A leather work widget?

Notice –

– it seems not have definite holding-down arrangements such as screw-holes – it might have clipped onto or slotted into something.

– the scale is engraved in an unusual way as if to provide a successively finer adjustment for…. something.

– the steps are tapered inwards like a ratchet, perhaps to maintain a fairly low level across them. They don't have sharply vertical or in-cut risers though, reducing any intended locating ability – but that may be an effect of wear.

Brass on hardwood…. suggesting the material being worked on, if that was the case, was wood, leather, paper/card or cloth. Not metal, unless precious-metals perhaps. It might have been some special type of bench-block.

Any chance the dealer would know something of its previous owner's work? Or what tools it had been bundled with: they might provide clues?

I have one possible lead to follow, if only to eliminate it from enquiries…..

Curious scale engraved on it too. Starts out in eighths, then 16ths then 32nds.

Looks more like a woodworker's tool than an engineer's. intriguing.

Not that it helps a lot but I think as shown in the first photograph it is upside down , ie as used the angled grooves

would be nearest to the operator.

Because the letter S would have been impressed with the larger diameter of the S at the bottom ?

There is no evidence of tool damage so it is for measuring something after it has been made not for cutting to length. The material is thin or soft enough to flex into the alignment grooves and the T slots for end stops implies multiple items in production. Why round as it would be more natural for a stand alone jig to be square? Perhaps to fit into some larger device and need to be rotated?

Well, we can discount jewellery making, but my friend suggested another line of enquiry:

His reply:

Hi Nigel,

It’s nothing to do with silver or metalsmithing as far as I am aware. My thoughts would be a mount for a scientific/ maritime instrument?

Cheers

Adrian

If scientific, possibly a school laboratory instrument, by its simple but rugged construction?

.

Martin,

On the arrogant assumption that you mean me:I have remained silent because I have no better idea than anyone else … but I do have a question … The rulings are obviously eighths, sixteenths, and thirty-seconds but are they actually divisions of an Inch [of the 25.4mm size] ?

MichaelG.

Throwing my thoughts and observations into the pot

1_ Firstly, I have no idea what it is

2_ Picture might be upside down

3_ Engraved letters could be F, J and S

4_ Engraved scale looks to be slightly off centre, but in any event the graduations have no units or index.

5_ Cut away screw head has a couple of other 'notches' missing

6_ My wild speculation is that it may have something to do with the cigarette industry (I've seen wood/brass measuring instruments from the early 1900's).

Just food for thought… or maybe put that in your pipe and smoke it!

HNY to all

Ian P

Tried my usual 1st tactic with these intriguing "what is it" queries – upload the image to Google's Reverse Image Look-up.
No pretence at all that this is the answer but an interesting trail resulted.

There was a bit of similarity to the basic shape of a tool I'd never heard of – a cooper's CROZE.
This was a curved plane used in barrel making for cutting the inside rebate where the lid would be hammered in. A further search on "coopers croze" produced dozens of images none of which exactly matched the OP's pictures but might indicate the article was part of such a plane. However unlikely, it's been a welcome education.

The compositor idea suggests to me that it was a holder for the type masters for a machine engraver. The slots could accommodate master letters of different sizes, or two or more rows, and the big slots (as Rob suggests above) could hold movable end stops to keep everything centred.

That seems much more likely than a hand-compositor's tool, as they need to be light for holding in one hand all day, and don't need the ability to set more than one line at once. But I'm guessing, like we all are.

Cheers, Tim