Thursday, April 29, 2010

Set 334

For first time visitors I recommend this archive for some of my best posts.



1915. 10" tall, the metal pieces can be compressed or expanded as needed:






























1916. 14-1/2" long:

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1917. 14" long:

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The holes on top are 3/4" diameter:

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The middle hole has a sliding metal door:





Beneath each outer hole is a cone shaped wire screen, it's difficult to see but there is a hole in the bottom of the cone that is about 1/4" diameter:

























1918. This was sent in by a visitor who is looking to find its purpose, it is spring returned to the position seen here:

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1919. Approximately 10" long, this was made by Orville Wright, one of the airplane building Wright brothers, it's not related to either bicycles or planes:

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1920. 11" long, take a look at Neatorama for more guesses on this one and a chance to win a T-shirt:










































Answers:


1915. A can soldering tool, it supports the can while it gets soldered, similar to patent number 156,402:






























1916. A wrench for use by a fireman, the large hole is for hubs, the five sided hole is for hydrants and the right end is for the older pin lug style hoses.

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1917. According to a beekeeper, this is a vintage drone trap, which is shown upside down in the pictures. Drones were captured because people used to think an excess drone population ate significantly into the honey crop. The trap was placed at the door of the hive, the drones couldn't get out through the queen excluder material (the metal grate) and would climb up through the wire cones and get trapped in the upper chamber. At evening time, the beekeeper would go out and remove the trap from the hive, open up the metal door in the trap and shake the drones out to sucumb to the cold night. The trap also prevented the old queen from leaving with a swarm, but the young queens could pass through.

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1918. I like the owner's guess on this device, he thinks it could be a clamp for making shoes, a size 10 mens boot fits well in it from the toe to the arch. The two ends have a ramped up edge that matches the arch of the boot, so they could have been used to hold down the leather until the glue dried.

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1919. Orville Wright liked his bread sliced at a particular thickness and built this device to be used as a slicing guide:

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1920. A steak tenderizer and cleaver:

















To submit photos, send them to the address in my profile.















Last week's set is seen below, click here to view the entire post.








More discussion and comments on these photos can be found at the newsgroup rec.puzzles.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Set 333

For first time visitors I recommend this archive for some of my best posts.



1909. 6" long, this device was made to be used for a very specific purpose:





























1910. This case was submitted by a visitor who is looking to find out what it's for, it's marked 'Made in England', 'Baron', and 'Patent Applied For':

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3-9/16" x 2-1/2" x 5/8":

































1911. Approximately 8' tall:

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1912. 40" long:

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1913. 2-3/4" long":








































1914. 36" long, take a look at Neatorama for more guesses on this one and a chance to win a T-shirt:





































Answers:


1909. This is a stylus pressure gauge, it was used when adjusting the tone arm weight on a phonograph record player, the gauge came packed with a Weathers FM monophonic phono cartridge.




























1910. A container for tobacco that was used for loading a pipe, patent number 1,478,165:

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1911. Horse stocks, these were on a farm with two very large horses that were both unbroken and unpredictable, they would use the stocks when shoeing them. These stocks are probably also used in various veterinary procedures with the horses.

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1912. A fireplace crane, it held pots and griddles over a fire:

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1913. A fish hook sharpener:








































1914. A grain auger that was used to move flour in an enclosed chute at a mill, as seen on this site.














To submit photos, send them to the address in my profile.















Last week's set is seen below, click here to view the entire post.








More discussion and comments on these photos can be found at the newsgroup rec.puzzles.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Set 332

For first time visitors I recommend this archive for some of my best posts.



1903. 19" long:



























1904. 8" long:

































1905. 10" long, take a look at Neatorama for more guesses on this one and a chance to win a T-shirt:

























1906. 42" long:
































1907. These two structures were used for a specific purpose:

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1908. 10-1/2" x 3-1/2":
































Answers:


1903. A corner brace, also called a gear frame brace or angle brace, it's used for drilling a hole near a wall or corner where there isn't enough clearance for a regular brace.





























1904. A burner for an old gas stove:




































1905. A bacon rack or bacon hanger, for hanging a slab of bacon in a smokehouse:

























1906. This tool was meant to be used for shoveling coal into a furnace, the enclosure form is intended to prevent scattering the coal in the room in which the furnace is located, patent number 2,141,007.
































1907. These are both corn cribs, used to dry and store corn.

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1908. A Parker Foundation Fastener, used by beekeepers to apply foundation to a comb box that is to be placed into a beehive, the wax foundation helps the bees draw out a regular comb.





A few years ago I posted this foundation press which was used to make foundations for the combs:




















































To submit photos, send them to the address in my profile.















Last week's set is seen below, click here to view the entire post.








More discussion and comments on these photos can be found at the newsgroup rec.puzzles.