A Wibbler

[albaqwerty]

never knew what one was (or even existed until I watched Ade In Britain)

A Dibber, isn't that some little thing for gardening and planting seeds?

I love the names, where on earth do they come from?

[MarkRae]

Dibber is a regional variant of dibble.

Get yourself a decent etymological dictionary - it can be absolutely fascinating!

[albaqwerty]

I might just ask certain folks as the 'giving' season is coming up Mark.
Thank you.

[MarkRae]

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[woofgang]

I think its widget, not wibbler...
http://rachelclaire.n...erful_Tool_Widger.php

[Quizmonster]

According to Chambers Dictionary, to wibble is to talk foolishly, perhaps as a combination of witter and dribble, so a wibbler would, presumably, be a person who does just that.
The OED lists wibble only in conjunction with wobble, giving rise to wibbly-wobbly, meaning shakily or unsteadily. Didn't there use to be a song about "the wibbly-wobbly Wembley way"?
So, what did wibbler mean in the programme, Alba?

[heathfield]

A 'wibbler' was the name given to a traversing lathe, or, a milling machine, that was set up to cut keyway slots in metal blanks.
Lathe type here...

http://www.practicalm...achine-1885-a-154217/

Vertical milling machine type here. Scroll down and click on 'wibbler'...

http://www.claymills.org.uk/workshop.html

[woofgang]

sorry not widget....blooming spellchecker! its a widger

[albaqwerty]

Sorry for not answering you sooner QM, dongle ran out of credit.

It was as Heathfield mentioned, Ade and the expert were wibbling away on a thatch-roof.

[sandyRoe]

I've heard of people throwing a wobbler, but never heard of a wibbler before now.

[Quizmonster]

Ah, thanks for that, ma'am. Not something I'm going to have much call to talk about, then!

[heathfield]

As a matter of interest (?), a 'wobbler' is also used in lathe work. It's a very simple device for making sure the work is centred precisely in the chuck.

[Quizmonster]

From your description, H, it sounds more like an ANTI-wobbler!

[heathfield]

Well, QM, the 'wobbler' is the device that does the wobbling. The work doesn't wobble but is held securely in the chuck - er, hopefully!! ;-)