What is it? CXCVI

1084 looks a lot like the medallion/handle screws on my old Disston hand saw .

1082 looks like a recording tape splicing block.

-Carl

1079 - Shoe horn for rabbits feet?

I agree. Looks like a 1/4 inch recording tape splice block.

Had them mounted right on the Apex 350 and 440 recorders.

Phil

1084 looks a lot like the medallion/handle screws on my old Disston hand saw

Ditto for an old Craftsman hand saw that I got from Grandpa. The word "Craftsman" and some fancy frills are actually recessed into the blade and painted blue.

Maybe it's just the mood I'm in, but 1079, 1080 and 1081 all look like they could be antique (and painful) gynecological instruments.

People usually submit a photo to me when they are looking to identify an object, but this morning I got an email with just a word description and no picture. After first reading it I had no ideas, so I replied asking for a photo to be sent. Five minutes later I reread it and an answer quickly came to mind. I sent another email, with a link to a photo of what I thought it was, and soon got a reply that my answer was correct.

So I figured I would post his original email here to see if anyone would like the challenge of a "What is it?" word puzzle. Here's the email:

"Amongst my grandmother's things we found an object that looks like a giant set of tweezers about 9" long but with two half circles of metal screwed to the inner sides of the tweezers half way along. When you squeeze the "tweezers" together the two half circles overlap to form a rough circular shape of about 1.5" in diameter. One edge of the completed circle has a serrated edge but the other edge is smooth."

-----

I had seen one of these before but had never owned or used one, it's not very common among my friends and family but there are a number of them still for sale.

Rob

1082. Splicing block for 1/4" magnetic tape. These actually worked better than the more complicated devices. Hmm, I had one --- I wonder what happened to it. 1084. Bolts for a handsaw handle

1081 Photographer's flashgun. Used flash powder.

1082 Splicing block for 1/4" audio tape.

1079 -- I'll guess a tap for maple sugaring or similar industry (rubber harvest?)--although it looks as though the bucket might tend to fall off the end, or the whole contraption fall off the tree, probably just at the time you have your toe directly underneath. 1083 -- no idea, except a badly failed design for a carrier for a bunch of 1079's!

I don't know the proper name for it but I believe it's a device used to remove corn from the cob.

Hair crimping tongs ?

According to R.H. :

O.K. Posting from rec.crafts.metalworking as usual.

1079) Looks like the end of the handle for a cooking pot of some kind. It slips on over a short wooden stub, and provides a ring to hang the pot near the stove when it is not in used. 1080) Some sort of sales display -- perhaps for a wristwatch or a bracelet. 1081) Some kind of maritime flare gun, perhaps? Looks as though it can hold three flares to be shot in sequence. 1082) This one is obvious -- a recording tape splicing block. It looks as though this one is for 1/2" wide tape, instead of the 1/4" wide tape which mine handles..

The two pieces of tape are placed in the dished groove oxide side down, overlapping at the point of splicing. Then a single-edge razor blade is used to cut through both (your choice of the right-angles groove for closed timing, or the angled one to minimize thumps as you play through.

1083) Looks like a clamp for a bunch of parallel insulated wires or hydraulic lines. Eight lines would be about right for four hydraulic cylinders, though I would think that there was no need for wood for that -- steel or aluminum would be more likely choices I would think.

As for the "made entirely of wood" bit -- are you sure about that? The main part -- of course. Maybe even the nuts, but it looks like rusted iron or steel in the visible threads.

1084) If *I* had those, they would probably go in my seldom-used collection of cuff links. :-)

They might have been quality badges to go in some kind of furniture or leather goods.

Now to see what others have guessed.

Enjoy, DoN.

According to snipped-for-privacy@aol.com :

I still have mine -- double-stick foam taped to the head cover on my Ampex 440B. I just went down to verify that, and I am still sure that this one is for 1/2" tape, not 1/4". That groove is just too wide for 1/4" on a 5" length. (My machine could handle 1/2" tape, but I never had the heads for that. :-(

I should have spotted that. You're right, for sure.

Enjoy, DoN.

APEX? You mean Ampex.

R.H. wrote: ) "Amongst my grandmother's things we found an object that looks like a giant ) set of tweezers about 9" long but with two half circles of metal screwed to ) the inner sides of the tweezers half way along. When you squeeze the ) "tweezers" together the two half circles overlap to form a rough circular ) shape of about 1.5" in diameter. One edge of the completed circle has a ) serrated edge but the other edge is smooth."

A device to open tight jar lids ?

SaSW, Willem

...or tight lips, perhaps. The tool adopts the reflexology principle that you apply the device to some /other/ part of the body; curiously, the effect is indeed to part the lips, admittedly somewhat noisily.

This answer is correct, though it was only posted on rcm so the other groups didn't see it. The device is a corn cutter, like the one on this page:

Rob