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Tool ID
- Thread starter Mark Fairchild
- Start date
Interesting, I have several old flat bladed screwdrivers that look very similar! I would be surprised if it's a turning tool but hey, what do I know!
Looks like an old fashioned screw driver that someone ground to use as a chisel. Normally they start beating on the handle when they do that. Looks like yours missed that dubious fate (so far anyway)
Brent, that was my first impression. What gave me pause were the hatch marks outside the shield. Looked like the tool was ground from an old file.
Tim, that s what I thought but the fellow said it was with his old turning tools. You probably know as much or more than me on tools made in 1891!
It definitely looks like a screwdriver to me. Back in the day they used to call them Turnscrews. Lots for sale on second hand tool stores and eBay etc.
Thanks gents. That what I told the fellow when he sent me a pic. As his great grandfather was a production turner in the 1800’s he was convinced it was a turning tool. Told him I would ask the experts and the jury is in.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2004
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- 9,135
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- Location
- Lakeland, Florida
- Website
- www.hockenberywoodturning.com
It may have been. If he used faceplates they were likely attached with slot head screws.
Phillips are a 20 th century inovation
Like Brent said, it has probably been ground to make it into a turning tool.
It is a clock makers screw driver.
Definitely a turnscrew. May have been re-purposed, but that`s what it was made of. I have lots, and you can still buy new screwdrivers in the UK with flats, so you can get a wrench on them for more leverage.
Yes, screwdriver. Funny though, I once got a box of turning tools from an old timer and in it was a similar screwdriver that had been sharpened for some purpose.
I don't know what it is. But I don't think it's a screw driver though.
The old screw drivers similar to this one had oval handles for grip. This one has a turned handle with only a small flat. That flat could have been done to keep it from rolling off the work bench. The blade is only attached with a smallish diameter ferrule which likely couldn't withstand much torque..
The old screw drivers similar to this one had oval handles for grip. This one has a turned handle with only a small flat. That flat could have been done to keep it from rolling off the work bench. The blade is only attached with a smallish diameter ferrule which likely couldn't withstand much torque..
I met a guy in Venice, Italy whose lathe tools were sharpened screwdrivers. His lathe was a Dewalt electric drill clamped to the workbench and the tailstock was a nail.
Posting this for the Marples turnscrews lower right. A couple of generations on from the one in the OP. The ones on the left are part of my collection of cabinetmaker's screwdrivers,.
