Mysterious Wooden Tool

It is a spacer for the communication cables.

What kind of interior walls did it have?

It certainly has that clamp or shim thing about it... it looks useful (but how..?)

It reminds me of something used to hold open the old fashioned push-up windows.. if so that would explain why so many of them.

The other curiosity is, why would they be in the walls. If they were used as window shims/props they might be put in the walls during a reno where the windows and walls were all replaced... ???

I have a collection of old tools which I have found in the earth or in basements under rafters etc. Never in walls though. Once you wall something up.. it's really out of sight and mind.

Maybe it's voodoo a good luck item. Looks a bit like a (ahem) raven head..

Looks to me like some kind of fixing device - a peg for thatch or whatever. Do you know the history of the building? What were the walls & roof (originally) make of?

My guess is that they are/were guides for the sash ropes for the windows. There may also have been small pulleys in close proximity for the sash ropes to run over and the cast iron counterweights. The single hole would be for a nail to locate the piece.

What does the metal appear to be? The pic looks like copper. Also, if you could include a picture of the other side might help. I suspect that the side shown would have been flush against a timber surface while the other side would be chamfered and smoothed.

I like your answer. If you check the title of the post, you'll have a good clue what the "metal" is.

I'm now confused.

Wasn't the house "destroyed by fire" and these were found in the remains? Or was the house just rendered unable to be restored and these were then found loose inside wall cavity while demolition was ongoing?

Since you state they are truly wood, then they would seem like "lath pins" to hold string lines similar to what a bricklayer uses now to maintain straight lines in brickwork, the old lath and plaster (or in Aus "wattle and daub") pictures that I've seen show the tradesment using string lines to get even surfaces on walls and those could easily be wooden. The odd few could easily be lost during the process of building. (But this is only another guess)

Sure do look like what brick masons use for their strings.

The house was damaged beyond repair. The frame was put together with mortice an tennon joints and round wooden pegs. Very interesting construction.

Only house I've worked on that used those techniques was moved from Penn to NC.

Think it came from Lancaster County.

Actually think it was originally built in the late 1700s.

If in fact these things are wooden sash weights, that might help explain why there are such a number of them, for even iron sash weights are tied together to get the best balance.

Wonder if there were any strands of rope found near them?

-As an interesting off topic aside my brother told me that the first house in Chapel Hill to be electrified, used bamboo as conduit.

This was a very interesting experance for me. the house belong to a co worker and friend of mine. He had bought the house not too long ago. He had a electrical problem, smell smoke and eventualy the house burned, or it was a total loss. Had a lot of good lumber in it. Just a shame to see it in ruin.

Thanks for the input.

Loyd Harris

My guess is that they are/were guides for the sash ropes for the windows

That sounds plausible. I ripped out some old sash-boxes a couple of tears back, and the thing looks 'right' for that sort of use. The size is a bit large, but there's no info on how big the windows were - some of the counterweights can be pretty hefty. For anyone not familiar with sash windows, this picture gives a (very) rough idea;

(not my place, but the thing looks very similar)

With the dimension given and assuming Oregon pine at 530 kg/m3, these things would weigh in at around 1,6 kg, too light for a window big enough to accomodate them.

I have never seen a wooden counterweight used in a sash window, as the size of the wooden weight required would be too big for the "channel" available which is why they were made of lead or cast iron. As for guiding the rope - again I have never seen anything else but rollers (some of them very crude) used.

Why the V? Could these not have been a jig used in some way to set up the distance between beams for doweling or jointing during construction of the walls?

I wasn't suggesting the wooden bit was used as a counterweight ! What I meant was that it might be some part of the 'sash-box' - the framework containing the weights.

The place I'm in now once had sash windows. At some point, the window frames had been lifted out, the sash cords cut, and some nasty wooden frame screwed over the remains of the old sash-boxes. I decided the place was in dire need of some new stuff, so I ripped the whole lot out. Apart from the clunky great weights that had dropped to the ground, the old sash frame was there with it's pulleys/rollers/whatever. It had panels (each side) to access the weights. Although I don't recall exactly how the individual bits of the frame looked, the 'what is it' item closely resembles part of it - the section above the access to the weight, that supports the cord. There was some sort of arrangement using a hole to tie off the cord during installation repair, to stop the the weight dropping down beyond reach. If the 'what is it' were to support the pulley (ie weight of window frame + counterweight), then it would be fairly study.

That's probably as clear as mud, but no, I wasn't implying wood as a counterwight.

Hi Kris

I know what you mean, sometimes there is a locking mechanism to hold the window in place while setting up the counterweight through the access way at the bottom of the window (where the weight ends up when the sash breaks.) Could these be a part of that?

Cheers

Same Guest

LOL - you had me going for a minute !

I reckon we're all pretty much stuck without knowing, until somebody says, 'I saw/did/know etc'. Maybe it's just something one person thought of while building their own place. It would maybe help if mention was made of exactly where the things were found in the building - "in the wall" is a bit vague. Maybe I'll print off the picture and ask a couple of people (if nobody wades in with a positive identification). 100 years old isn't that much over here, so maybe there's more chance of finding a person who knows what they are (?)

Cheers for the name clarification

My guess is the counter balance for the windows. Pass the rope through the hole, and tie it into a loop with the top of the loop in the notch. The other window weights that I have seen were round about 1.5" around and 10-12 " long with a single loop in the end for the rope. When the rope brakes, the weight will be on the bottom of the window frame. If the windows were burned, the weight may fall to the bottom and be left there.

Bob C, your explanation makes the most sense to me. Now I look at the mystery tool and I see a lever. If it's part of a window mechanism, it would make sense for it to be inside the walls. Clever construction!

Can't help wondering if any other parts, bits of rope or the like were found in the walls with these items.

Hi Loyd,

Most likely it is the upper support for a plumb-bob used in the wall construction or something related. The string ran vertically through the V-guide. Nailed or screwed to a beam which would also allow it to rotate thru a small ac for closer adjustment. Three in a row and you can draw a straight line on the ground for alignment. There is likely to be a number cos when they drop into the wall cavity they are too difficult to recover and not worth much.

I recall doing some house refurbishment in Sydney 10yrs ago, the walls were double brick cavity with a 6" space between. Replacing the roof supports which sit on the top of the wall, I think I lost one jemmy bar, tyre lever and hammer which all fell down the cavity. Much cursing and swearing but they still stayed there.

Bob

It looks like a common "Boot-Jack." they were used to insert the heel of ones boot into in order to be able to remove the boot without bending over. Usually the other foot was used to stand on the jack to keep it in place.

They were also sometimes made of cast iron and mounted near the front door of a home for one to remove his dirty boots before entering the house and tracking animal dung, dirt, and mud inside.

Dad is an antique dealer and I've seen several different versions. This one appears to be a homemade one.

You beat me to it, it does look like a boot jack.

Brad

Comparing the "tool" to the truck bed in the picture, I would thing the tool is too narrow to be able to fit a boot heel into.

First guess: a holder for wire. Early electrical wiring in homes was simply put inside the walls, before the plaster was applied, without any pipe. But they had to have a method to keep the two wires spaced apart from one another. Perhaps one wire was fed through the hole, and the other wire was captured by the "fork" as the wooden device was put into the wall, between the outside wall and the inside wooden lath for the plaster.

?

I say it's from a loom.

I second the motion that it is from a loom.

What are the dimensions?

Are all seven similar: i.e. one fork pointed (tapered from the edge) one fork blunt?

Is the hole always in exactly the same place?

Does it look as though a hammer or mallet has been used on the left hand end (especially at the top in this picture)?

Yes they are all the same. They are roughly hewune from rough timber. there is nothing critical about the dimensions. It has tool marks on it from a hatchet or ax.

I appreciate your input.

I would have to agree with the wire spacer theory. Bare wires were common in early construction and they required insulating spacers to prevent short circuits.

maybe the brick layers were addicts? and it is an opium holder?

Hi Loyd, Your tool looks just like my Jeweler's Bench Pin; from the tapered points to the position of the hole, the layout is identical. It is bolted to the top edge of my bench, pivots from the hole and is used with a jeweler's saw to pierce shapes in sheet metal (among many other uses). I think your answer is a combination of tippycanoe and aussiebob's answers. Since they are very cheap, I can see using them for plumb lining a wall too. I don't know why they would have the tapered points if they where only made for plumb lining, but their availability and cheap price may have put them to work at your house. From the looks of it, it doesn't look like it was ever used for coping because there are no saw marks... (they get tattered quickly because you need to saw close to the edge, or in the vee to support the material you are cutting and avoid binding) Chas.

Welcome to the insanity.

BOOT JACK for removing your boots.

Looks to me as a part of carpenter vise. the round hole is for the jack screw, the "V" shape is the the bottom guide, made to avoid the vise turning while tightening it. But why was it inside a wall? Mystery to me....Same as the question why didn't the (late) Air France pilot avoided the enormous cells infront of him???

It's the right size and shape for a stirrer for old cast iron pots - you know, the ones where granny boiled the overalls every month. The trouble is, no signs of use and seven?

Note: The original poster provided the following information in another thread. I am providing it here as it provides better continuity for the discussion:

From loyd harris: I should have included the dimensions of the object. It would have been more helpful.

16" long x 4 1/2" wide x 2 1/2" thick. Picture was taken in the bed of a pickup truck.

Thanks for the input.

That's interesting. If the wood is 2 1/2" thick, What size is the screw head in the center bottom of the picture? ... Gaging by the bed liner and the cadmium plated screw head; the wood looks like 3/4" thick to me.

agreed....

Did this house have old-fashioned plaster walls? If so, is there any plaster on these seven things?

It did have some plaster walls, but these things were just laying in the bottom inside the walls.

Are the holes square with the surface or slanted?

It is a hollow wall mouse decoy (advertised then by Willie Mays great grandfather).

Over 100 years ago, mice were more prevalent in homes (well before the advances of pest control). In this era mice were more intelligent and had an affinity to chew on old knob and tube wiring. At the same time, mice also could not pass an opportunity to run through attractive new passageways or tunnels.

So home builders would implement this device (hollow wall mouse decoy) to both hold the wiring (hole) and offer a more attractive feature (v groove at bottom) to decoy the mouse away from the fragile knob and tube wiring reducing the damaging effects of mice attacking wiring.

So one in each hollow wall provided this decoy to deter mice from chewing on the wiring.

Wow! I like that idea. Yer outside a' the box on this one.

" ... knob and tube wiring ... "

????

An early standardized method of electrical wiring in buildings, in common use in North America from about 1880 to the 1930s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knob_and_tube_wiring

How about a tool for use with a mallet, for seating tongue and groove hardwood flooring together, before nailing?

Well, my first thoughts were along the lines of a template used for spacing the ballusters along a handrail; locate the first balluster (always a half of one on better projects), then the open end of the tool is slid around the bottom of that one, thus locating the hole for the next one. This ensures even spacing. The distance between centers shown (8 or 9 inches?) would indicate a pretty large balluster, probably for the porch, not a stair. Did the home have a porch with such a handrail surround?

The pickets or ballusters on every porch would have a different spacing, as none were ever the same. Not too difficult to make these templates as needed. Seven of these? Are the holes spaced just a little different on each? If yes, I would guess there are seven sides to this porch surround; maybe four in front three in back. Finding things like this within the wall voids is not unheard of; another fairly common practice is "stuff the walls" with the construction debris. Some municipalities would allow the burning of wood debris at a construction site, but some would not. Stuffing the walls reduces the number of trips to the dump.

p.s. Stuffing the walls is a poor practice, and is the telltale calling card of a lazy contractor. You do still see the practice today.

Initially looking at it if the material had been metal it might have been a railroad spike puller.

Then being wood it might have been a mold for a railroad spike puller.

But being wood, I really think it is a rope spreader, I think they were used in sets of 4 for lifting block or brick. Sometimes the rope crossed under the stack, sometimes it was only under the outer edge of the stack, tipping the courses together.

Another rope spreader was used under a plank scaffold.

The alternative is a rope spreader and your pieces were cut in two, the angle of the cut says that, versus the notch. The notch still shows the shine of a pulley or round object having rubbed it.

GrandDad was a brick layer and told the story of a job where one day a brick fell over the side of a scaffold in downtown Milwaukee, WI and went right thru the canvas roof of a car stopping traffic. I've never had a sunroof on a car.

They may also have been used as a rope guide or pulling block when assembling the wooden beams. One of these on either side of a beam with a bolt thru the hole.

I've replaced knob and tube wiring and this has nothing to do with that.

Was the building always a house or was it at some time a store ?

Could these have been used as brackets for rope blocks or sheaves to move supplies, I could imagine a metal loop over the end to contain a shaft.

Are there any holes in other sides of the boards ?

I was at a garage sale yesterday and these rather nutty ladies had a collection of anything "old" - boxes, handsaws, etc, all way overpriced. Anyway, they had what appeared to be an unused one of these thingys. The opening at the bottom, with no wear, had a definite keyhole shape, in other words if a sash cord was squeezed into it, it likely wouldn't come out very easily.. When I asked what it had been, one of the ladies replied that she thought it was an early clothespin.

No photos ?

Sounds like it might have been like one of these.

But I think the OP's object wouldn't be able to spread the legs and squeeze the washing like this usual peg shape. The angle is too wide.

I am still leaning to a tool used during the construction of the building, like a plumb bob support, which would also explain the number left remaining within the structure.

I myself did not first of recognize the size of the Mysterious Wooden Tool.

At 16 inches long it is impractical as a C 47, or what is otherwise a Clothes Pin.

Maybe one of these?

This is a bootjack. You'd need some kind of rocker on the back, and I don't know why you'd have a couple or why they'd be inside a wall, but the size and shape are about right.

Mayby cobblers?

Check # 12. When I was in jewelery class, (way long ago) an almost identically shaped unit was used to cope out silver and brass sheet for fitting to various gems, stones, whatever.

A coping saw is designed to cut on the down stroke. The work was pivoted on the base, and accuracy was thus ensured. I have used this design in my own carpentry, boat building business, and would be at a loss without it.

Site built tools are common. An extra man was always hired to make the plane blocks for the rest of the builders of a boat, and he was often hidden in the fo'csle. He was usually the best of the bunch, because he knew what what was required. I have built many 'one time' jigs, and left them in the walls.

It's not sloppy carpentry. It is more like a wall that I opened to find a copy of a newspaper headline that said "Petain Capitulates"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carl