan. The second patent (1,162,871) was granted to the same person Dec. 7, 1915, when he resided in Minneapolis.
“These tools were meant to expand the boiler tubes, most likely, of stationary and traction-type steam engines, to provide a tight fit in the boiler end plates. The tool also curled or beaded the end of the tube to (guessing here) limit the sliding of the tube within the end plate with boiler temperature changes. I have no idea as to whether these tools were used in new construction or for repair and maintenance of engines, or both.”
Patent 1,162,871: Beading implement. Patent granted to George E. Morris, Minneapolis, Dec. 7, 1915.
Patent 886,394: Beading implement. Patent granted to George E. Morris, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Aug. 26, 1907.
