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Wow! My God! Help me please! What kind of 1700s tool or machine is this?

Romak

Aluminum
Joined
Nov 2, 2011
Location
Surrey, BC
Dear machinists.

Now I am totally puzzled. I have this tool or a machine that I believe is made in the 1700s, but I do not understand what it might be used for? My friend thinks it was used to make musical instruments, but I think it is way too complicated for that. It is about 16" long. What an unusual piece of mechanical history.

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Greetings,

You'll probably get more help if you post a few good quality pictures (like the ones you've already posted), focusing on the rats nest of parts in the middle of the thing. Are there any cutting bits or points in there anywhere? What happens when you pull on the knobs?
A nice stable video where you move the rods around to show what they do, and how (or if) they interact with each other would be helpful. At this point, all I can tell you is it has hand forged parts in it, and was probably shop made. By somebody with a metal cutting lathe, and enough time to indulge themselves in a bit of decorative turning on the rods, but exactly who, when or why is unknown as yet.
Those hooks off the backside are probably a key bit of it doing whatever it was designed to do, so let's see how they move around.

Best of luck,
Brian
 
I don't know what it is but ;-

Those hooks made me think carpet ????

I'm thinking along the same lines, sort of. I think it's for weaving. Something small of course, smaller than a carpet. Like a handkerchief. The hooks grab threads on the loom and move them up or down according to the cross bars to create a pattern.
 
Romak, we enjoy these things you find, but please stop using the silly clickbait titles. The first six words of this one are useless noise.
 
Very cool, certainly looks 18th century, maybe French. I think I have seen that in Diderot but that is a few thousand plates to look at. Agree it could be for weaving.

Just did a quick look and didn’t see a good match. Damn.
 
I thinks RonS is “onto something”

It reminds me of a railroad switch & signal “interlocking machine,” sometimes just referred to as an “interlocker.”

Romak, please test this hypothesis: The in/out position of the knobs on the left determines which of the knobs on the front are free to move in/out and by how much they can move.

What was it actually used for? I like the theory that it lifts selected threads on a loom.

Best “whatsit” I’ve seen so far this year!

Happy New Year, everyone!
John Ruth
 
The knobs on the left are position controls for X movement of each of the four vertical bars.
The knobs on the bottom are position controls for Y movement of the four bars.
Each of the four bars have a worn slot at the top end.
The wear indicates a bar of some sort revolved inside the slots.
.......

the way the picture is orientated, the shafts running vertical, the tops resemble the ends of skeleton keys, My wife pointed that out to me. She has been a hand spinner of yarn for 30 years and she also owns about 6 plus looms. Some larger and some smaller. In all her weaving days she said she has never seen anything like that with relation to weaving. But then again that does not meen it is not related to weaving.
 
Thank you John!

I will try to test it somehow once I get back home. It is a very unusual tool or instrument for sure.
 
rivett608 you are absolutely right! Diderot would provide a great help if only he had an engraving of such a tool or at least a similar one :) I was also searching through his engravings.
 
kitno455, maybe the title is what you called a "silly clickbait" one and even a "useless noise", but I truly was surprised finding such a tool and I wrote exactly how I felt. I do not see anything wrong with that and I never heard any complaints from anybody else. Cheers :)
 
Wire weaving or wrapping tool..?
Fed with separate coils of wire and then overlapped and gathered at the center clamp? For bracelets etc??
Stretched and drawn down on a drawplate after braiding?
Guesswork only..
 
kitno455, maybe the title is what you called a "silly clickbait" one and even a "useless noise", but I truly was surprised finding such a tool and I wrote exactly how I felt. I do not see anything wrong with that and I never heard any complaints from anybody else. Cheers :)

It is a STUPID title. How the fuck do you archive it for the future? You have 135 posts here, have you ever read the rules? The title is how it is found in the archive. Just READ THE RULES and post accordingly.
 








 
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