Was roaming around an indoor flea market that I go to quite often. ran into this little gem.

 

I have been needing one of th these. I been using a screwdriver s since I start started wood working

Great price, too!!!

Yes sir. I was contemplating spending $35 for one, and ran up on this one. Literally required no brain cells.

what is it?

29 minutes ago, DAB said:

what is it?

Appears to be a sharpening (honing) steel; could be used as a burnisher too.1

Nice score Mike. Can't beat the price.

23 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Appears to be a sharpening (honing) steel; could be used as a burnisher too.1

Yep, it's an official burnisher.

 

58 minutes ago, DAB said:

what is it?

I think it's a screwdriver for round-drive screws

Scraper burnisher.

I have used card scrapers a long time, but up until now I've been turning the burr with a screwdriver, with varying degrees of success. This should make things a lot better.

The old screwdrivers will work because many of them are hardened steel. But finding one that is actually round and not octagonal can be difficult. With modern ones the only thing hardened is the tip (if you're lucky).

In a pinch I've used an 18" extended hi speed steel drill bit. But I'm happy I found this.

Edited July 25, 20251 yr by Handfoolery

what kind of screws can you drive with a headless screwdriver?

 

sounds like a Zen koan (riddles that make you think:  what is the sound of one hand clapping).

 

headless screws, of course !!!

Could be a screw driver that has a magnetic head and accepts various hex heads .  Flat, Phillips star, square. I do own a couple of them.

other side of the handle says "Crane, I".....Icabod Crane......the headless screwdriver for the headless horseman!!!!

 

I use something like that to sharpen cabinet scrapers. 

More finds today.

 

 

 

 

 

Want to clean up the dividers a bit, but I'm afraid to mess them up. They are in perfect working order, so I think I'll just lightly oil them and let them be happy as is.

The machinist's rule has something on it, I think maybe some type of corrosion. I'd like to get rid of those black spots, but I don't want it to get all shiny, and I don't want to use polish on them and remove the black in the graduations.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Maybe something like "Simple Green" or "409" might do a gentle cleaning and leave most of the patina in place

I think I have one or both of those. I tried dish soap, but no dice. I tried scraping with a sharp knife, ditto. I need a single edged razor, but don't have any

 

I found a single edge razor blade. That removed the rust, but left the patina. In the area of the 32nds graduations I used 220 grit and just sort of grazed it carefully without a lot of pressure. It cleared the graduations so that they are readable in that area. Followed that with 0000 steel wool. I think it worked out fine. Left the patina and did not make it all shiny. This will work just fine.

 

 

Cleaned up nicely.

13 minutes ago, Al B said:

Cleaned up nicely.

Thanks, Al. Got plenty of life left in it, and I'm going to take advantage of it. 🙂

Sweet scores Mike. Even sweeter being Starrett.

 

I use a Dremel with a brass brush to clean tools like the dividers. You can use just a ordinary brass brush or even an old tooth brush along with some WD-40 to scrub clean then wipe down with some 3-n-1 oil.