# Can anyone tell me what kind of Old Tool this is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235 "2007-11-13T14:22:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mawktheone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@mawktheone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mawktheone)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/21 "2007-11-13T20:05:41Z")
well im a spry 21 and i used one in school too. but maybe my school just hated replacing old tools. its definitely a soldering iron. tough enough to use, them type. ill stick with a tig welder ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/22 "2007-11-13T20:05:51Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I remember using a soldering iron just like that in my first metalwork lesson at school - there was a little gas-powered bench-top furnace for heating it up. it was very difficult to use. [/QUOTE] Yep, I remember those - junior high school metal shop, 1966. ( I hate to think it qualifies as an antique … ) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/23 "2007-11-13T20:18:33Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] Me three. We also had an asbestos pad to solder on. [/QUOTE] I remember that too. Damn. I’m a codger. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/24 "2007-11-13T20:23:43Z")
Peter O’? ---
**Author:** ![MonaLizaT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@MonaLizaT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonaLizaT)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/25 "2007-11-13T21:38:26Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] Obligatory drive-by **Cow Tool** posting [/QUOTE] DANG! You beat me to it. I came in to post that it was obviously a cow tool. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/26 "2007-11-13T22:32:13Z")
[QUOTE=MonaLizaT] DANG! You beat me to it. I came in to post that it was obviously a cow tool. [/QUOTE] Not to sound too silly, but what’s a **cow tool**? [QUOTE=FordPrefect] A wireless soldering iron, how ultra-modern cool is that? Sooo, what kind of saws did you pick up? [/QUOTE] A 1946 Delta Table saw. 🙂 Still fires Right up too! I think the previous owner liked his tools and so he adapted the electrical socket slightly over the years… ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/27 "2007-11-13T23:08:31Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] Not to sound too silly, but what’s a **cow tool**? … [/QUOTE] It’s a reference to a famously obscure Far Side comic. You can add me to the list of people that used the old non-electric soldering irons in shop class, that would be the mid to late 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/28 "2007-11-13T23:08:22Z")
No no. Guys. It’s a soldering iron! [QUOTE=Phlosphr] Not to sound too silly, but what’s a **cow tool**? [/QUOTE] I couldn’t find a pic, but here’s a [description](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prehistory_of_the_Far_Side#Part_4:_Stimulus-Response). ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/29 "2007-11-14T02:44:54Z")
[QUOTE=GaryM] Rub it on your body before tinning it! You do know that blocks of Sal Ammoniac are/were used to clean the tip before tinning, right? [/QUOTE] All right, I think I’ve figured out what Doper I’m going to send it to. What’s your address? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/30 "2007-11-14T04:19:27Z")
Roy Underhill had a 18 or so year old girl tinsmith on his show one time. She was a wizard with that thing. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/31 "2007-11-14T05:20:36Z")
[QUOTE=Twoflower] Yep, I remember those - junior high school metal shop, 1966. ( I hate to think it qualifies as an antique … ) [/QUOTE] Not at all. I used nonelectric soldering irons in metal shop to make ugly tin cans like you probably did. That was in 1981, only a couple of years ago. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/32 "2007-11-14T14:07:54Z")
There’s no tool like an old tool. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/33 "2007-11-14T15:20:15Z")
[QUOTE=MikeS] There’s no tool like an old tool. [/QUOTE] Hey! You misspelled fool.. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/34 "2007-11-14T16:35:09Z")
I think it’s pretty clear that what we have here is an ocarina. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/35 "2007-11-14T16:36:33Z")
Actually, the answer is _Rio_, by Duran Duran. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/36 "2007-11-14T17:45:36Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Actually, the answer is _Rio_, by Duran Duran. [/QUOTE] But played on an ocarina right? ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/37 "2007-11-14T17:59:59Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] A 1946 Delta Table saw. 🙂 Still fires Right up too! I think the previous owner liked his tools and so he adapted the electrical socket slightly over the years… [/QUOTE] Nice snag! Is it pretty clean or is it a fixer-upper? ---
**Author:** ![Malachi\_Throne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Malachi\_Throne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malachi_Throne)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/38 "2007-11-14T18:14:54Z")
It’s a soldering iron. And might not be all that old. I used one a lot on the range, where we didn’t have electricity, but worked from a campfire. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/39 "2007-11-14T23:01:33Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] But played on an ocarina right? [/QUOTE] Yes, but only for 20 minutes. At the bottom of the Marianas Trench. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235/40 "2007-11-15T14:41:57Z")
Don’t fret you so called old codgers, I’m 38 and co-own a metal working shop. I used a soldering iron like this last Thursday to patch a hole in a big brass pot. We’ve tried electric crap on our brass lamps and decided the old way works best. I loves old barn stuff. I use a wood frame hacksaw all the time too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-tell-me-what-kind-of-old-tool-this-is/426235.md?page=3)