What is it used for?

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circlepilot

circlepilot

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My son came into a bunch of tools from a deceased in-law. The tool's owner was an aviation mechanic. My son and I both, are Aircraft inspectors (IA) and my field of expertise is structural repair (sheet metal). So, obviously I was very interested in what sheet metal tools there were. I found, what is pictured, in a large assortment of metal working files. It is about 18" long and 1.5" at its widest point. It "very" smooth on both sides, has sharp edges and is fairly heavy. It was manufactured by the 'Mound Tool Company." I'm guessing that it was used to work body lead. What say the tool experts?

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Not an expert but worked avionics in the military. I would guess its a metal file,looks like its contoured for the leading edge of a wing or to work the leading edge sheet metal
 
It's an old file that got ground down into a dinging spoon for body work.
 
toolmanmike said:
It's an old file that got ground down into a dinging spoon for body work.
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I thought about that also Mike, especially when I first saw it. But if I took a close up of it, you would see that it was manufactured "intentionally" that way. It is way to smooth and precise to have been a file at one time. "Dinging spoon" (slapping spoon) it may be? Manufactured as a slapping spoon? IMHO the edges are too sharp to slap with. If you struck the material a little "off square," it would cut into the metal. I'm still researching the Mound Company.
 
circlepilot said:
I thought about that also Mike, especially when I first saw it. But if I took a close up of it, you would see that it was manufactured "intentionally" that way. It is way to smooth and precise to have been a file at one time. "Dinging spoon" (slapping spoon) it may be? Manufactured as a slapping spoon? IMHO the edges are too sharp to slap with. If you struck the material a little "off square," it would cut into the metal. I'm still researching the Mound Company.
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I sold Martin Tool and Forge for decades. They had those spoons.
 
I brought it upstairs to my desk for a closer look. I didn’t realize the it is “fluted” the full length of the flat side and the edges are sharp enough to cut you.

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As Rusty said..."bearing scraper" there are more listed as bearing scrapers. "Well blow me down!" I have a vintage bearing scraper, but now the question is...What kind of bearings do you scrape with the tool? Rusty???
 
circlepilot said:
As Rusty said..."bearing scraper" there are more listed as bearing scrapers. "Well blow me down!" I have a vintage bearing scraper, but now the question is...What kind of bearings do you scrape with the tool? Rusty???
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Did you read the link I posted? Navy stuff. WWII ship engines.
 
circlepilot said:
As Rusty said..."bearing scraper" there are more listed as bearing scrapers. "Well blow me down!" I have a vintage bearing scraper, but now the question is...What kind of bearings do you scrape with the tool? Rusty???
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Big bronze and babbit plain bearing that are used in large machinery and engines. Same design as your cam and main bearing in your car, just bigger. I have a couple scraper like that from my Dad. He was a machinist and used to rebuild 6" and up bearing for punch press cranks. It is amazing the precision that can be attained with simple hand tools like this. I taught myself to scrape in order to rebuild lathes and mills. The straight-edge I scraped in checked out to be straight to 0.0002" over 12". That's two-tenths of a thousandth. A bit of beginners luck, but an experienced hand can whip that level of work out in very short order. A dying art.
 
Decades ago I worked in an old power plant where the newest unit was built in 1952. All of the coal handling equipment had poured babbitt greased pillow block bearings for any shafting. When one failed, we'd take a rosebud and remove all the old babbitt. We had fixtures for the bearing blocks and would pour new babbitt into them. The it was Prussian blue and scraper time. Blue the bearing, check the pattern with a mandrel, and scrape the high spots in the babbitt with a bearing scraper until you got a good contact pattern. Then use a bearing groove gouge to make a grease relief and you are good to go.
 
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