A questioner said:
Black steel briefcase, with motor and some kind of infeed control. Weighs like 30 lbs and has an electrical connection.
We are asking you guys for what can it be used this one?
Some of the answers:
-could be a old key cutter but dont know for sure.
-The “yellow” tool on the top left is from a lathe.
-I think it is for re-polishing cutting tools.
The spinning wheel is a polishing disk, the hole is for a stick of polishing compound. The tool rest in the upper left comes off and slides onto the post to the right of the wheel. The adjustment is a very fine adjustment for the angle of the wheel.
-Could this be a portable lapidary tool? The small continuous duty motor, the precise positioning jig with a hole in it. The lathe tool could be for flattening the surface of the spinning disc when it gets too worn. I can’t see any other reason that the disc should spin aside from grinding, and the positioning jig only really determines the angle which the hole is presented to the disc. Stones mounted on cylindrical holders would allow faceting.
I have no idea why you’d need a portable lapidary tool. Maybe prospecting?
-the yellow thing seems to be a lathe chisel ( don’t know if this is the correct english wording) does the spinning disc have an abrasive on it like a diamond powder or something? perhaps it’s a tool for sharpening the inserts. -replied: -First thing I looked for is an abrasive material, but none found. Unless there’s a way to mount an abrasive wheel perhaps. But the spinning disc right now is slick and has no grinding feature.
-This is a cutter sharpening arrangement for a lathe or more likely a boring head of some kind, I used something very similar in an automotive machine shop to sharpen bits for a Rottler boring bar for engine blocks. – replied:
This makes perfect sense – an engine cylinder boring bar itself is portable so the sharpener would need to be too. The dial with the markings would be the precision tool setter for setting up the diameter to be bored; a range of 2.600 to 5.500 inches in thousandths of an inch in this case.
It looks like at least some of the Rottler units had a built-in diamond dressing wheel but, regardless, I think you’ve got it!
-My title describes this thing that is probably from the early 70’s. Seems to me some type of portable tool sharpener. I’ve searched google using words like vintage steel briefcase tool grinder, but no luck. Please help me identify what this thing is.
-I’m stumped on what it is, but I’m 99% sure this is not a key cutter. I believe the object to the left of the cutter holds a tube of some material (Glass? Copper? Brass?) that is rotated and cut manually and measured in the space below (looks to be down to thousandth of a centimeter maybe?). The motor and the wheel are for grinding that material down to the precise size ( round hole for insertion and a spot for cutting oil). I can’t imagine what material could be easily cut with carbide and needs to be a precise size.
-Looks like a watchmakers lathe
-I find it odd the tool rest and tool are shown parallel to the direction of travel of the “infeed” screw mechanism instead of the normal perpendicular orientation.
That said, it appears the tool rest and tool can be flipped upward so the tool is pointing straight down, putting the tool tip more or less centered on the axis of the motor. Since the workpiece would have to rotate to be machined, there would have to be a missing shaft and chuck which would have been attached to the motor shaft. This might make sense as the motor appears to be oversized if all it had to do was spin the polishing wheel, a low-torque operation.
If this is correct, then the “infeed” screw mechanism is a contraindicating detail.
Judging by the scratches in the base of the case, I think this is a standalone device and not one positioned against something else. This is further reinforced by what is presumably a hinged lid at the top of the photo.
I may send the photo to my brother, a specialty manual machinist, for his take. This kind of thing is right up his alley.
-What does turning the knob at the bottom left do? I’m assuming the dish thing at the right is powered by the motor? Does the clamp thingy with the lathe tool in it come off?
I’m not sure what the hell this thing is, but if I had to take a guess I’d assume it’s some sort of machine tool grinder. I’ve just never seen one like that before.
-I think the lathe bit and holder at top left is separate / not mechanically connected to the motorized assembly. I think the motor spins that disc and the workpiece (whatever it is) is inserted in the hole on the disc’s shroud. There’s a fine adjustment knob with gauge, perhaps it moves the shroud.
-Looks like a portable lathe of some sort. My first thought was for making old watch gears but someone said it might be for keys. This would make sense because going somewhere to make keys on the sport would be a good way to make sure it fits right away.
-This looks like the key cutter my grandparents had my grandfather was a locksmith so we have a lot of these
-I sent the above photo and a summary of previous comments to my brother, a manual machinist — a dying breed. He does work which cannot be done by CNC on gigantic valves used to regulate fluids.
He also like “old stuff”. Here is what he had to say:
As to this device, really not sure and can speculate over several possibilities but none are very sure. I strongly suspect that there is a part missing there appears to be two saddles directly in line with the motor shaft as a place to put some other part of the device. Could not have been made to cut very much or difficult material. Only crazy guess that I will put forward is some type of motor armature lathe.
The suggestion there is a missing part inline with the motor shaft is consistent with a comment I’d made previously.
-This is a horologist’s (watchmakers) lathe. -replied:-I don’t think so; it has no spindle, the tool holder is out past where the spindle would be if there was one, and there’s no Z axis. Plus the motor is connected to that little horizontal disk thingy.
I’m not sure what it is, but it’s definitely not like any lathe I’ve ever seen.
-I know it sounds dumb, but I think it‘s part of a secret navy automatic transmitter / perforated tape friction radio from 1945.
Here are the war department’s blueprints / manuals including a Destruction notice to prevent the enemy from getting it.
-That disk on the bottom right doesn’t look like it’s completely round, maybe a cam? What happens when you spin the motor?
-the 2 peg like items to the right of the belted horizontal wheel- are they removable and is the smaller ones center part like a ball joint?
-The cutter indicates this is a small, portable lathe.
-Possibly used for resurfacing early disc brakes.
Source:reddit