Mystery Tool

[Billhook]

What is this?

[Billhook]

Another picture

[daveindales]

Late Victorian coconut crusher. Probably made about 1895 in Sheffield. Used to crush imported coconuts to access the milk.

[PeteB]

More like some kind of stamp for strip steel as the two halves meet when the handle is depressed. Maybe for fitting something to the strip of steel that sits in the brakets on either side with clamps.

 

nice find though, can imagine it blacked up with gold highlights.....

[treequip]

An embossing press of some sort

 

Nice find

[Billhook]

The man who sent me the photos said that he took it to the Antiques Roadshow the other day and none of the experts or anyone in the two thousand strong crowd knew what it was.

 

Yes I think some sort of die perhaps was put in the square cradle to imprint a shape or letters on a flat strip of metal which would be trapped by the four wing nuts .

But quite what the round bit at the front is for is beyond me.

[Billhook]

Another photo

[Billhook]

And another

[Billhook]

The square metal piece seems to slide forwards as the arm comes down. Why should this be necessary if it was a straight forward press?

[Billhook]

Correction, it slides back out of the way as the arm comes down?..