What might they bee?

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thebigron
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Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:19 pm

What might they bee?

Post by thebigron »

Attached below are a couple of photos of a pair of unknown hardened pins of some sort, they have an almost "ceramic-like" sound when clinked together. They came from my fathers shop, he was a child of the depression and threw very little away, they were just lying in a junk drawer. He was a lifetime tinkerer and worked in a machine shop for over 40 years. This makes me think they may have something to do with that area. Like I say, they are hardened and are stamped "R7 & R8" on the flat area. The 8 is a bit larger on the business end and also a bit deeper looking center drilled hole on its end compared to the 7. (That is my recent R7 and R8 marking in orange paint). He also served in the Army during WWII. I have curiously been waiting for someone to identify ever since his death in 2007. Thanks for taking the time to look.
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jcfx
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Location: NY

Re: What might they bee?

Post by jcfx »

The second picture makes me want to think they're grommet setters of some sort ?
spro
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Re: What might they bee?

Post by spro »

Or brass rivet setters ?
John Evans
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Re: What might they bee?

Post by John Evans »

Looks like roll rivet setters as used in automotive brake shoe relining. 7&8 were rivet sizes.
www.chaski.com
spro
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Re: What might they bee?

Post by spro »

John, I think you nailed it again.
thebigron
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Re: What might they bee?

Post by thebigron »

Oh, thank you John Evans; that brought back a flood of memories. I went to my junk corner in my shop and dug up a Thermoid Red Top Riviter that has been there around 10 years. My father rescued it from a automotive shop that opened in the late 30's across the road from our home. "Too good to throw away", as he said. The one setter that was in the upper holder is a bit different as you can see the "star" design. I think that on the left side hanging on a small chain was a drift that one could use to drive out the upper setter to change size. The two rivet setters I originally was asking about look as though they may not have belonged to this particular machine, but.............. as spro says you have nailed it. If we were in a bar, you all would buy no beer for the night. Thanks to one and all. The rack is of cast aluminum around 1/8" thick and how it has survived all these years is beyond me. I suppose those three large holes in the rack were there to hold the base pieces (s) that are all missing. As a kid I have pinched my fingers on this animal many a time. It never was bolted down to the concrete floor and when I was putting it in the corner and mounting a piece of osb board to help keep it more stable I noted that the three holes were full of iron/steel dust that had set up and I had to chip it out with serious punch and hammer intervention (80 years of neglect). thanks again, and now I will place it back in the corner and let the grandson's deal with it down the road.
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neanderman
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Re: What might they bee?

Post by neanderman »

Nice piece of equipment.
Ed

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Proud denizen of the former "Machine Tool Capitol of the World"
spro
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Re: What might they bee?

Post by spro »

Interesting thread with the "punch line" at the end. When I saw John's, I remembered some I have which look like gasket hole-making punches. They are semi circular in the body ( which makes sense for a punch to relieve itself ) but the one end appeared a rivet setter and the other end a location hole. You're not going to strike a setter having a locating hole, with a hammer. I didn't associate the setters and the machine together but now it has happened. The ram does end with a narrow pin which fits inside the setter. There is also a threaded collar either there or the lower base to hold different height supports.
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