Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing I recently purchased....

some parts and tools from the estate of a deceased Armorer/gunsmith. I have had no problem identifying everything except two of these:





Any ideas?

Thank you,

Paul

From here? Not a clue.. Others?

No. Locally. Mostly M1, Carbine, 1911 and a smattering of 1903 and Mauser stuff with some old busted stock shotguns in the mix for flavor

Looks to be some sort of whirligig.

Dang it! I should have known that!..........

Something along the lines of a handle off an old hand bench grinder? Can't find an exact match, but lines look similar.

So the "collet" swings open to accept a rimmed cartridge, like a 45-70, then is closed and the wingnut tightens the collet onto the rim. From there, I'd be guessing along the lines of case forming or trimming. You're missing some pieces it seems to me.

A cogent appraisal...... I do accept that I offered nothing to determine the size of the thing but a .50 BMG fits it nicely (I just discovered).

Excellent analysis!!!!

I am one step closer

Making linked ammo?

Hmmm..... I don't think so.... It would be extremely tedious. But, then again, I don't know!

Seems like a carrier of some kind is needed to hold this assembly as it is turned by the handle. It could only engage this peice at the round collet to work. Why it turns it is a guess. Case trimmer seems most likely. I could picture a stand that bolts to a table that has a round hole for the collet to slide into. The cutter head assembly would be really really wild speculation, but I could do that too if you'd like!

FWIW I have seen that kind of handle in ancient shotshell loading equipment.

Man, I really need to work on my imagination..... too many years in corporate America where thinking "outside the box" was discouraged . There are two of the things in the collection of tools but nothing else that I am not already familiar with. I can always put them with the "interesting old tool" collection.
I appreciate the input.

Looks to me like a stuck cartridge removal tool

SA appears in both stamping and electro etch.

....SPRINGFIELD ARSENAL

Individually stamped like that would call out

A.) "War Emergency" production
B.) A short run of tooling

The wing screw is a barn job, it's quality not equaling the rest of the piece.

The electro etching starting SA up on the "Shellholder" end,....bet that's a "revision number",....if rev. and digits appear, bet on it.

what is the DATE below the SA line ?

GTC

The relief slot on the split 'collet' suggest a tool for rotating a pinfire shot shell.

'O0ps observation of the barn made 'wing nut' suggest a tool not for progressive reloading use if the slotted screw is original to the tool.

IF it's setup to grab the base of a .50 BMG cartridge, my guess is that tool is specific to the co-axed ".50 Spotter" that was used on some of the 90MM tank destroyers,
and recoiless guns,....that wooden handle kinda' dates it no later than WW2.

My old eyes say the date in 1943. Can't make out the rest of it.

When we make machine parts we have to stamp/engrave the print# and the detail# DET 5 = detail #5?

I bet its a crowning tool. you chuck up a masonary bit and use a rcbs case pilot. I read about it last month.