A friend showed me these, I have no clue, do you?



IMG_20121227_135232_752 by skipskip, on Flickr

 My first guess was "Mill Bill's" for dressing mill (grain) wheels but the traditional english mill bill does't have eyes .   I found some photo's of both types on google images (Dressing flour milling stones) which confirms my guess, but I couldn't get the url's to work!?
Graeme

Whoa!  A whole new field of learning!

thanks

trying again to post the links.
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1229&bih=597&tbm=isch&tbnid=Qup7IBS79TnZSM:&imgrefurl=http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php%3Ft%3D5020&docid=v1DBMQb583uK4M&imgurl=http://www.pashnit.com/forum/attachment.php%253Fattachmentid%253D19771%2526d%253D1141575099&w=800&h=600&ei=ytvcUMuhDqeSiQfj24CgBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=2&vpy=70&dur=1018&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=79&ty=75&sig=111483174571860924298&page=4&tbnh=130&tbnw=160&start=79&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:79,s:0,i:327
and again
http://www.google.com.au/imgres?start=107&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1229&bih=597&tbm=isch&tbnid=Epw6TdHu770XgM:&imgrefurl=http://kghaak.com/Services.html&docid=lGwbj3l_c0SE2M&imgurl=http://kghaak.com/images/Kellen.Milling.01.jpg&w=345&h=234&ei=rvDcUI-eGIb0mAWH34DwCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=453&vpy=102&dur=8237&hovh=185&hovw=273&tx=141&ty=107&sig=111483174571860924298&page=5&tbnh=137&tbnw=193&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:31,s:100,i:97


Graeme

Find the image you want and right click on it
click media and copy the IMG code
in your post here, click on the Image icon and paste your image code between the brackets

Thanks for that Papaw, there's much I don't know about computer stuff!
Re stone workers tools, someone here posted this great link some time ago. http://www.trowandholden.com/index.php
They make old and modern style stone working tools , the second video clip on hammers  is very good. It is easy to confuse blacksmith and stone working tools particularly hammers, especially when battered and rusty!
Graeme

They are also called mill picks.  There is also an eyeless variation that is held in the handle/head with a wedge.

Mill bills or thrifts are generally much thicker and heavier, those in the UK being held into a wooden handle with a wedge - mason's scutch (scotch) hammers are similar, but much lighter in construction. However in France eyed bill hammers are to be found, so I guess they may have come to the USA with the French immigrants of Louisiana etc.

Having said that, these look far more like the mosaic cutters hammers - still used in the factories of Morocco and other North African countries, but I guess also common throughout the world where mosaic floors and wall decorations were made. (I guess the original design was Roman, and changed little over 2000 plus years...) The modern form is heavier and has a more rounded head, but those seen in Morocco are almost identical to those above...

Size and weight will be a determining factor as to which type they actually are...

See also: http://outils-anciens.xooit.fr/t313-les-marteaux.htm (page 3)

Billman thank you for the link to that French forum,there is a lot of interesting stuff on there! Is there an easy way to get it translated or have I just got be satisfied with the pictures?
Graeme

Outils Ancien is a good forum, but only available in French. I used to post there, but in English. I asked, and the response was that they don't have any plans to do an English version.

Here is their New Year greeting by Email-

QuoteBonjour à tous,

J'espère que 2013 sera pour tous une bonne et même une excellente année.
Pour ce voyage dans l'inconnu et malgré des vents contraires, nous avons la chance de posséder un atout non négligeable : Une Passion ! Celle des outils anciens et de l'art populaire. Je ne dis pas qu'elle suffira pour éviter tous les écueils que nous ne manquerons pas de rencontrer mais elle nous y aidera, c'est incontestable !
Ce forum est un lien entre membres de bonne volonté et c'est un réel bonheur de se retrouver ici où là, au gré de nos recherches...
Bonne et heureuse année à vous et vos familles, à tous ceux que vous aimez et qui vous le rendent.

Et au plaisir de vous revoir !

Bien cordialement,
Jean Picot,
Administrateur du forum "OUTILS ANCIENS".

Google Translate gives us-

QuoteHi all,

I hope that 2013 will be all good and even excellent year.
For this trip into the unknown and despite headwinds, we are fortunate to have a significant advantage: A Passion! The old tools and folk art. I do not say it enough to avoid all the pitfalls that we will not fail to meet but it will help us, this is undeniable!
This forum is a link between members of goodwill and it is a real pleasure to be here and there, according to our research ...
Happy New Year to you and your families and all those you love and who you make.

And hope to see you again!

Sincerely,
Jean Picot,
Forum Administrator "OLD TOOLS".

Hi

I usually manage to get by in French, but occasionally I get lost so I use two options - for posting I use Google Translate (plus a bit of tweaking of individual words) -  for reading the Google Translate toolbar always appears on my screen, and a single click translates the whole page (alternatively you can set it to Always Translate French) - again it is not 100% accurate, but you can get the gist of it...

I guess you cannot expect Jean Picot to run an English language version any more than he would expect Papaw to run a French version (as far as I know he doesn't speak English, although several individual members occasionally correspond with me in English).

Best Wishes to all my fellow tool buffs (freaks, geeks, amateurs, collectors, nerds and connoisseurs) for a Very Happy New Year 2013....

I get along quite well reading French, but couldn't compose a post that made sense to them.
I imagine my spoken French is atrocious by now, haven't used it much in years. Exposure to Cajun  French in Louisiana doesn't count at all!