Here's another of the tools that I've come across, whose purpose is a bit of a mystery to me:
Could it be a filing guide for a lathe? But it only seems to be able to do quite small diameter pieces... The rollers are about an inch long.
Any clues?
Thanks Jordan
My guess is another type of follow rest for small work. These appear to be homemade.
Jordan wrote:
Do a google search for "roller filing rest"
That ones nice, as it is adjustable.
Did the source of these tools do clock work?
Cheers Trevor Jones
Yes, there was some evidence of clockmaking amongst some of the stuff that I didn't get. It does look similar to some of the other roller filing rest pictures. The diameter is limited to about 9/16 inch, which is smallish but OK for clock parts I guess.
Thanks Jordan
Could be, but I'm inclined towards a filing guide. Either homemade by an expert, or by a small factory I'd say. The action of the moving parts is very nice - easy/firm but no play.
Cheers Jordan
Commonly used in watchmakers lathes to help control filing to a certain diameter.
Don Young
It also looks like a fancy version of a filing guide for small engine lathes. I have some English hobby books from the early part of the last century that show virtually identical designs, minus the graduated height-setting knob. Their primary use was for filing squares on the ends of round shafts.
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