What Are These?

I know these are some kind of taper adapters but what are they used for?

 

I think they are for using taper shank drill bits.

 

Morse tapers to fit lathe tools.

 

Morse taper adapters.........to adapt one sized taper to another and a taper to a round spud.....for a chuck.........used in lathes on the tail stock.......or in some older drill presses.......clean the taper up before using and that window in those parts is for a tapered key that is used to release the tapered parts out of the adapter once used.........

 

I have the key also. I wonder why my Dad had them. Found them in a box of his stuff I hadn’t gotten to yet.

 

Sorry failed to answer the above: Lot's of early tooling was all taper attached........Live centers , Chucks , Drill bit's from 1/4" - many inches had tapered shanks, Reamers also....and just about anything that can or world be turned...............a time gone by for most.......although in some heavy machinery they still may be used?

 

I have a full set of those and drills up to like 1.5 diameter or larger. Old, still work great.

 

Yes those morse taper adapters are still in the tailstock of all lathes, in most lathe headstocks and in all industrial drill presses. The slot as said is for the tapered drift key to remove them. The little beaver tail on the end is to remove them from the lathe tailstock via the feed screw. They rang in size from a Morse no 1 to I think a Morse no 6. All tapers under 7° are considered locking tapers. Thats the principal by which these adapters work.

 

My dad has a set of these with the bits. The railroad was going throw them a way brand new so they didn’t have to move them to the new shop. They just bought new ones that came delivered to the new shop.
When we needed to make that tapered tie rod end hole in the knuckle straight to mount rod ends these sure came in handy.