Civil War cannon gimlet?

[Bill M]

How would one begin to tell the difference between an old hand drill and is civil war artillery gimlet?

My father and uncle collected a fair amount of random military really, World War II stuff from when they were kids with the occasional Civil War artifacts. Trouble is, my grandfather was a fair carpenter and had plenty of handtools around. My father died in 97 and I found this in his junk drawer, not among the tools in the basement.
Hang on my uploads are failing.....
Ok, got them.
Oh, it's of all metal construction, btw...

[Bill M]

...

[Bill M]

Lll

[DALE ELLIS]

I don’t know of any difference unless they are military marked as long as they fit in the vent hole of a cannon.

[101combatvet]

Do you mean an artillery vent pick?

[Johnny Peppers]

This is a short read on the artillery tools, and as noted there is little or no difference in the artillery gimlet and the carpenter's tool.

http://armscollectors.com/mgs/artillery.htm

[Bill M]

Do you mean an artillery vent pick?

Yep 👍

[Steve B.]

A vent pick and a gimlet are different tools with different applications. See the previous link for photos and explanations.