Mystery Tool.

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

Can anyone guess what this little tool is used for?

It's actually a tool I made myself a few days ago, it's machined from a piece of 3/4×1/2 inch key steel. The threaded screw is a high tensile M5 capscrew with a knurled bronze thumb wheel added. The end of the screw is machined to form a tiny pin 2.5 mm long by 0.7 mm diameter.

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

[AdrianRParticipant @adrianr18614]

Pure guess, it is to remove clock hands

[John Paton 1Participant @johnpaton1]

I have a very similar tool but plier action, which is for punching holes through steel tape measures to fit joining strips where the tape has snapped. Never seen one of these before or since I picked it up – we now live in a throwaway age! (and yes I have used it, on a 30m tape and it works well. My son reckons I am a dinosaur)

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

I reckon it's for punching back the solidified plug of superglue in one o' them tiddy little bottles, only you need a longer pin. I tend to use a 0,75mm drill in a pin vice. Then I have to scrape out the glue from the flutes under magnification with the sharpened end of a rattail swiss file before I can use it again…

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Posted by AdrianR on 02/04/2020 12:49:54:

Pure guess, it is to remove clock hands

+1

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

To push the pins out of Watch bracelets?

[Grenville HuntParticipant @grenvillehunt47315]

I have an identical one for removing the pointers from pressure gauges!

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Posted by Grenville Hunt on 02/04/2020 14:28:34:

I have an identical one for removing the pointers from pressure gauges!

+1 & for pointers of watches

George.

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

Adrian was there pretty quick, followed by a few others. I made this tool specifically for removing the needles on some Smiths speedo and tacho guages for my 1971 BSA 250ss Goldstar.

Edited By Lathejack on 02/04/2020 19:33:35

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I was going to suggest it's an ear-piercing device for people who enjoy long-drawn out misery instead of a short sharp shock…

Neil

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

12,000 rpm on a BSA single-banger?

Now THAT'S optimism!

Lovely job on the extractor tool though.

Edited By Hopper on 03/04/2020 02:58:48

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

12000 would be a bit optimistic but they would do about 8500 or so. I had the Triumph badged version of the same thing, eg a Blazer 250. The original Smiths speedo didn't need a magic gadget to pull the needle off, it fell off inside the glass while I was riding along one day. I managed to find a chronometric to replace it, which allowed the fun trick of locking the back wheel for a moment as you stop to leave the speedo reading about 10mph or so, really confusing for bystanders. Mine was the street version, with the big front brake but still had the breadbox high muffler until I put a Dunstall Decibel on. I suspect mine was the only one of that model in the country. (NZ) It may well have been brought in for the show model just before they went bust and stopped making the 250 sizes. I did see an off road version many years later with the small front brake, but that had been brought in from the USA.

John

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

Can We see the tool to put the needle back on?

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by mark costello 1 on 03/04/2020 17:57:40:

Can We see the tool to put the needle back on?

.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_hammer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_hammer

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 03/04/2020 18:18:06

[AdrianRParticipant @adrianr18614]

Ha! Snap!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

[LathejackParticipant @lathejack]

Yes, you have to question BSA's logic in fitting a 12000 RPM Tacho, and without a redline, onto the relatively fragile B25 engined bikes.

This Tacho and its matching Speedo are the 60 mm diameter type that were also designed for the BSA Fury & Triumph Bandit DOHC 350 twins, they were also fitted to some Ducati singles. There are still plenty of these NOS Tachos about, but the matching Speedo is harder to come by. The Speedo I have just bought only shows 6700 miles but has an alarming amount of wear around the spindle, allowing the needle to slop about all over the place, although the rest of the internals are in excellent condition. The only reason I dismantled the perfectly working Tacho was just to see how the needle spindle was supported, so I could then attempt to repair the Speedo.

I also have the 1971 Victor Trail version, this is a standard and totally factory original example showing less than 1700 miles, a really great bike to own and ride.

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