Tool ID help

"slomaro" (slomaro)
01/19/2014 at 12:53 • Filed to: None

Hey OPPO — These were my grandfather's. Mom says she thinks she remembers him using them when he welded (late 50s, early 60s).

They appear to be copper under the grime and oxidation. Any ideas? Heat sinks? They have such a distinct shape I feel like there's more to it than that.

edit: one more picture:

DISCUSSION (12)

Birddog > slomaro
01/19/2014 at 13:00

Those are old school soldering irons for sheet metal/tinning work.

You'd light a small charcoal fire and lay them in it until they were hot enough for the job.

Bad Idea Hat > Birddog
01/19/2014 at 13:03

I was going to say, the bottom one looks so much like a soldering iron.

That's pretty cool. I would love to own one.

avusblau > slomaro
01/19/2014 at 13:07

In "American Hot Rod" on Discovery there was an old guy who was a metal fabricator. I remember that he used quite similar tools while making A pilars and welding rear panels in some rot rod. He used melted lead and formed it with those tools to make rough, basic shape and mask edges where sheets of metal met.

slomaro > Birddog
01/19/2014 at 13:08

Very cool. Thank you. I really appreciate it. He owned an auto wrecking/parts yard. This makes some sense.

BJohnson11 > slomaro
01/19/2014 at 13:16

I'd agree with birddog, but for the sake of getting more ideas out there, I'd guess that they are used as heat sinks for welding. Especially on thin stuff, the copper pulls heat away from the steel and helps prevent warping. Also, if theres a reasonably large gap between the metal you're welding, you can place the copper behind the gap and when you weld, the steel will fill the gap and not stick to the copper.