Romak
Aluminum
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Location
- Surrey, BC
Does it have an engraving stating "Made in 1776" on it? Blacksmithing is a lost art, but we still have blacksmiths today. I think you are putting blinders on yourself in insisting its from the 1700's. My guess is its something from the textile or weaving industry, by changing settings it changed the pattern, who knows, you might find plans for it in a 1960 copy of Mother Earth news, it was the latest thing in Macrame.
I am not insisting. It is a fact. Museum determined its age as an 18th-century tool. That means it was made in the 1700s. At that time they never write Made in... They would simply place a yer, but in this case the tool does not have any numbers like that.
I like your guess about the weaving industry tool. That was my first guess that I am still researching. Have some scans of early knitting machines. I thought it could be a moving carriage that would be placed in a frame with rollers. The problem is that this tool does not have any clamps and its sides are not designed to be placed inside a frame or anything else. Plus, there are no marks or scratches from this tool being a part of some other machinery. It appears to be just a separate tool and not a part of anything.