On 6/18/2013 9:12 AM, Casper wrote:
The hole at the end is not sharp.
The circular piece in the middle does not move.
Only the end holding the handle moves, which seems just to be a
condition of age and dry wood (loose fit).

Brad nail set? Interesting. I've never seen one, at least not like
this one. The hole on the end can certainly fit brads and small nails
w/o large heads. I'm not sure what he would have used it for. I see no
evidence of it anywhere in the shed, garage or house. Was it for use
on soft wood? It doesn't look as if it has ever been hammered.

I took another photo of it, zooming in on the working part. I tried to
take a shot of the end hole but it comes out too blurry.

Maybe photo 2 can help nail down it's identity.


It's a brad set. My late father-in-law had one in his tool collection
(he was a small time builder) and I now have it in mine. You take the
small brad and insert it in the hollow end. Place the point of the brad
where you want it and then push the handle down (slowly... doesn't need
a lot of force.. think about the damage a woman's high heel shoe will do
to vinyl flooring or wood) to start it. Depending on the size brad and
the material, you can set it flush or maybe just below the surface with
a good hit with your palm or heel of the hand.

Very handy for setting/tacking molding in place. A real saver for your
fat fingers next to short, thin brads.