What is it? XL

Correct, it's a pair of chain pliers.

I believe this is correct.

Correct. Looks like they've all been solved except for number 221.

Yes

Correct

Nope

Not for woodworking nor one handed machinists.

I'll try that and let you know how it works...

Yes

Posted the answers to that set last night.

I wish I did work in a museum, then I'd have even better stuff. Most of it comes from flea markets or antique shops, none from ebay as someone else suggested, but some of it does come from various sources on the web.

Rob

I'm betting that 221 is part of a saw set. But part of it's missing where it's broken.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

The Minie ball was neither mini nor a ball. It was invented by a guy named Minie, and looks pretty much like what you have. The base should be hollow.

Kevin Gallimore

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Very Good! I always enjoy your answers more than the real ones - just what the doctor ordered for Friday evening.

I don't think it's so old as to be US Civil War. In fact, the nose looks quite modern sort of wadcutter, rather than early 20th century. The base looks older. As you say, the base will tell if it's a Minie. For those who don't know, the useful feature of the Minie was that, while it was small enough to pass easily down the barrel when loaded from the muzzle, the hollow base expanded to engage the rifling, or at least seal tightly. Similar looking pistol bullets, without the deep hollow, were also made for cartridge loading. The unusual thing about this one, compared to most older wadcutters, is the straight slope of the bullet and the fact that it's set rather far in from the edge.

rgentry_at_oz_dot_net _AT_ = @, _dot_ = . to eMail

Not sure about a "Maxi" ball, but a "Minnie" (not "mini" ball is named after the inventor. A projectile used in the Civil war era to replace the previous bullets, which were round balls. The term "ball" continued for some time after that, even applying to 38 special revolver cartridges and 45 ACP cartridges during WWII. The Minnie ball (it really needs an accent somewhere which I am not prepared to add) had a hollow base. It was easily slid down on top of the power with the ramrod, and when fired, it expanded to grip the rifling more firmly.

I had already suggested a bullet with a Minnie ball as a possibility, and the way to tell is to look at the bottom. If it is flat, it was a more recent cast lead bullet. If it has a significant cavity in the base, it is more likely to be a Minnie ball, though I believe that the outer surface is normally smoothly curved, not stepped as this one is.

Enjoy, DoN.

It persists today, but refers to fully-jacketed (not hollowpoint or soft nose) ammunition, which the Minie wasn;t.

44-40 wcf, similar to Lyman #20098

Niel.

Thanks for the information, I'll have to do some research on this one. I added another photo showing the bottom, it is hollow and about 1/2" deep:

_x???MoÛ0?ïþ

Correct, it's a saw set.

It is similar to Lyman #20098 as seen on the page below, though it's not quite an exact match. I would guess that these would be solid and not hollow on the bottom.