help with identification and sizing

Afternoon Gents and Ladies

Yesterday I went to a booty and happened upon these items and thought they would be of some use in the workshop somehow.
They have a normal tapping thread at one end and the other end is simply bent over at 90˚.
Anybody know what they're called and does anyone know how to identify the various sizes ?
If i try to rub the rust off the shaft then any sizing marks underneath are going to be rubbed away too.

Any help greatly appreciated

Thanks

Z

Edited By Ziggar on 02/09/2012 13:40:04

They are for nut making machines, have a search as Andrew Johnson posted about some a while back, it will save all the same answers again.

This is the thread

J

Edited By JasonB on 02/09/2012 13:38:46

anybody else have any insight into these ?

their use, their worth, any use for them OTHER than making nuts on a machine ?

A lot is going to depend on the condition of the cutting edges. They may like Andrews be new taps that have just been stored poorly in which case cut off the bend, grind a square/flat end on them and you are good to go.

However if they were taps that had served their useful production life then they may not be much use, the costs of snapping a blunt tap in an expensive casting may make the bootsale bargain not so good after all.

Best thing to do is try and establish what the threads are then once you know the correct tapping drill size try them in a bit of scrap material to see what they cut like though a close inspection under a magnifying glass will give a good indication if they are blunt or not.

J

Thank You