Vintage Tools

[69_hafton]

Trying to get organized, again. I don't know how old these are, they came with the house. Aside from using them as door stops, I'd like to find out what they are and if anyone uses them anymore? The silver tool clamps onto a table top and the jaws (where you can see the spring though) come together using a cam like action on both sides simultaneously when you pull the handle. The orange one seems like it could be used to break the bead one a wheel. Any ideas?

[Palf70Step]

Not sure what the top one is, but yes the bottom one is a manual bead breaker for tires.

I have a modern/cheapee version in my shop.

[cdowns]

i believe the first one is a rivet setting machine

[markeb01]

A Google search for Thomas Mills & Brother turns up a company that produced candy manufacturing equipment from approximately 1863 - 1914. Having been associated with a candy factory a couple of decades ago, I'd suggest the first picture may be a clamp used to hold bulk material for pulling taffy or raw hard candy. Automation has relieved a lot of the hard labor, but the production processes really haven't changed all that much.

[69_hafton]

Thanks everyone, it's nice to be able to ask a question on a forum and get knowledgeable answers. I did a google search also, but using T. Mills and the only thing I found was on an auction site for a 'Banana shaped ice cream mold marked “T. Mills & Bros. #157” ' which I thought maybe they made things out of steel for different industries. I was thinking it might be for bending a rim back into shape, thinking it was related to the second tool.

[Woogeroo]

Someone get papaw in here...

-W

[papawswrench]

I agree on the bead breaker, but not sure on the other. I have some ideas, but will need to look into it further later tonight.

[papawswrench]

Thomas Mills & Brother turns up a company that produced candy manufacturing equipment from approximately 1863 - 1914.

I found two machines by T Mills & Bro, but not that one. Seems certain it is the same company.
Also saw an ad page for candy molds by them HERE. One description of a machine that sounds similar says a machine for making candy centers to be dipped in chocolate, also called a "gooseball" maker.
Does your machine have indentations in each of the pieces that come together when the handle is pulled? I can see how the raw product could be pulled throuh by hand and one candy ball at a time be made by that machine. A far cry from the way we do it today!
Info, though hard to decipher, on T Mills is found in Dorothy N. Timberlake Museum of Confectionary Moulds

Thomas Mills & Bro., Philadelphia, Penn Estab 1864. (Large TML, Medium TMM)Bro:{Son [1899 cat] George M [1873 Statement, Mercer Museum] Wife Thelma age 89, 1893 Son John {former neighbor at Mercer} 1867 to Rich-Tone Inc. Which was sold in 1868 to F&S (Richard Stollman + Richard Fritch later [?when] disolved {Phila Inquirer 85-2-3 .copy in TM 14G folder}[machinist] Bro.[son in ad] George M. Machinist, candy maker. Estab 1864. 1880 Cat listed mould in 371 378 383 385 391 392 411 475 MM est date 1896.

[69_hafton]

There are indentations on both sides of the jaws, which I think are symmetrical, but one side has a deep hole in the center. Just guessing, but the shape of a piece of candy formed by both sides would have appeared to be mostly round, maybe with a stem on one end - if the jaws are supposed to come together completely? The other jaw may have the hole in the center too, but I couldn't seem to dig anything out of it if there is one there. I could see where you could form hard candy with it, but with the handle fully pulled down, there is about a 1/4" gap still between the jaws. I also found some more numbers on individual parts I hadn't noticed before:
2049 handle
2127 Left Jaw
2050 Right Jaw
2048 Right Cam Cylinder

I've noticed quite a few newer patents reference the Thomas Mills and Brother company's patents, thought I haven't been able to look up the Mills patents directly on-line.

*After looking at dntmuseum some more, I'm thinking that what I've got might be a hand press - or half way between a hand press and a machine press. With the holes in the jaws, there may have been specific moulds for this machine?

[63sbssbbw]

How about the first "tootsie pop" maker
Put the handle through the hole, compress\ mold on the tootsie center, then off to the next process of putting the candy coating over it
Cool things BTW
T

[papawswrench]

there may have been specific moulds for this machine?

That would make sense, and they were also suppliers of various candy moulds. Perhaps that machine accepted certain moulds specifically, that might explain the 1/4" gap also.

[beautimus]

i am not sure, but the top one could be a pecan cracker. if so the indentations would be about 3/8" deep and the opening would start out about 1 and 1/2" inches wide and close down to about a half inch or so. of course i don't know for sure, but the cupped ends resemble the modern versions of one. tony

[69_hafton]

A pecan cracker, I would have never thought of that, but it also makes some sense. Knowing the history of the company that made it, though, seems more likely used for making candy somehow, but they use pecan in ice cream or candy back then, maybe?