Threading plate (?)
 

A few weeks ago i bought a few items at a French auction, among them was this nice piece.
It has a lot of holes with threading cutters into it. There is also some text on it in french with the dates 1681, 26... of 1795 etc.
There are 2 lines of words, ii will try to decifer them in the coming days.

It could have been used for screw making for firearms, so i thought to post it here. (probably far feteched but i did buy it at a firearms auction). :D

http://i44.tinypic.com/wthr1x.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2j2b3pv.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/34y5z00.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2w5oej5.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/24pvr45.jpg

VERY INTERESTING. WHEN MAKEING FIREARMS BY HAND WHY NOT MAKE THE NECESSARY SCREWS AND OTHER METAL PARTS THERE IN THE SHOP AS WELL. NOT BEING A TOOL COLLECTOR OR HAVING EVER MADE A FIREARM BY HAND IT WOULD NOT HAVE CROSSED MY MIND SUCH TOOLS WOULD BE NEEDED. AFTER ALL IN THE WORLD I LIVE IN WE WOULD JUST GO TO THE HARDWARE STORE AND BUY THE NEEDED PARTS. DIFFERENT TIMES DIFFERENT NEEDS AND THEY WERE MUCH MORE SELF SUFFICENT.

Screw plate
 

This tool is what was known as a screwplate. All shops had them and, as the supply of screws was critical to any gunmaker, they played an important role in day to day work.

The script and numbering as viewed in the photos appears to me to be in the style of the mid to late eighteenth century.

This is unlike a typical screwplate in that there are no obvious thread cutting edges. Perhaps it may be a go-no go guage or possibly a finishing tool for screws made in the shop, not an actual thread cutting screw plate.

The whole question of period screws seems under researched which is surprising since it is a good guide to confirming dating and spotting 'restorations'. I would describe these tools as drawplates for sizing and finishing screws previously cut using an adjustable die. In the example attached different sizes appear to be grouped in pairs; same thread pitch but slightly different sizes corresponding to a first and second finishing of the thread. This can be confirmed by the example above where someone has crudely marked up the threads of corresponding pitch to avoid confusion.
Interestingly in the example attached the differential patination shows that it is a laminate with a central core of high carbon steel sandwiched between two layers of softer iron . Therefore the tool can be tempered dead hard but still be ductile enough not to break . Clever.
Small makers mark R TIMMINS possibly indistinctly , and Sons