“Found a metal rod with a ball and a U-shaped thing on the end. It has a wooden handle. Any ideas?”
A: “It’s a slide hammer. It’s a pulling tool for removing gears or pulleys off of splines. This looks old and specialized but it’s a slide hammer all the same. Insert the 2 hooks into whatever you want to pull out and rock the metal ball against it to remove it from a tight fit — like the reverse action of a hammer or press.”