doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com unknown tool

ok, a different drummer. I was misunderstanding.

This kind of drum is what I was thinking:

Percussion drums need to be tight. And after being in place for years, they can be very difficult to remove due to corrosion from powder gasses and black powder residue being forced into the threads.

One quick look at that unknown tool, and anyone who has any real world experience should know that small diameter wooden handle would quickly snap off at the socket if subjected to the sort of torque required to remove drums. And now that we know some dimensions such the width of the "jaws" or notches, we should know they are too small for the base of percussion nipples, and the I.D. would be too small for the average drum.

Rather than making any silly wild-assed guesses, I'm more inclined to ask for more clues, such as, where was this tool found... were there any other pieces that were possibly used with it... is there anything at all stamped into it such as patent date, number, etc.?

Keith, the tool was with a group of tools sold from the Larry Shelton estate. Most, if not all, were identifiable as shooting items. Yes, the size seems to be smaller than the drum we see pictured . No stamps are on the tool. I wish I could add more, but it sat in a box for some years with me believing it was a nipple wrench, and then I tried it a few days ago and saw that it was something else. I see the general shape might work for a percussion drum conversion, but the size seems to negate that. On second thought, I have no experience with early pistols, but maybe the size would fit a hand gun.

Yes Daryll, drums came in a multitude of sizes, just like nipples and the wrench would have been made to fit a specific drum. You are correct, it could quite possibly be for a smaller firearm such as a pistol or a park rifle..

I'd sure like to see a purpose made double-ended percussion drum removal tool that was made like this... especially one with a small diameter wooden handle that would likely withstand less than 10 ft./lbs. of torque before snapping off at the socket.

Something designed like that might work to remove the drum on an unfired tiny rifle or pistol, if it wasn't installed too tightly. On something with the typical corrosion seen on old percussion guns, you are more likely to be switching to something like heat, penetrating oil, and vise-grips with copper padded jaws after a tool like this is quickly broken.

I don't know what it is... but I wouldn't cling to what it isn't.