Any ideas as to what this is

[OrlinEngh]

My Dad would get tools to stump people, well he was stumped and never did get to find out what this was used for.

I can remember the day he got it at a auction 49 years ago and him saying he had no idea what it was and wanted to see how long it would take to find out. I found it in a box of stuff the other day and thought time to have some fun with it and maybe someone out there may know what it is.

[Freebird]

I have no idea.  Looks like a device to lift something but I have no idea what.

[Dano]

Beer keg lifting device???😅

[Pro procrastinator]

Post this on one of the steam threshers sites. Some of the tools theyve used back in the day put some of our current day tools to shame in regards to ingenuity.

[Pro procrastinator]

Maybe this is what some wives would use on auction day to keep their husbands from buying stuff. Theyd hook the two little hooks in their husbands nose and the two big hooks around his ears and if he even looked like he might bid on that horse or mule they'd grab the handle and steer him away. Maybe thats why your dad got it at the auction, the previous guy was able to slip away without his wife noticing!

[WRIDR]

We're gonna guess it's a Bolt-puller. 

You prep whatever with grab slots, then hook this up, and YANK like HECTOR?

Rgds, WRIDR 

[cowpuc]

My guess is an early life saving device for Lumber Jacks working more than 10 feet off the ground,, probably known back then as a Sky Hook.  On the fast track  down after the Jack mis-stepped one of his tree spurs he would simply unhook this from its scabbard found on his belt and toss, like an anchor, into the branches going by at warp speed. Of course,, most of those great American hero's were intelligent enough to attach a rope into that hoop above the hooking device before tossing it.. Noticing that your fathers specimen does not have said rope Orlin,, I am guessing that this one in particular was owned by a less intelligent Lumber Jack and that is also why your Dads Sky Hook is still in such very good condition. Probably spent its life stuck in the branches of 70 foot Douglas Fir tree while protected by the trees canopy above. 

[videoarizona]

Lifting device?

 

[WildBill1]

Adjustable ice block tongs for lifting or moving ice blocks.

[Snaggletooth]

Was just talking to a friend and showed her these pics.  She just chuckled and said that reminded her of her days on her dads farm. Not the exact same as the pics but they used a very similar thing to lift and stack hay bails in their barn. They had a rail that circled the barn at the top rafters and with a pully arrangement that ran along the rail.  That suspended this type of attachment and it hooked the bail wires and so they could lift and move it anywhere in the barn to stack them.  Two girls on the lift rope and her dad on the guide rope.  She also remembers taking flying lessons from the loft on that set up.  

[RDawson]

1 hour ago, Snaggletooth said:

She also remembers taking flying lessons from the loft on that set up.  

I’m not sure I want to know where they stuck those clamps on her to fly. Looks painful. 😬😬😬

[Pasta Burner]

I’m focused on why the long bracing to the right, makes me think that was for added leverage.  Does the thing with the ring and little inner hooks pivot side to side?

[Pro procrastinator]

Look up antique chain walker or wire walker. Some similar designs from the early 1900 to 1940s

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Pro procrastinator
Pic didnt work

[ragtop69gs]

Thats for butchering hogs,  those tangs go in their ears, the smaller hooks in the nostrils. Hang em up for skinnin and butchering.

[saddlebum]

14 hours ago, Snaggletooth said:

Was just talking to a friend and showed her these pics.  She just chuckled and said that reminded her of her days on her dads farm. Not the exact same as the pics but they used a very similar thing to lift and stack hay bails in their barn. They had a rail that circled the barn at the top rafters and with a pully arrangement that ran along the rail.  That suspended this type of attachment and it hooked the bail wires and so they could lift and move it anywhere in the barn to stack them.  Two girls on the lift rope and her dad on the guide rope.  She also remembers taking flying lessons from the loft on that set up.  

That was my initial thought, the top ring to hoist up the hay and the bottom ring to be pulled on to release the hay but then when I looked at the size of it compared to the shoe in the picture its too small you would be forever hauling up hay.

[N3FOL]

On 4/11/2021 at 10:25 PM, WildBill1 said:

Adjustable ice block tongs for lifting or moving ice blocks.

That is exactly what I had in mind.

[eagleeye]

I'll play-----------Some type of fence stretcher

[OrlinEngh]

Well we dont have a yes I know what that is and I have used one. I have always thought it was built to lift and the handle was to guide it, The legs can be moved by pushing and pulling the handle or you can use the ring to move the legs, and note the spring it pulls the legs together. It would be small blocks of ice. 

Fence tool possible, but it would only hold the wire. Good thought, We will have to keep quessing until that person says we had one of those and this is what it does. 

[OrlinEngh]

 

I looked up wire walker from the 1900s and I found one close to it once I figure out how to get the picture on here we can look at it.

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by OrlinEngh

[PastorCurt]

Not a hay fork or a fence stretcher. Not big enough for hay and no racheting mechanism for fence stretching. Could be a hog hanger but they are generally butchered upside down. Seems a little small for ice blocks. So, with all this verbosity, I don’t know either!!!

[PastorCurt]

Wait! Hold the presses! Is it an anchor for holding wire for when farmers checked corn?

[Flyinfool]

I sent the pics to my uncle who is a 3rd generation farmer.

He said it looks kind of like a logging tong for dragging logs out of the woods. BUT it looks different from the ones he has seen.

I think it looks a little small for logging. But what do I know.

He did say that he is sure it is an antique and in very good shape.

[ragtop69gs]

Well, this is clearly as definitive as "which oil should I use"  !

[Flyinfool]

Well it is obvious that you should use the same oil as I do cuz if I am using it, it must be the best.....

 

I did finally determine exactly what that is.

It is a Thingamajig. Very similar to a Whatchamacallit.

[Heimdog]

Brake Drum puller?