Mystery tool/gauge

[Brokennock]

Okay, this has stumped a tool and die maker, a machinest, a machine set-up guy, and a few others...

My grandfather did a lot of woodworking at home,,, built lots of us kids wood toys and puzzles,,, as well as doing lots of other things with tools. Worked on machines at the local paper plants. He had quite the woodshop at home. He passed many years ago, but my uncle lived there until he passed a few months ago,,, so I never really went through the tools until now.
One of the things I found, and probably the only one I have no explanation for is this,,,,

The little brass numbers in the little circular windows move. The set closest to the pointy tip move when that tip is rotated. The others move with the turning of the little knobs on the side opposite them.

Anyone know what this is, what it's for, how it is used?

 

[64Springer]

Range and depth setting device for torpedoes during WWII.

 

[Brokennock]

Range and depth setting device for torpedoes during WWII.

Are you serious?

Grampie was on a sub at the end of WWII

 

[64Springer]

Are you serious?

Grampie was on a sub at the end of WWII

Just BSing.

Rechts is Right in German.

Trying to find out what Links means.

Looks like the gear side would have had a cover to protect everything. Wonder if the fine sawdust is a clue to what it is.

 

[Brokennock]

Just BSing.

Rechts is Right in German.

Trying to find out what Links means.

Yeah.
I already had Rechts=right in German. Haven't gotten much on CLinks

I've even tried one of those Google photo searches and come up dry.

Funny how your being answer had a remote connection though, lol.

 

[64Springer]

It definitely looks like an antiquated controller of some type.

Link in German means Low-Down or Underhanded.

It's a cool piece. Keep searching.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Genuine do-hickey. Actually, not a clue as to what it may have been used for.

 

[cositrike]

Yeah.
I already had Rechts=right in German. Haven't gotten much on CLinks

I've even tried one of those Google photo searches and come up dry.

Funny how your being answer had a remote connection though, lol.

Rechts- Right
Links - Left

 

[cositrike]

Just BSing.

Rechts is Right in German.

Trying to find out what Links means.

Looks like the gear side would have had a cover to protect everything. Wonder if the fine sawdust is a clue to what it is.

Links is Left

 

[64Springer]

Yup.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Looks something like manual tachometer I once had. You press the end to the end of a spinning object and it gives a number. I’ll see if I can find mine.

 

[64Springer]

There are a lot of gadget nerds in this world.

Many of them work for U.S. tax payers.

I would send pics to the gadget nerds at The Smithsonian Institute and wait for a reply.

 

[hawkeye2]

A form of mechanical tachometer? Right & left so it could measure in both directions. If you continue to turn the shaft do the other numbers in the windows eventually change?

 

[64Springer]

A form of mechanical tachometer? Right & left so it could measure in both directions. If you continue to turn the shaft do the other numbers in the windows eventually change?

They have the same ground pointy thingy on the end.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

The words on it are German for "left" and "right". Beyond that, I got no idea. Probably a woodworking tool, maybe some kind of obscure fastener driver?

 

[64Springer]

I think you guys are getting close. I searched for Antique Mechanical Tachometer. And this popped up.

Just need to narrow down the country that made it.

I included German in my searches and came up with nothing.

What other countries speak German?

 

[hawkeye2]

A friend had one like the one I posted the picture of when were in high school. We used it on a B&S engine, timed it for a minute and read the dial, instant RPM.

 

[Greg_E]

Turn counter? Maybe part of a positioning device for a lathe carriage?

 

[Davey Boy]

I would guess it measures rpm and likely for steam engines

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I think you guys are getting close. I searched for Antique Mechanical Tachometer. And this popped up.

Just need to narrow down the country that made it.

I included German in my searches and came up with nothing.

What other countries speak German?

They speak German in Austria and Switzerland... also you might encounter it in some of the old German colonies in Africa. The Amish and Mennonite communities in America speak a German dialect as well. I can understand them and they can understand me, but we often use different words for the same concept; i.e.: "zu Hause" vs. "zu Heim" which both mean "at home" sort of.

Also, Milwaukee, WI was and still is a major German settlement. It used to be a pretty common place to get things machined as well, so I suppose it COULD have come from Milwaukee.