Ya can't judge a book by its cover
#21
The 'dumbell' tools could be used to push in leather filets but were more likely used to press and form wax fillets. Wax would be warmed over an alcohol burner to semi-melt point and it would adhere in the corner when burnished by the tool. Wax fillets came in different sizs and the different-sized balls were used to make various diameters. I think the diameter of the fillet was determined by pattern size and casting material.
Mike
Chapel Hill NC
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#22
That's very cool. Amazing precision. Great find. Do you need to remove the center section to get at the stuff in the side sections?

Steve
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#23
Hi Steve, I do need to remove the center section to access the trays in the side sections. Both side sections just have lids on the top so you could put the most used tools there. The precision in this thing is pretty cool. I laugh every time I put the center section back in and get the "Whoosh" of air coming out of the seams.
Currently a smarta$$ but hoping to one day graduate to wisea$$
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#24
DaveParkis said:


I got a call yesterday from a guy looking to sell his father's tool chest and tools. He'd placed an ad on CL and the pictures didn't look too inviting. When I got there, I saw this

I have to admit, I was more than a little discouraged.




My tool chest doesn't look much better than that and it contains some serious tools. Bickford H&R's, full set. Old Street Tools bench planes, full set. Etc.
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#25
DaveParkis said:


Oh, there were also these other things in there and if someone could tell me what they are, I'd appreciate it.





Duh. Those are Blacky's Boy's (punctuation?) missing mojo.
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#26
I can buy that explanation. I suppose the metal could be heated as well to help form the wax.

My Patternmaking reference is dated 1920 and does not mention wax fillets, so was that technology later than 1920?

In the chapter on leather fillets, the "barbells" appear to be wood.
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#27
I have used those type of tools for making wax fillets for fiberglas molds. A little modern for the age of the box but.....
Jim
http://ancorayachtservice.com/ home of the Chain Leg Vise.
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#28
WJB said:


I can buy that explanation. I suppose the metal could be heated as well to help form the wax.

My Patternmaking reference is dated 1920 and does not mention wax fillets, so was that technology later than 1920?

In the chapter on leather fillets, the "barbells" appear to be wood.




According to Kindt-Collins 1981 catalog they are Steel Fillet Tools: "designed for installing wax and leather fillets."

Kindt-Colins had 4 sizes in their catalog. Each end had a different radius starting at 1/16" and increasing by 1/16" increments untill you hit the 1/2" which was mated with a 5/8"
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#29
This would have been 70's and early 80's. Dad was a pattern maker and I grew up at his elbow at the bench. He used both leather and wax fillets, I think the choice driven by expected usage of the pattern (high vs low volume production) and if the fillet was itself on a radius. Remember, patterns were often complex forms and intersecting surfaces, especially when the draft for verticals was factored in. Leather might be difficult to form and likely more expensive than wax
Mike
Chapel Hill NC
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#30
I don't go shopping for tools much, but I've started looking for boxes that look like that because often they are much fancier inside. Unfortunately, the ones that I've found so far are either not old toolboxes, or they have been gutted and abused. I don't need any more hopeless projects. I suspect the ugliness of the outside was intentional or simply couldn't be avoided
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