This is probably not the right place but I thought it was worth a try. I bought this tool/gauge/jig ? from a tray of unidentified objects in a junk shop for £2. No idea what it is but it is well made and it crossed my mind that it may be related to clock or watchmaking.

It is about 40mm long and 20mm across the two plates. The plates have 10 holes of graduated sizes. The holes are counter bored so that there is a shoulder inside each except the largest. I you look at the other pictures you will see that the the plates are held together by a concealed spring but can be separated by pressing on the opposite ends. The thumbscrew could either be used to lock the plates together or set an exact separation when depressed.

There are no ID marks of any kind so maybe made by a toolmaker or clockmaker. I believe that it is nickel plated brass.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions where else I could post this online to try and identify it.

Thanks, Chris

 

It's used to hold watch hands while broaching the holes out to make them fit better.

 

Thank you. I guess the "head" of the hand would be clamped between the plates aligned with a suitably sized hole?

Is it a commercially available tool or would someone have made it for themself?

 

Yes, that's how it works.

Broaching Device with 10 Hole Sizes for Small Parts Including Watch Hands, Rollers or Cannon Pinions (esslinger.com)

 

Thanks. Crystal clear.

Case closed.

 

I just bought one of those a few months ago Made by Bergeon, something that was actually in stock.

There ae also larger variations which are used by jewlers for drilling holes into perls or beads. Those do not work well when holding the smaller hands.