What is it? Set 290

Rob H. wrote,on my timestamp of 25/06/2009 6:36 PM:

I wondered the same thing - they are long 2 1/2", maybe this is normal, high heels maybe??

:)

Dennis wrote,on my timestamp of 25/06/2009 8:36 PM:

No. They hammer them in slanted, the tip comes off the side of the hoof and is then cut off. The remaining bit is filed flush with the hoof. (spent too many days of my youth watching a farrier at work...)

The tips are beveled on only one side too. When the nails are driven, that side is always toward the center of the hoof. That causes the nail to bend slightly to the outside. With a slanted start, that makes it less likely the nail will penetrate to the live tissues of the hoof and helps assure it leaves enough outside to cut off and clinch.

Farriery: A job that makes old folks out of young folks very quickly. :)

Grand father started practicing the trade in Shannonville Ontario in

Yes, I've known a few aged farriers too. Not having done a statistical study, I can't say how many reach advanced age still practicing. But I've known more who gave up the job before 40 too, usually because of injuries by fractious horses.

Most of the older ones I've known in 40+ years of being owned by horses won't work on a bad horse more than one or two times. Then they tell the owner to find somebody else or have a vet on site with tranquilizer - or carry some themselves.

My cousin and his father were race-track farriers. My uncle lasted to 45 before his back gave out. My cousin died at age 36, so we never got to see how he would hold up.

-- Ed Huntress

Grandfather moved away from the trade around 1900 to more interesting work like converting the Ford 999 from tiller steering to a more motorcycle type of "handlebar" so that Barney Oldfield would accept the challenge of driving it. Junior was amazed to discover that "It's made of wood!" when we visited the Ford museum some years ago. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

I still believe that they are tools for doing artwork on stencils for Mimeograph/Hectograph type machines. The toothed wheels draw dotted lines (and can be used to fill in texture in drawings on the stencils), while the 0.050" ball would make a large black area (or wide line) and the pointed one would make a narrow line.

Not sure about the epoxy-like material -- other than perhaps to protect the point against damage, or the user against perforation from the point. I would expect it to be stuck into an eraser instead, though the rubber of a really old eraser might turn into something which looks like epoxy over the number of years which have been involved. My work with the Memeograph/Hectograph tools was back around 1959-1960.

Enjoy, DoN.

When I was involved in a hobby shop, we brought them in as tracing tools. They could be used to trace parts on a drawing directly onto balsa wood. I think there are many other uses. I have one of the modern ones here.

Steve R.

This sounds like a tool used in sewing to transfer chalk dust to fabric by punching through a tissue paper plan.

Joe Gwinn

I haven't been able to verify any of the suggestions but I changed my answer to read:

Embossing tools, these could have been used on leather, cloth, paper or metal, to stencil, fold, transfer patterns, or create designs. They could also have been used as tracing tools and for doing artwork on stencils for Mimeograph/Hectograph type machines.

Thanks to all who replied.

Rob