Thread: Small W&C WYNN dividers

These were in a box of tools that came with a little 6" lathe that must not be named. They were pretty rusty and looked old, but something about them caught my eye.
After a little cleaning I can read W & C WYNN. You can see how small they are in my hand. Google says W&C WYNN is an old toolmaker from Birmingham England. I know nothing about old machinist tools. What would these be used for? They are thick and rugged for being so small. They look hand forged, yes? Any guess on age? They have a look that is older than I'm used to.
I buy a few old machines and very often boxes of old tools and tooling come with them. I've often wondered how many rare gems are in old boxes that I just stuff in my barn.
Every once in a while something catches my eye and I clean a little more and look a little closer.

Maynah,

It would be interesting to see a side view with the legs closed. Do they close up parallel, or is one of the legs bent?

Agreed that they look old, like 1800's old. The thickness might be because they are made of wrought iron, which is pretty soft.

JRR

Maynah ,
Thanks for showing us your dividers .
I was wondering if they may be a fair bit shorter than they were originally since if they had been used for scribing circles for a long period of time they may have been repointed several times resulting in their stubby appearance ?
Maybe some of the U.K. posters will add something more .
Until then here are a couple of places I looked .
W. C. Wynn and Co
Birmingham. History and general directory of the borough of Birmingham, with the remainder of the parish of Aston ... being part of a general history and directory of the county of Warwick .. : White, Francis, & Co : Free Download & Streaming : Inter
Birmingham. History and general directory of the borough of Birmingham, with the remainder of the parish of Aston ... being part of a general history and directory of the county of Warwick ..
Regards ,
Jim

W.C. Wynn was around for almost all of the 19th century, the company was started by their father making belt buckles in the late 18th C. It was bought out by Timmins in the late 19th C. They list in their 1810 price list they made these in 5" size and larger..... it may be they made them smaller a bit later. They also made about 4 different styles of heads on their dividers. If you do care to own these I would be interested in some sort of a trade or sale. I have a friend in the UK and she might need a cute gift of these since she collects W. C. Wynn stuff.....

Here is a picture with the legs pushed together about as hard as I want to push them. They have been well used and they have been sharpened a few times.
The last time not that long ago as they are still a little shiney at the points. Maybe they were 5"s when new. They are about 3 3/16" now. One of the legs is bent. They've had a hard life
doing what they were made to do.

Thanks for the links and input.