Look at my tool (What is this?)

Found at work today, what is this thing?

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It looks like it is meant to cut something but I have no idea what. Or if it even has a name (no markings on it except what's in the image above).

Thanks!

It's a hydrospanner for working on the Class 2 Hyperdrive.

Looks to me like it's meant for marking tubing (or something small and linear) at a prescribed length repeatably. The fixed stop with scale means you can hit the same length just by sliding the next piece in, and the little wheel looks like a woodworking marking gauge, meant to provide a mark to cut to a fixed distance from an edge.

Set the gauge, grab the end of a piece of tubing, and rotate to mark all around? I feel like the leverage isn't there to actually cut, but maybe for something thin/soft...

I was going to call you a perv for the thread title.. Then I saw the tool. Now I'm definitely calling you a perv! That thing looks like an evil testical extractormabob.

In reply to bluej:

Lol! My first attempt at click bait!

And you are right, it does look kind of medical- in a bad way!

I think it's far too flimsy to cut anything like copper tubing. It may, but would take you two weeks.

What do you do at work

In reply to D2W:

I am an electrician. This was found in an old pile of junk while I was looking for obsolete parts to something.

Another fun find from that pile, but I know what this is...

Does the wheel spin? Because it might just be to dimple the tube so you can take it out and hit it with a hacksaw or shears.

That wheel looks a bit like one on a glass cutter. Maybe it's for marking/cutting small glass tubing? Not sure how that would relate to electrician work though???

Wire stripper for cable? Measurements from the cutting wheel to the end of the cable and the piece across from the wheel appears to be made to hold something round.

Looks like a probing device------ was it found near a mutilated cow?

Tool for a mohel?

Yes the little wheel does turn. I found a scrap of copper pipe and tried it on that. It did make a very fine mark, there's no way it is meant to cut that.

I don't think it is an electrician's tool. Like I said I found it amongst a bunch of random, ancient stuff and wondered what it was.

Googled "Graduated Glass Tubing Cutter".

Results.

Being electrical, has the place ever done neon work? I'm thinking neon tube cutter.

Edit, looks like burrito beat me.

In reply to daeman:

I think you are right, burrito got it.

But honestly I don't know if we had a person in the past that did neon work or not- it's certainly possible! We have some glass blowers around still ( I work for a university).

Could have been chemistry lab too, not necessarily neon.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

Very true.

It's entirely possible the place where it was found (an undergraduate library) wasn't necessarily the place it was used.

The glass blowers I know of do work for the school of chemistry.

Glass tubing scoring tool, lets your break it on the line.

Burrito got it....

The glass thing looks like a neon anode as well

In reply to java230:

I forgot the glass thing- it's a mercury switch. In these parts I hear them called mercoid switches.

Very simple- stick two wires in a glass vial full of mercury. When it changes position the mercury closes the circuit and the magic happens!

Light duty liquid level sight glass cutter. Doesn't look heavy enough for temperature rated glass like boiler or DA tank glass where you would need a chain cutter, too short too.

Looks like 6" max, that limits it.

Lab glass maybe. Does neon glass tubing ever need cut that short?

Old home thermostats used mercury switches.

I remember hearing some cars used mercury switches for trunk lights

66+ Corvairs with AC had mercury switches on the engine lid to shut off the AC pump when the lid was open since the condenser was over the air intake in the engine compartment and with the lid open no air would flow through it.