Set 401

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2317. Around 20" tall, take a look at Neatorama for more guesses and a chance to win a T-shirt:






































2318. Approximately 6" diameter:

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2319. 18" long:

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2320. This was sent in a visitor who is looking to find the exact purpose for this pump, by pumping the center part it can shoot liquid a couple feet into the air, liquid that falls into the small bowl on top will flow back into the container.

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2321. 2" long:






























2322. 7" long:

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Answers:



2317. A portable hand pump fog horn for use on a boat:






































2318. A 360 degree folding arm protractor, these were mainly used for plotting theodolite readings, it's marked Adie, London:

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2319. A square hole saw, by drilling a single hole in a piece of wood it could be used to cut a square or rectangular hole:

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2320. A solvent dispenser for some type of fast evaporating or flammable cleaning fluid, a cloth could be pushed against the top part to moisten it, for use by a watchmaker, printer, etc. Liquid can flow back into the container only when the top part is pushed down but not when it's in the up position. This device looks like a smaller version of the plunger can that was posted here a couple of years ago, seen in the second photo below.

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2321. A friction fuse for a Civil War cannon, the top half of the tube contained powdered chemicals similar to those on the striking surface of a match, the other half contained black powder. A cord was attached to the loop, when it was sharply pulled, the friction compound would ignite the black powder which would shoot a flame into the cannon causing it to fire. Depending on the location of the fuse hole, soldiers had to be careful where they stood since the friction fuse could become a projectile when the cannon was shot.






























2322. A woodworker's gauge for scribing a line into a piece of wood, the top part is adjustable so it can be used for either straight or curved pieces, patent number 660,176.

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To submit photos, send them to the address in my profile, please include dimensions, any text on the item, and where it was found.















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.

Set 400

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




2311. 36" tall:






































2312. The objective here is to describe the purpose of the copper part on the left end of this model:

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2313. 5" long:



































2314. About 4-1/2" long, this first one was sent in by a visitor:


































2315. Approximately 3-3/4" long:

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2316. Around 4" long, take a look at Neatorama for more guesses and a chance to win a T-shirt:

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Answers:


2311. These are adjustable roller stands, used for holding long pieces of wood or other material when feeding a saw, the one with two rollers can be adjusted to a V formation to hold logs or pipe:






































2312. The copper item represents a spar torpedo, the plaque next to this model of the C.S.S. Hunley read:

The torpedo was a copper cylinder with ninety pounds of explosives on a yellow pine boom some twenty-two feet long fitted into the two loops on the ship's bow, which was designed to be rammed into the target ship's side. Long lost, having sunk during it's successful attack on the federal warship Housatonic, the C.S.S. Hunley was rediscovered in 1995 and raised in August of 2000. It will undergo restoration and then be on display at the Charleston Museum.

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2313. A lock for a spare tire, in each hole there is a spring and a tab that protrudes into the opening. The device was pushed on to lock in place, when the key was turned, the tabs would retract, which allowed the springs to push the lock off the lugs.



































2314. These are all corn husking pegs, they were used to open the husk to allow the removal of the ear, and also to split the husk when removing an ear of corn from the stalk.


































2315. This is an old prank device, when the button is pressed the victim gets stuck with a pin, similar to the old trick vestas or match safes:

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2316. A tool that was used to make cavities in bullet molds during the Civil War:

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To submit photos, send them to the address in my profile, please include dimensions, any text on the item, and where it was found.















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.

Set 399

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




2305. Approximately 6' long:

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2306. This tool was sent in by a visitor:

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2307. Around 14" long:





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2308. 3" diameter:































2309. About 8" long, another unidentified tool, text on it reads "Bridgeport Line":

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2310. 10" long, sent in by someone who is looking for the exact purpose of this reversible file, one side is fine and the other is coarse:

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Answers:



2305. A rifling machine for making grooves in gun barrels, the grooves impart a spin to the bullet that gyroscopically stabilizes it.

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On the wall behind it was a display that had a part from another rifling machine, some unfinished gun stocks, and an unfinished barrel.

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2306. An M-216B Can Wrench and Screwdriver for use on electrical equipment, patent number 1,318,088:

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2307. A phonograph for playing cylindrical records, it's missing its speaker:

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2308. A Joseph Joseph Spaghetti Measure
It looks great but the reviews on it at the link aren't good.




Another use for a mechanical iris was posted on the web this week:































2309. No answer yet for this tool, looks like it might have been specially made at Bridgeport or by someone who designed their own tool:

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2310. Also no luck yet in finding the exact purpose of this file:

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To submit photos, send them to the address in my profile, please include dimensions, any text on the item, and where it was found.















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.