Posted 10 years ago
Craigc
(1 item)
My father in-law picked this up from a neighbor that was throwing it away.
I have no history on it and there are no manufacturers markings.
The item is about 15" long, 8 1/2" wide and about 11" high. The brass disc is about 7 1/4" in diameter and turns freely. There are lots of indentations on the disc and there is a series of numbers in one area. There are many adjustable parts on it. The base looks to be steel or cast and most of the rest is brass.
I would guess, for making music disks for "music boxes". Very interesting piece.
This is a wheel cutting engine used by watch and clock makers. It is used to cut gears. The index plate, with all the holes, is used to divide a circle into so many teeth on the gear. It could be used today, but also has collector value for clock tool collectors. It takes many expensive cutters to use it.
Would never, ever have guessed that slackjack! The size would have prevented my thoughts in that direction. They say, "You learn something new everyday" & I'm up to at least 10 today. Thanks.
Thanks for the info slackjack. We have had some fun having people guess its purpose but its satisfying to know what it really is used for. Thanks again.