Tool Talk
What's-It Forum => What's-It Forum => Topic started by: Papaw on June 21, 2014, 08:37:59 AM
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In email today-
Enclosed please find some photos of a billings tool it is marked billings 13-8 made in USA I have contacted the Davistown Museum but they cant shed any light as to what this tool is or what it was used for any help from you or your readers would be appreciated live in Australia
I don't see anything on these in some cursory Googling, and checking Alloy Artifacts.
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Very interesting. With the knobs on the sides, I am going with a wire twisting tool. Even fencing, or the secure wires for concrete forms.
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I thought that too, but Google didn't get me there.
I wish the pictures had more detail.
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Since Billings also did contract production, it could be some kind of specialty wire twisting tool they produced to someone else's specifications.
The fact that one jaw appears to be intentionally much longer than the other is as unusual as the "studs" on the sides.
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Two weeks ago on the "What Is It?" Blog there was a similar pair of pliers by Pexto. With the round pieces and one long jaw. They did not find the purpose of the tool.
Go here: http://55tools.blogspot.com/2014/06/set-548.html (http://55tools.blogspot.com/2014/06/set-548.html)
Al
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On toward the bottom of the page Amecks offered were some posts about the pictured tools. One said "3204 looks a lot like roller pliers for adjusting typewriter type bars."
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The Pexto (Peck, Stow, & Wilcox) pliers appear to have the knobs or wheels free to revolve, and they have a distinctive edge profile. That suggests that the "wheels" are intended to squeeze something circular; my first guess was that it might be conduit, where you'd be locking the material into a groove on a fitting at the end by roll-crimping. (Like what a tubing cutter with a dull wheel does!) The length of the pintles supporting those wheels would set the distance from the end of the conduit. But the thread on 3204 mentioned gas pipe pliers as having similar jaws. That makes me think that they might have been used to attach gas pipe fittings, but I'm not sufficiently familiar with how such work was done to go much further. Should look though book at http://books.google.com/books/about/Catalogue_and_price_list_of_wrought_and.html?id=edoOAAAAYAAJ (http://books.google.com/books/about/Catalogue_and_price_list_of_wrought_and.html?id=edoOAAAAYAAJ) to see what's there, especially tools. I tried, but with my VERY slow Internet connection, it sits there with blank pages with tiny blue labels: "Loading . . ." (An hour and 45 minutes later: appears to have finished loading) Found "Gas Plyers [sic] on pages in the mid-50s of the catalog; then went down to the Supplement and saw Illustration #60, which shows jaws with different lengths!
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I found another PEXTO catalog with pliers on page 6 that look similar. Fender flange pliers.
http://www.faybutler.com/pdf_files/pexto.pdf
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I have had several pairs of fender flange pliers, and they do not have serrated jaws.
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The Billings 13-8 Pliers in the photos was broken and re-purposed for some utility, one jaw is completely broken off 1/2 way up its length.
The Billings 13-8 was a plumbers pliers. It had three sets of serrated jaws, and a central square notch. The notch was for turning valves on/off when valve handles were missing, the lower serrated jaws were for 1/4 and 3/8 pipe size, the larger serrated jaw fit on 1/2 and 3/4 pipe. The larger was made for 3/4 pipe and the smaller for 1/4 pipe. The neat thing about the pliers is they added a set of jaws for 1/8" pipe size. It was in the end of the pliers. I've had this for years, found it for 50 cents at a thrift store, always look for old "USA" tools. This one was so well made, it works great in tight spots, lots of leverage on the handles.
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Thanks for the info and picture Terry, what a great first post!