What is it? Set 496

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Rob

Reply to
Rob H.
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2887: prison cell key?
Reply to
j Burns

2889 transmitter output valve or old high power rectifier?
Reply to
Rodwell
2887, not seen one of these ever. My gut sense, it's a key to a police call box. Perhaps to fire alarm box. 2888, don't know. 2889 2890 2891

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Rob

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

2887- Night watchman station key

2888- cuts a metal rod in two- what for? dunno

2889- mercury vapor rectifiers.
Reply to
spamTHISbrp

2888 -- A trip hammer for cutting lengths of wire?

2892 -- A vacuum-tube bridge?

Reply to
Ed Huntress

It looks as if the knob on the left would lift it a small, precise amount before letting it fall. Also, the lower "cutting" face is blunt.

Sometimes I've wanted to bend a piece of wire, such as a nail, sharply at a precise spot. Flattening it a precise amount at the exact spot would do the trick, although it might have to be heated after hammering if hammering hardened the material.

Reply to
j Burns

Hello All,

If #2887 has a telescopic shaft it may be a key for a security-vault.

Am 06.06.2013 09:56, schrieb Rob H.:

Reply to
Walter Kraft

That sounds reasonable. Flattening, rather than cutting, looks more like the design intent of that little hammer.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

2888 Saw tooth setting device?
Reply to
Paul Tuttle

Aha! I'll bet you're right.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

2887 Jail cell key.
Reply to
willshak

Correct

Reply to
Rob H.

Rectifier is correct.

Reply to
Rob H.

I think that this is right but I haven't been able to find another one like it.

Reply to
Rob H.

Yes, according to the owner that's what it is.

Reply to
Rob H.
2887 -- Van Dorn spike key -- the only one's that I've seen are for jail locks.

2889 -- mercury arc rectifiers/mercury arc valves: see

Northe

Reply to
Northe

Still cross-posting, so posting from Rec.crafts.metalworking as always.

2887) Looks like a key for a safe set in the floor.

You insert it in the lid, turn to unlock, and then use the handle to lift it out.

2888) Looks like a tool for cutting round bar stock -- steel or other strong metals.

The V-notches to either side hold the workpiece at the proper height.

The square headed screw adjusts the position of the bottom chisel so it is just in contact with the workpiece (adjusts for the diameter of the workpiece).

The upper chisel is allowed to rest on the top of the workpiece, or is held a bit above it by the spring.

Then it is struck by a sledgehammer to cut the workpiece.

I was at first thinking that it was a blacksmith's tool, but if so, I would expect to see signs of charring when the hot workpiece was held in contact with the wooden V positioners.

Hmm ... turning the handle at the back would lift the hammer/chisel clear and then allow it to drop -- but I don't think that it is heavy enough for that to be practical.

2889) looks like early experimental cathode-ray tubes. Perhaps two deflection pins coming out at right angles, and the electron gun at the other angle. 2890) Looks like some sort of sliding knob -- but not clear what it was a part of -- other than something relatively recent in terms of what shows up at this site. :-) Injection molded rather bright colored plastic. 2891) Looks like tools to be operate by two men -- sliding along a surface -- perhaps to separate grain or something similar. 2892) An early vacuum-tube radio. External batteries for the filaments (likely a single zinc-carbon cell) and a number of cells for the higher plate voltages. There may be a small three-cell zinc-carbon battery built inside which serves as a bias voltage for the grids, and thus has very little current, and lasts a very long time.

Toggle switch near the bottom left corner to switch the filaments on and off. The high voltage probably does not need to be switched with circuits as simple as these -- when the filaments stop glowing, the current fro the high voltage stops.

The small knob at the bottom of the central object is the tuning knob, and the frequency scale is visible at the opposite end.

A little more compact than the one which I used to have -- decades ago. And it was split into two parts -- the radio tuner (Regenartive with adjustable coupling, and a separate box for the audio amplifier. Probably five tubes between them.

The wires at the center back probably go to the batteries, and the upper binding post terminals are for speaker or headphones and for the antenna. (If I were in the other browser, so I could get the "Larger image" to work, I would probably be able to read what is printed on the knobs.

Now to post and then see what others have suggested.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

As I also mention on the site, I'll be posting on Wednesday morning next week.

The answers for this set have been posted:

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Thanks to all who participated!

Rob

Reply to
Rob H.

--------------------------------------------------- Just looked at key again.

The handle is marked "Van Dorn" which identifies the old Van Dorn Iron Works on E79th St, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Van Dorn got out of the jail business and got into the injection molding machine business.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

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