What is it.... the game! Post unknown objects to ID... and to stump others!

An old french tool we saved from the landfill. We knew what it was when we saw it at the bottom of the skip. Can you guess what it's for?!

Looks like it a tool that allows grass/hay/straw to be layed down lenghtwise through the hoop and then compressed it into a tight bundle by pulling down the handle and held in place at a set point with a pin that fits into one of the holes. It is then lashed and then released to begin the next one.  
Totally pulling all of this out of my (clean) butt :)

Gerry Parent wrote:Looks like it a tool that allows grass/hay/straw to be layed down lenghtwise through the hoop and then compressed it into a tight bundle by pulling down the handle and held in place at a set point with a pin that fits into one of the holes. It is then lashed and then released to begin the next one.  
Totally pulling all of this out of my (clean) butt :)

If that isn't what it was made for, it would do that really well!

Well Gerry, I reckon you and the (clean) butt get the points for deducing the mechanics!

It's called a chevalet and it was used here in France for bundling wood for fuel. I found this webpage which shows different designs - the two sticks and a length of rope looks a lot more practical to stow away. We used to borrow a friend's to bundle hazel for firing up our bread oven and it was so much easier to compress springy twigs into a firm bundle aka a fagot (pronounced fag-oh) that would burn longer.

Jay Angler wrote:The raddle came with a heap of loom parts and some things which I don't recognize. Since you guys did so well with the raddle, do you have *any* clue what the pieces of wood in the picture below could be? There are 16, some have bolt holes, not all the same length, but seem to have pairs or 4-somes that are the same length.  

I wonder if they are the wood pieces that the harnesses rest on for a jack loom? I don't have my loom anymore so am trying to visualize and remember...seems like there were pairs of 'lifts' called 'jacks' that were positioned to raise the harnesses. They would be pulled down in the center by the 'lams' by pressing a treadle and that would raise opposite ends and lift the harness (or more than one, depending on the tie up)

The angled cuts at both ends seem odd though?  and I didn't catch how long they are? If that is what they are they would be for an eight harness jack loom and from what appears to be their length, quite a wide loom.

EDIT to add a bit more information about jack looms...

A jack is the part of the loom which is attached on a pivot and is used to raise a shaft. There are usually two jacks for each shaft. When you press on a treadle, the jack pivots, one end going down and the other up, raising a shaft. Shafts only move up and so a jack loom is sometimes called a rising shed loom. Jacks can be placed under the shafts pushing them up, or can be above the shafts on a castle pulling them up.

 https://fiberarts.org/design/articles/jackloom1.php5

I found this in the shed while looking for something else.
I'm fairly certain of what it is used for as the evidence is all over the farm.

A tine for a plow perhaps?

Interesting! I was going to guess splitting wedge, till I saw the rest of the pictures.
I look forward to learning what it is!

If you are new to our game here: we try to identify the items, person who does so gets an apple! We have fun and learn lots of weird things. If you have something odd to post, we'd love to see it!  
Some things the poster knows what it is, sometimes they are hoping we'll figure it out. It's a great game!

:D

Is the small hole near your wrist contiguous with the opening near your finger tips? If so, I'm wondering if it's from a tractor attachment for seeding - the shape makes a furrow and something feeds seeds into the small hole.

It's not likely from a spike harrow, as those usually have smaller, narrower spikes around here - but your location is identified as New Zealand, so maybe you guys use a different style of harrow.

It's from a time before tractors and hydraulics...
The small hole leads to the main chamber which exits at both sides toward the point.
I don't want to give too much away just yet.

Hmmm... I've several ideas flying around. One is something along the lines of a fence line anchor/guide, the small hole holding the guide string, the larger ones for pulling the wedge back up from the hard ground, with a hand held hook or lever, or sumpin, once the actual fence was in place.

The next idea was something of a cross between that and Pearl's thought of a splitter - for longer logs, with no mill around, for construction use.

The next was a crazy train track laying notion.

Well Pearl is right mostly.
It's for splitting long logs.
You fill the large hole with black powder smack it in thenput cannon fuse in the wee hole and gtfo of there.
It's how they split the totara trees to make fence posts and rails.
The power company recently knocked down a 100 year old tree that was apparently too close to lines so maybe I should have a play with it.

An explosive log splitter? Cool!!
:D

That is so awesome....I want one too!  Thanks for posting that Drew!

My husband wants one! He just doesn't know it, yet! Lol!

I want to see video of it!
That's a neat idea.
And I'm wondering how to make one... :D

I agree, good one, Drew!

Yes Drew ; Have a play with that old tree (please don't get hurt) and video it for us!  I want to see it work!  That thing is cool!  I can envision large cedar logs just popping in half!
Let me know Pearl when your in production, I want one too!

Can anyone guess what this is? Its a tool I made for the moment to solve a problem that I was having.

OK, you wanted a threaded fastener to be operated by a ratchet drive. You had a tight corner and didn't have a hex-headed bolt the right size? You wanted a threaded hole in a tight corner?
There are times I *really* wish you guys would put rulers beside stuff to give a little scale!!!

Ruler in next photo....note taken Jay.

The bolt by itself was about 5" long - not really that important to guessing what it is as the bolt could really have been any length.  

Your comment "didn't have a hex-headed bolt the right size" was close but not quite.

OK... so if we change what Jay said to: didn't have a torx-headed socket the right size, then it may help to identify why this 'tool' was needed.

Gerry Parent wrote:OK... so if we change what Jay said to: didn't have a torx-headed socket the right size, then it may help to identify why this 'tool' was needed.

OK, torx are more modern - so I'm thinking vehicle/machinery? You'd drive that screw in, take the ratchet off and just leave your 'adapted screw' in place? It looks a little rusty, so that tells me it's the original screw that you need to put back somewhere and ideally might want to be able to get back out again at some point without major hassle.

As to *what* that specific application is, Pearl might know, but I'm totally clueless. I'm happy I got as far as I did with figuring out what you were up to.

Your sniffing in the correct direction Jay! Indeed this screw came from our pickup truck and the rust plays an important role in providing another clue as to why it was needed.
I must also say that this tool was a one way ticket, no going back to its original form unless there is a magician in the house?

I would say the screw was stuck and stripped out so you welded the socket type hexdriver to the screw so that you could removed the screw.

Hooray to Tim! That's exactly what happened. Give a man a welder, perseverance and look out bolt !
Still looking for that magician to show up though :)

Gerry Parent wrote:Hooray to Tim! That's exactly what happened. Give a man a welder, perseverance and look out bolt !
Still looking for that magician to show up though :)

... and the guts to risk welding on a truck - glad you didn't blow yourself up!

Fortunately Jay, the bolt was one of the 10 holding the pickup bed down so no places where the sparks could have caused a problem.
Besides, I always saw B.A. Baracus from the A Team welding cars all the time so figured I was safe....besides, TV would never lie. Right?  

source

As a final chapter to this saga, the magician did show up after all and had an idea to boot. Since the torx head is all buggered up, what if I ground off the weld to remove the hex socket bit, then grind the edges of the bolt head to accommodate a 1 1/16" socket head? It worked! I am now back to having 10 bolts holding down the truck bed.

This is a feature on an item which is very common and I'm sure pretty much everyone here owns. I have never seen this particular incarnation before, and no one at the auction house seemed to have, either. It is quite ingenious, in my opinion. I have seen more modern versions, and thought it was a modern invention, but this patent apparently dates back to 1927! It appears to me to be a better design than the modern versions I have seen.

The picture's a little fuzzy - would it give away too much if there was something for scale??? Or is there a back side we could see?

My first thought is that it's part of the belt buckle or strap adjusting gizmo where the small ball traps something under pressure, but releases easily when needed.

Jay Angler wrote:The picture's a little fuzzy - would it give away too much if there was something for scale??? Or is there a back side we could see?

My first thought is that it's part of the belt buckle or strap adjusting gizmo where the small ball traps something under pressure, but releases easily when needed.

Yes, I had to zoom way in and crop the picture to keep from revealing easily identifiable features. The length of the "T" is 1", the width is 1/2", and the steel balls are 1/4" in diameter. The entire item can be picked up with one hand. I will add that the balls are spring-loaded, and you are on the right track that they are meant to easily capture/release another item.

Jordan Holland wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:The picture's a little fuzzy - would it give away too much if there was something for scale??? Or is there a back side we could see?

My first thought is that it's part of the belt buckle or strap adjusting gizmo where the small ball traps something under pressure, but releases easily when needed.

Yes, I had to zoom way in and crop the picture to keep from revealing easily identifiable features. The length of the "T" is 1", the width is 1/2", and the steel balls are 1/4" in diameter. The entire item can be picked up with one hand. I will add that the balls are spring-loaded, and you are on the right track that they are meant to easily capture/release another item.

We don't normally go to lengths to try to thwart the guesses, lol!

Carla Burke wrote:

We don't normally go to lengths to try to thwart the guesses, lol!

I would have thought that would make it too easy on this, but we can see. Here you can see it's on a claw hammer.

Yes - the common "nail puller" end on a hammer frequently mangles the head of the nail, as all the pressure goes there. It looks as if the spring action ball would lock onto the shaft of the nail, putting more of the force there and allowing the nail to be removed with less damage. That would have been valuable in the 1920's when nails were worth something - or at least the expression a "dime a dozen" actually had value, rather than implying no value!

Apple for Jay Angler :D

Jay Angler wrote:Yes - the common "nail puller" end on a hammer frequently mangles the head of the nail, as all the pressure goes there. It looks as if the spring action ball would lock onto the shaft of the nail, putting more of the force there and allowing the nail to be removed with less damage. That would have been valuable in the 1920's when nails were worth something - or at least the expression a "dime a dozen" actually had value, rather than implying no value!

Good try, but not quite the right line of thinking...

Too funny! Sadly, I know several people who, shown that wider angle, would STILL not know that was the head of a hammer, or have a clue what the claw end is for. Granted, they're not likely to be permies, and they're very intelligent, in *other* ways,  but. Yup.

Ok, so my guess would have been pretty close to Jay's, on the specific purpose of the notch. Are you ready to share that? Or are we going to give some others a chance to guess?

Keeping the nail captured as you near the end of the pull, so it doesn't go flying and get lost in the tall grass?

Jay Angler wrote:Keeping the nail captured as you near the end of the pull, so it doesn't go flying and get lost in the tall grass?

Nope! You have to be a bit of a backward thinking person to get this one. I just got done hanging it. I'm going to oil the handle and may try a demonstration later.

Holding the nail for the first whack?