What is it? Set 373

A new set of photos has been added to the web site:

Rob

Sounds like a good use for it! I agree that it was probably used to make impressions in wood.

Rob

Guesses:

2154: My guess is that the ends are mostly there to help protect the long thin thing(s) in the cylindrical part--say, during transport. It appears sort of in the style of a musical instrument case--which makes more sense than a shipping case due to the absence of a lock. So my final guess is that it contains an instrument--perhaps one for engineering, like a LEVEL, where accuracy is a virtue.

Bill

Wild guesses....

2152 - A tool for aligning offset or nonaligned holes, so plates can be bolted together.... i.e., early steel frame construction.

Sonny

That sounds reasonable. Or leather? For hides, maybe the hammer head could be dipped in ink, to temporarily tattoo a raw hide.

Sonny

My guess is that it was used for timber marking. The butt of the log would be stamped before the log was sent down the river. At the end of the run, the logs would be separated using the owner's stamp as identification.

Kevin Gallimore

I can't do better, but don't you find it just "too coincidental" that the ownern's mark in this case is a '$'?

Bill

No. Were I in the business, I might use it myself. Easily recognized, and easily communicated.

Kevin Gallimore

How about marking a (cooling) steel ingot. Maybe the "S and I" stands for for Steel Ingot? Long shot???? "C and I" would stand for Copper Ingot...hence dollars and cents : )

Bill

I think this is probably correct. One odd thing about the case, I don't remember seeing a handle on it.

Rob

The two items in number 2149 were for use on a farm.

Rob

As a followup to myself, here you see the British Pound symbol used as a timber mark:

------------------------------------ Ever been on a pouring platform, especially during an actual pour?

Lew

This is an update on the blue and red electrical device from last week, the owner of it cut it open to see what was inside, see below for what was found.

Here is the original photo from last week:

1. The terminals come into the case through some white insulating kind of plastic.
2. The exterior case is copper.
3. The terminals connect to two steel rods. They appear to be precisely ground to size.
4. The two steel rods were separated by two pieces of glass (insulators?)
5. The two steel rods had blocs of carbon on the outside.
6. Two larger pieces of carbon were on the top and bottom of the above.
7. The entire assembly was wrapped in ordinary masking tape (no insulation there!)
8. The space between the assembly wrapped in masking tape and the outer copper shell was filled with powered carbon.

I still don't know what it was! If it weren't for the carbon (which is conductive) I would think some kind of a capacitor. Perhaps I am wrong about the solid carbon and the powdered carbon being carbon... but it sure looks like it to me! Sure made a mess in my shop.

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Anyone have an answer for it?

Rob

If it was carbon I would say some form of resistor. Maybe a large audio dummy load or carbon pile load for testing power supplies or RF equipment. It would be non inductive and well shielded.