Mystery Tools July 2022

Mystery tools and implements that confound us from the genius of pioneer inventors.

By The Farm Collector Staff
Updated on May 23, 2022
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Mystery tool A

Countless contraptions that revolutionized farming in the 19th and early 20th centuries have become contemporary curiosities, or even mysteries. Here are six sent in by readers. Do you know what they are?

Answers to the July 2022 items will appear in the September 2022 issue.


A. The U of this shackle-like tool is about 5-1/2 inches long overall and 2-3/4 inches wide at the threaded end. The wrench-like end of the threaded piece is 3/4-inch and that whole part is about 4-3/4 inches long overall. There is a small hole above the center tang. The end of the tang looks like it might have been broken off a long time ago. The only marking is on the tang and is hard to read: looks like 2835 or 2885. The bolt part is actually a wrench too.

Clevis for wooden beam walking plow. Designed for vertical adjustment. Identified by Waldo Bryce Lambeth, Winston-Salem, N.C.; P.T. Rathbone, Marsing, Idaho; Carl Manuel, Weimar, Texas; Charlie Green, Webster, Fla.; Timothy Potaczek, Cornell, Wis.; Nick Caldiero, Afton, N.Y. (who suspects the item’s manufacturer was Eberhard Mfg. Co.); Richard Bader, Middletown, N.Y.; John S. Rauth, Ridgely, Md.; and Harold Kaufman, Porterfield, Wis. Photo submitted by Edward Gilman, Oro Valley, Ariz.

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