What is it?

[oldplaneman]

I'm hoping someone here may be able to tell me what this item is. I seached the internet trying to figure out what it is all to no avail. I acquired it with some other tools, but the previous owner got it from somewhere else and didn't know what it was either.
It is marked PTI 1010 made in Switzerland.

It has mounting holes through a casting on the bottom end only.
The other end is adjustable on a keyed shaft.
There is a tapered left handed hand wheel that appears to mount and center something on the spindle.
The long handle has stops that permit limited rotational movement of the slindle.

 

[Gunney]

I don't know what it is, but since nobody else has replied, I'll give you my guess. It could be the indexing finger from a circular saw blade grinder. You would let the face of one tooth rest against the nub on the end of the shaft opposite the ball handle, with another tooth properly positioned against the grinding wheel, then you can pivot the indexing finger out of the way, rotate the saw blade with the next tooth resting against the finger. As I say, it is only a guess.

 

[oldplaneman]

Since have been at a loss on thie item for months I had given the thought to saw sharpener, but it seems to cumbersome for that task. I also took it to a local saw sharpening shop to see if they recognized it. NOPE.
I drives me crazy whaen I can't figure out what something like this is used for. I was going to recycle the various pieces into my material bins, but can't get past thinking it might be a useful piece to have. I've asked a couple old machinists and they are also at a loss so I don't feel TOO dumb about not knowing.

 

[rodw]

Well, you could polish it up and mount it on a nice base and put it on display. When people see it and ask it and ask what it is, tell them it is quite a long story and you only tell it on donation of $5.00 to your favourite charity. When they pay up, tell them you don't know what it is and now you use it to catch all the drips You will no longer feel dumb and one day someone might just say "Oh I see you have a..... there"

 

[Buchanan]

Any chance of it bieng a belt tensioner for an auxiliary drive on a watchmakers lathe?

 

[Longboy]

....if you looked thru "Popular Mechanics" issues from since WW2 thru the '50's you may find it!

 

[aarggh]

....if you looked thru "Popular Mechanics" issues from since WW2 thru the '50's you may find it!

What a way to narrow it down Longboy! You don't by any chance work in a technical help desk call centre, as that's usually the sort of detailed help I get from "Ted" in India when I'm having problems with my DSL. :wall:
I have to ask mate, do you know and your just teasing?

cheers, Ian

 

[oldplaneman]

I figured someone would identify it and it would be something very obvious.
It's too bad the part is only marked 'patent pending' instead of a patent number. I've used patent numbers before to look things up, but no luck this time.

 

[Longboy]

No I don't Ian and not a tease as this item is probally from this era.....but a long trip to narrow it down thru these old issues of Popular Mechanics, Popular Science and Mechanics Illustrated..... where every war surplus item exists and every opportunity to start your own business and the machines to do it with are found.......may give a hit on the tool. Hey anybody got any of those $75 Jeeps available yet?

 

[Longboy]

GUNNEY is the winner here with his clue/ guess Thm:. See it here, the PTI sharpener attachment. http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5364e/x5364e07.htm Thanks to this reference, I have found it advertised in PM magazine. January 1952, page 400. http://books.google.com/books?id=tNwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA400&lpg=PA400&dq=P.T.I.+Inc.,+401+Broadway,+New+York+13.&source=bl&ots=tzdj1Or2gi&sig=lRTRqQZS6hq3UnioaMcVf9yqREM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hCWVUdnpNdjI4AOWpYGoDg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=P.T.I.%20Inc.%2C%20401%20Broadway%2C%20New%20York%2013.&f=false

 

[oldplaneman]

Excellent work. It just seems too cumbersome to use to sharpen saw blades that's why I didn't think it was for sharpening. Now I have to take the picture you found back to the saw shop and show the guys down there. They told me it was "definitely not for saw blades".
Thanks for the help.

 

[oldplaneman]

Longboy you are obviously more resourceful than I. Thanks for the help.
The guys at the saw sharpening shop thought this thing looked too cumbersome to be for sharpening saw blades, but now we have proof. Now I'll have to move the piece from my scrap bin to my tool collection.