Hi everyone, identifying this tool is driving me nuts. I searched all over the internet and can not find anything on the patent date or the initials on it. It reads C.C.O Pat Feb. 28 1886. It measures 4" long. I hope my pictures come up I am new to the forum. Thanks in advance.

 That is a wooden butt gauge. Patent 336742. patent date is Feb 23,1886. Interesting piece. Welcome to Tool Talk.

Wow that was fast, thanks for your reply. I looked up the Patent. So I guess the C.C.O is the person who owned it not the manufacture. from the patent it looks like it was made by HENRY PLANTE and sold through THROUGH REED & AUERBACHER HARDWARE DEALERS. The patent says it is a Door Mortise Gauge. Thanks you so much for the info, and the welcome. 

Welcome gtarmkr!

Are you a luthier?

Welcome to Tool Talk!

A guitar maker at least. Must be a luthier.

Hi, yes I was. I sold my business about 10 years ago. I invented the first guitar hanger back in the 1980's. Also made guitar bodies, necks and pickguards, and sold them in different mail order catalogs like AMS,  Musicians Friend, and Stewart McDonald. It was fun, but I moved on. I got tiered of making the same thing over and over.

Put it in a nice safe place :)
Warmans Tools Field guide lists it at $258 in good+ condition.....

(Rusty didn't even realize they made butt guages out of wood, tho, it seems obvious in hindsight that they would have..)

What a pretty hunk of rosewood....

Nice old butt gage, Welcome to Tool Talk,
Aloha from Hawaii...

Quote from: rusty on September 28, 2012, 07:47:48 PM
(Rusty didn't even realize they made butt guages out of wood, tho, it seems obvious in hindsight that they would have..)

I never knew either.  Door mortise?  Somebody quickly figured out that there were a lot of mortises in a door.  This gauge only lays out the mortises for butt hinges.  Pretty quickly eclipsed by cast metal butt gauges I'd say.

Thanks RUSTY. I had a gut feeling this was rare just by looking at it. I have to get that Field Guide for future use. To bad mine is missing a chunk wood out of it. It was probably a split in the end grain and fell out a long time ago. I wish I found tool talk sooner. This is a great forum, with fast responses.

Now I am wondering when butt hinges became popular....
There is a patent (#721) for a butt hinge with a spring in it, but I suspect that is not far enough back .....

Ha, great find! I had never seen one either.

Was that you who did the first swivel hook, nail it to the wall, guitar mount??
I remember that, and it was a stroke of genius, that thing! 
   And what are you doing now gtarmkr? Got any necks left?? :)
yours Scott

Yes ScottG that was me. JT Custom Guitar Shop. I made like 10,000 of the things. Then everyone started making them. To bad I did not get a patent in every country. China was the first to rip me off. I sold everything about 10 years ago.