Well I'm getting along at a reasonable pace. Or I was. You tend to hit a slow spot when faced with this:
I've done, I suppose, about a fifth of them so far, but I don't want to talk about that - after all, it only means I have four fifths still to do... However, a few bits of interest as I go along, which helps. Possibly the most curious is this one:
Big deal, you say. It's a centre bit. So jolly well what? S Smith & Sons of Sheffield doesn't sound terribly exciting either. Ah, but turn it over and suddenly it's a positively alive with activity. A roundhead screw on the head, a protruding pin on the shank, and a threaded hole.
Into which fits a knurled bolt that holds this depth stop.
See? And yes, where it appears that the bolt is bent at the end where it exits the shank? That's because it's bent at the end where it exits the shank.
A sharp, used, apparently ordinary 1" centre bit with an interesting role. I wonder what it was? I haven't really made any headway in seeing if I can find out yet, because honestly, I'm not sure where to start. Kinda cool though, eh?
I'd suggest there might be a twist in the tale, but I haven't even started on the augers yet...
Hmmmm..interesting. Here's my guess, Alf. That depth stop is a custom modification made by the original owner. The round headed screw and the pin are the remnants of previous (unsuccessful) attempts to devise a depth stop.
ReplyDeleteCentre bits cut fast and it's easy to go too deep. The original owner obviously had many holes to bore at the same depth so it was worth his while to invent a practical depth stop.
Just a thought.
Evergreen
Based on the design of the depth stop (not terribly adjustable, it appears), as well as the way it allows for only a shallow cut, points to a specific purpose. I wonder if the depth stop was a user modification, for a frequently made hole.
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