What is it? CXXIII

714 is a clay pigeon

719 osciliscope

714

715

716

717- something involved in bookbinding

718

719 tektronix oscilloscope

Dave

It is? What, like a mini-battue? 3" diameter.

I'm going to go with weight for a set of scales. I bet the exact weight is stamped on the other side and that's why we don't get to see the bottom.

714. Gauge block

715. Sheet metal hammer

716. Needle valve needle sharpener

717. Book binder

718. Electric power switch

719. 100 MHz Oscilloscope

Carl G.

"Carl G." wrote: (clip) 716. Needle valve needle sharpener (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gasp. Rob, I think Carl deserves half credit here, don't you?

714 - abrasive lapping plate?

715 - twisted face hammer, used for setting large saws (very large saws!)

717 - Bookbinding press, used for holding signatures while you sew them. Probably American, as Europe tended to use a traditional wooden press for this with the signature held vertically.

719 - oscilloscope. Looks like a Tektronix? Mid '90s AFAIR and the little blue digital display is a built in DMM. Probably the last and most over-engineered analogue scope made.

Slight correction, books go in a "Sewing Frame" for sewing, not a press. Bookbinding presses are for rounding and backing, casing in, trimming (with the plough), gilding, probably a few other operations that don't spring to mind at the moment. Not sewing, though. Only time you would do anything like sewing with the book in the press is when retro-fitting some thread or cord into an adhesive binding (like strengthening a paperback).

I don't think 717 is a bookbinding press, it doesn't look like any BB press I've seen or made.

Adam Smith Midland, ON

Yep, the needle sharpener part is correct.

Rob

"> > 717 - Bookbinding press, used for holding signatures while you sew them.

I forgot to include the patent date on my site: 1-12-04. It was marked "bookbinder", I guess they made them different over 100 years ago. Other text on it reads "Boorum & Pease L.L.B. Co." The ruler on it has zero in the middle and goes to ten in both directions in what looks to be half inch increments:

Thanks for the info on BB presses.

Rob

I think that's also a regional variation. Although we're talking about the same thing (lightweight, wooden, holds things) rather than a real press (heavy, iron, squashes things) they get called "presses" too.

Round here a "press" can also mean simply a cupboard!

There's a similar one in our local bookbinding museum, although it's for magazine and pamphlet work rather than books. Supposedly it was used for posh art magazines around 1900.

How about "gramophone" needle sharpener?

Jim

I've been out of the loop too long. I was going to guess HP, because it's orange. I've never seen an orange Tek scope - they've all been blue.

Cheers! Rich

You're on the right track, but it was for a specific type of needle.

Rob

Is "gramophone" not specific enough? Phonograph? Or are you talking specific make of needle?

Jim

I meant specific make, the material and the producer are both uncommon compared to a regular phono needle.

Rob

I think that's just a colour cast from tungsten light.

I said Tek because the vernier knobs are red, it looks a bit more sophisticated than a cheap Hameg or other Asian scope (more red knobs) and I remember them having the built-in DMM / frequency counter.

A HP would have bigger, tasteful grey knobs and they'd probably be missing because HP's knobs always used to break.

Another clue: The model number is shown in the picture.

Carl G.