What the hell are "gimmowes"?

some pictures and a video answer the question

just finished a carved box

I used to read a lot of 17th-century documents searching for evidence about tools, furniture, woodworking, etc. One thing I remember are lists published in England of provisions that would be helpful to people heading to North America. “Proportion of Provisions needful for such as intend to plant themselves in New-England, for one whole year” is the long-winded heading to one such list printed in London in 1630.

I don’t care about the food or apparell - I do care about the “Tooles which may also serve a family of foure or five persons”

One English spade
one steele shovell
Two hatchets
Axes 3, one broad axe, and 2 felling axes
One Wood hooke
Howes, 3 one broad of nine inches, and two narrow of five or six inches
One Wimble, with sixe piercer bits
One Hammer
Other tooles as mens severall occupations require, as Hand sawes, Whip-sawes, Thwart-sawes, Augers, Chisells, Frowes, Grindestones, etc

But then comes: “For Building”

Nayles of all sorts
Lockes for Doores and Chests
Gimmowes for Chests
Hookes and twists for doores

What the hell are gimmowes? Turns out they’re also called “jimmers”, “gimmers” “gemmels”, gimmals” - they go by lots of names and like all of that period, spelling doesn’t count. They’re iron hinges - most people who know them today call them snipebill hinges.