What are they?

[Stormin 9,981]

What are these used for? Steveasaurs keep stum. 

 

[squonk 41,038]

nORMSTER you found them!   I'll keep quiet too! 

[Stormin 9,981]

That means DougC may know as well. Hopefully he'll keep quite as well.

[squonk 41,038]

You forgot I  was there! That's why I have to act like an Idot so people remember I was there!  (yes I spelled it Idot  on purpose!)

Edited May 2, 2021 by squonk

[ACman 7,618]

I wasn’t there and I’m guessing something to do with pewter or lead 

[pacer 3,168]

1 hour ago, ACman said:

something to do with pewter or lead 

I'm leaning that way also. The ones on the left sure resemble body panel 'back-ups' And, back in the day before plastic fillers, lead was used in body work.

I got my first car at 15yrs old in 1955 (a 1939 Ford coupe) and I sorta taught myself using lead as filler to get some dents out and those spoon looking ones remind me of some of the ones used......

[formariz 11,987]

They are Patternmakers modeling tools. Used to smooth and or shape sand used in castings, particularly inside corners.

[Pullstart 62,803]

I was thinking something for mason work.  I guess I’m wrong though 

[Ed Kennell 38,028]

13 minutes ago, pullstart said:

I was thinking something for mason work.  I guess I’m wrong though 

Some of them could be mason joint tools.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Forming something soft, clay perhaps?  Sand casting?

Edited May 2, 2021 by DennisThornton

[formariz 11,987]

[Stormin 9,981]

58 minutes ago, formariz said:

They are Patternmakers modeling tools. Used to smooth and or shape sand used in castings, particularly inside corners.

 

Correct! Foundry pattern makers tools. I found them years ago when the company I worked for was based in an old foundry. We were demolishing some outbuilding and they were scattered about. My boss said as I'd found them, I could keep them.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Stormin

[formariz 11,987]

3 minutes ago, Stormin said:

 

Correct! Foundry pattern makers tools. I found them years ago when the company I worked for was based in an old foundry. My boss said as I'd found them, I could keep them.

That is a great find. You got a few very rare ones there. It is virtually impossible to find an entire set like that. Here they are mostly steel never really found out of brass or bronze. I have been a keen student of the Patternmaking trade most of my life. When first arrived here I lived close to a couple of foundries and used to watch them from the door all the time . They had a small shop where an elderly man worked. I used to be peeping through the window all the time. I was very familiar with wood working but this was different and fascinated me. He saw my interest and used to invite me in to the shop. Spent countless hours there watching and talking to him.

 Another gone trade. 

[roadapples 6,983]

Yup, I  worked as an apprentice molder right out of high school. Lasted about a year. Still have some of those tools...

[stevasaurus 22,711]

We had a foundry in Elgin . My Brother-in-Law used to work there for a few years.  He was a pattern maker.  They used to make brake drums for cars and trucks there...plus other things.  Right, you could use those tools for concrete, but that would be abuse.  

[pacer 3,168]

Any of youall heard of the "Dave Gingery" series of books on green sand casting at home? Bout 10-15 years ago I found them and jumped into that whole hog, loving it!! And I ended up making .... dozens of castings. I made a handful of quite difficult pieces and turned out amazingly well.

 

You find out real quick that you have to make a replica (pattern) of the piece first, mostly out of wood, before you even light the fire, and that pattern you end up with is very critical to how the casting comes out of the sand. 

 

Had a bunch of pics but lost them when photo bucket acted ugly.

[stevasaurus 22,711]

@pacer  I still wish you had those pictures.  I sure know what you mean about Photo Bucket.  Red Square still has not recovered from what they did.

 

[Mickwhitt 4,593]

So they are not carving tools for the wooden patterns, tools for forming the sand in the moulds after the pattern has been removed?

My dad worked in a foundry before becoming a miner. He taught me about casting and alloying steel. The foundry he worked in is now a housing estate!  From a thriving little industry to demolition, thanks China/India.

Mick 

[Mickwhitt 4,593]

Here are a few photos of the Wombwell foundry where both my grandad and dad worked. 

 

 

[Mickwhitt 4,593]

The last one is possibly my grandad George, the ears look just like mine, ie big lol.

He retired on Friday aged 65 and died on Monday before he could claim his pension. Poor old lad.

[c-series don 8,668]

I learned how to do casting and molding in high school. I’ve said it here before, I had the best shop teacher a kid could ask for. Still friends to this day. I’ve also wondered how come someone with a forge hasn’t tried to reproduce the factory WH wheel weights? 

[formariz 11,987]

2 hours ago, pacer said:

You find out real quick that you have to make a replica (pattern) of the piece first, mostly out of wood, before you even light the fire, and that pattern you end up with is very critical to how the casting comes out of the sand.

Patternmaking is exacting work. It is impressive specially how it used to be before the electronic age when it was done from hand made drawings. Not only the complexity of it but also the actual size of the patterns that were made by hand from blocks of wood all with mostly hand tools. Most of those hand tools were specifically designed specifically for that trade. Even the few electrical tools they used were also specifically designed for them. If you have had the opportunity to be in such a shop watching the work being done it would be something to treasure.

[Stormin 9,981]

 Under a lean to in the rear yard was a great pile of wooden patterns of different types. It was a shame that they just got burned.

[formariz 11,987]

3 hours ago, Stormin said:

 Under a lean to in the rear yard was a great pile of wooden patterns of different types. It was a shame that they just got burned.

That was indeed a shame. They sell them here at antique places to use as home decor at very high prices depending on how interesting they are.

[Handy Don 12,163]

I have a trio of my Great-grandfather's copper sheeting tools (all that my grandfather had left when I cleared his shop some years after he passed: crimping tongs, soldering iron, and a ladle). He was a "tin knocker" and then a stationary engineer for a hospital in Brooklyn, NY. 

My daughter loves the look and that they've been in the family for over 100 years so far. She's planning to mount them on a panel as a wall decoration.

My son got the five-volume Model T repair manuals!