Help me identify some old tools

My Dad died recently, and my family is going through all his stuff in the basement and garage. He had a good amount of tools, mostly old stuff. He was 87 so he had a lot fetime to accumulate, and he was a machinist all his life. Plus he had some tools from his grandfather!
I'm 6000 miles away, and my sister is sending me pics of some of the tools to see what I want. Some I know what they are, some I have some general idea, and some I have no clue. So I will be posting pics to see if anyone can tell me what they are and what they are used for.
Here's the first one, some kind of hand drill, but it looks like it takes three hands? Must have some specialized purpose, but I can't tell from just this pic, any clues?

 

[RangerX]

Whoa, great info! Yeah, my Dad started as a machinist in the early mid fifties, so it may date that far back.
I'm seeing now that a lot of his tools are machining-specific, and of no real use to me, or anyone else in the family. I love old tools, and want to keep them all, but I'm thinking I will select a few to keep, select a few that have real value, and donate the rest to a vocational school or something.

 

[biggun-nohurry]

Not any of my business... but....a reminder:

When donated to a VoTech school, they become "group" tools which means they sometimes don't get quite the care they should and end up in drawers and piles. Especially things like parallels and blocks.

That Lastword? Don't donate it to any such institution. They have a proper selection of imported indicators. Most likely, the instructor would 'sock it away for safekeeping' meaning you just slowly 'donated' it to him.

Perhaps, keeping an ear to the ground, you can find that friend or family member that shows a similar interest and swoop in like the benefactor you are with some valuables and forever be that Good Uncle. Target someone that will get some use of these things... which in the age of CNC machining is a decreasing number, though not dramatically.

The planes MIGHT have antique value -- there are serious collectors. Upwards of $300. From here, they look rather generic. Don't listen to me as I'm not such a collector, but know a couple. Like men trading baseball cards, only on ebay. Usually, they deal in the $20-$50 range and come to find out, none of mine are worth the shipping. Who could know? That whole box, perhaps not the brace, is garage sale stuff - the brace on ebay.

If they haven't already ravaged his tools -- families tend to do that -- there should be some useful items like micrometers, gauges, and calipers you can use for genuine measuring. Of course, with the cheap digital HF stuff, you'd probably not use a vintage-quality tool *much*, but you'd have them handy.

Like I said: ain't my bidness.... not tryin' to stick my nose where it don't belong. Just wanna see a legacy properly distributed best you can.

 

[shucker1]

The few favorite tools I have I got from my grandfather and dad, including my “lucky” breaker bar.

Sounds like an interesting story behind "Lucky"

 

[shucker1]

7 - Parallels. These come in pairs. No specific sizes other than "the same as the other one". Used for lots of holding and spacing needs when something (usually a workpiece) needs to be moved up just a bit.

Very useful indeed.

I personally prefer the adjustable type like Starrett Model 154. Very useful for checking ring groove width or the distance between 2 planes.

 

[biggun-nohurry]

I personally prefer the adjustable type like Starrett Model 154. Very useful for checking ring groove width or the distance between 2 planes.

Yes, but that would be for a slightly different job.

What you're describing is exactly right. The adjustable parallel is designed for that. Checking, spotting, and exact spacing.

A simple parallel would be for something like placing a pair in the bottom of a machine vise. That way, your workpiece is raised off the bottom, usually so it sticks out enough to machine a feature on it, or sometimes just to grip it better. Now, that type of chore is something you'd not wanna use those precision adjustable models on because it would beat them up unnecessarily.

The simple parallel will get clamped and pounded on; nicked and dented; and then you put the pair back on the surface grinder and dress them down to clean up the surface. Again, no specific dimension, just so they're the same. You wouldn't wanna do that with those Starrett adjustables.

Besides, they come as a graduated set, not in pairs.

 

[massacre]

The main thing to me is that old tools are usually high quality, as they were built in a time when things were repairable and not disposable.