DoN. Nichols wrote:

Look at the eyes on the ones which your link leads to, and
compare it to the one on the puzzle photo. That puzzle photo one
is *only* designed to accept a wooden rod as a T-handle, not to
serve as a tie-down eye.

I still say post-hole digger.


I see what you mean, but I disagree.

I think if it were a post hole digger it would likely NOT have a
removable handle and the handle-neck juncture would probably be a
little beefier to hold up to years of use.

Our mystery auger seems to be made somewhat cheaply... which is
exactly what you'd expect with something that will see limited use and
will need to be bought in quantity.

I still think it's an earth auger anchor... we'll have to agree to
disagree.

Joe Barta

The R.H. entity posted thusly:


Slip a rod into the hole, crank it into the ground, remove the rod and
anchor something down to it... like a tent.

Joe Barta

Or a mobile home..often used in earthquake country


I thought that there still might be a chance of it being an ice auger since
that's what it was marked and the seller ususally has all of his tool tagged
correctly, but after checking with some ice fishermen who all agreed that it
was not one, I've changed the answer on my page to either an earth anchor or
a post hole digger.

All the post hole augers I have seen (I have one, but they are very
common around here), have flutes that come up all the way, and for the
same reason as an ice auger... to carry the waste out of the hole.

Joe Barta wrote:

It's an earth auger ANCHOR...

I'm changing my mind. The thing that bothered me was the length...
50". That just seems too long for an anchor. And the diameter of the
bit just isn't big enough for much of a post hole digger. Plus it just
seems too flimsy to be used to dig deep holes into earth or anchor
anything that requires such a deep anchor.

My final answer is one that was given by others... an ice auger for
ice fishing. It's the right length, has a removable handle for easy
carrying and drills a hole just big enough to set a line into
(although if you catch a huge fish you might have a problem ;-)

Seems to me that the cutter should pretty easily carve a nice hole
into ice without much torque required.

Is that your FINAL answer?

Yes... ice auger.

Joe Barta

"Joe Barta" wrote in message
.. .
DoN. Nichols wrote:

Look at the eyes on the ones which your link leads to, and
compare it to the one on the puzzle photo. That puzzle photo one
is *only* designed to accept a wooden rod as a T-handle, not to
serve as a tie-down eye.

I still say post-hole digger.


I see what you mean, but I disagree.

I think if it were a post hole digger it would likely NOT have a
removable handle and the handle-neck juncture would probably be a
little beefier to hold up to years of use.

Our mystery auger seems to be made somewhat cheaply... which is
exactly what you'd expect with something that will see limited use and
will need to be bought in quantity.

I still think it's an earth auger anchor... we'll have to agree to
disagree.

Joe Barta
I have a post hole digger of this type, not having any fluting to bring out
the soil but a heavier shaft and fixed wooden handle. Since the shaft and
eye seem so light, I wonder if it might be an anchor for use in some kind of
loose material? I can't really imagine what material.
Don Young

You sure?
http://tinyurl.com/atqaw

--humunculus

Here's another shot. I think its a type of 'canopy anchor'.

http://tinyurl.com/8fatd

--humunculus

humunculus wrote:

You sure?
http://tinyurl.com/atqaw

--humunculus


Yeah, I'm sticking with ice auger. They are all similar, but you'll
note that one of those someone else pointed to is 30"... closer to
what I'd expect for an anchor. And as someone else pointed out, the
eye is different... more for turning and less for anchoring.

The digger part is also different. In your picture the digger is more
of a screw than a scraper. In the mystery auger the digger part is
shallower... more for burrowing a hole than driving into the ground.

Some say burrowing a hole into the ground... but I don't think it's
strong enough for that. Plus, if you were to bore a hole 30" into the
ground, the handle would be about 20" off the ground. Doesn't seem
like a good design.

Anyhow, to me, it seems too big to be an anchor and too flimsy to be
an earth auger. I'm still left with ice auger. I don't think it
actually "digs" the ice. More like scrapes a hole though it. Looking
at pictures of modern ice augers you'll see a shallower angle for the
cutter head... just like our mystery auger.

Joe Barta

Yeah, but there's that problem with the tip. Modern ice augers don't
have a little guiding drill tip, they start augering right at the
start. I can't imagine that getting through ice that will 2-inches
later be scraped. Somehow there must be a guiding hole to steer the
auger. However, it could more easily push thorough sand or loose soil.

I also wondered if it was for reaming out pipes...

--humunculus

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:01:23 GMT, Joe Barta wrote:

,;humunculus wrote:
,;
,; You sure?
,; http://tinyurl.com/atqaw
,;
,; --humunculus
,;
,;
,;Yeah, I'm sticking with ice auger. They are all similar, but you'll
,;note that one of those someone else pointed to is 30"... closer to
,;what I'd expect for an anchor. And as someone else pointed out, the
,;eye is different... more for turning and less for anchoring.


Well I have lived in ice fishing country for almost 80 years and have
never seen a device like this for drilling holes in ice.

I perceive a problem when this tool breaks through something like 2
feet of ice and doesn't clean the bottom of the hole. How in hell are
you going to get the damned thing back out of the hole? The old timers
had the foresight to run the flutes up far enough so one could keep it
centered and remove the drill. You would spend more time removing the
drill than you would spend fishing. Of course with the wooden cross
handle one could let it sit on the ice while planning the next move.

My guess is post hole digger or anchor. If it was used for a canopy
anchor one could drill down a foot or so and then place a pipe over it
with a rope or cable coming up to tie down the canopy.

Ice augers have a sharp shaver. This device does not.
,;
Stuff snipped

Try googling "champion flat auger" under images. Closest thing I can
find.

--humunculus

RH: I suggest you run a 'Best of What Is It' with all the unidentified
items from the past. Very cool...

"Gerard 46" writes:
| Scott Lurndal wrote:
| #559 is a bakelite poker chip lazy susan.

How in heck can you tell it has a lazy susan base ? _____Gerard S.





guess based on former posession of a similar item.

scott

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:01:23 GMT, Joe Barta wrote:

humunculus wrote:

You sure?
http://tinyurl.com/atqaw

--humunculus


Yeah, I'm sticking with ice auger. They are all similar, but you'll
note that one of those someone else pointed to is 30"... closer to
what I'd expect for an anchor. And as someone else pointed out, the
eye is different... more for turning and less for anchoring.

But I've seen earth anchors that were 4 feet long at the local farm
supply store. The length is a function of what kind of load you're
going to fasten down, and what kind of soil you're going to be driving
it into. Around here, we've got very loose, sandy soil or soft, loamy
soil that goes down at least 6 feet.

This company http://www.jimssupply.com/anchors.htm has them up to
66" long.

So if it's the length that's giving you pause, anchors do come that
long.

The digger part is also different. In your picture the digger is more
of a screw than a scraper. In the mystery auger the digger part is
shallower... more for burrowing a hole than driving into the ground.

Some say burrowing a hole into the ground... but I don't think it's
strong enough for that. Plus, if you were to bore a hole 30" into the
ground, the handle would be about 20" off the ground. Doesn't seem
like a good design.

Anyhow, to me, it seems too big to be an anchor and too flimsy to be
an earth auger. I'm still left with ice auger. I don't think it
actually "digs" the ice. More like scrapes a hole though it. Looking
at pictures of modern ice augers you'll see a shallower angle for the
cutter head... just like our mystery auger.

But that spike at the end would cause problems in trying to start it
through ice.

'Tis a puzzlement.

But that spike at the end would cause problems in trying to start it
through ice.


I agree that the way the small spike has been made, it doesn't look like it
would be effective for drilling through ice. Also, I got replies from eight
different ice fishermen on an ice fishing forum, and all of them say it's
not an ice auger.

Though one of them did recognize it and posted:

"It's a swamp anchor for power poles. My dad was a lineman for 27 years so
I've seen a few. It's screwed in the ground in soft boggy or wet areas that
power lines go through. The loop on the top is for the guy wires to
stabilize the pole."

This makes sense and I was ready to declare my vote for earth anchor,
especially since I've seen quite a few similar ones on the web, including
this 48" model:

http://www.alabamatower.com/proddetail.asp?prod=GAS604

I then decided to take one last look on ebay for old post hole diggers and
earth anchors, I came up with nothing on the latter, I was surprised to find
a similar old post hole digger that was patented in 1869:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-FARM-TOO...QQcmdZViewItem

It's not the exact same as the one in my photos, but the pitch of the blades
is very similar, whereas most of the earth anchors that I've seen have a
steeper type blade that looks to be made more for drilling than for digging
holes.

This site confirms that the tool on ebay is indeed a post hole auger:

http://www.vaughanmfg.com/history.html

This is also verified by going to the U.S. patent site and looking up the
number given on the previous link, it's called an "Improved post auger".
Maybe the one in my photos is from before this time, since the part by the
handle is not built as rugged as the new improved version.

I'm now favoring the post hole digger answer, mostly because I haven't seen
an earth anchor with the same type blades, and also based on the auger from
1869.


Rob

RH: I suggest you run a 'Best of What Is It' with all the unidentified
items from the past. Very cool...


That's a good idea, I'll probably do that fairly soon and maybe post a
separate page of all the close-ups, and possibly other categories if I find
the time.

---

Since I've yet to see an earth anchor in which both ends look like the tool
in my photos, I've changed the answer to post hole auger. As with all
answers on my site, this is subject to change if new evidence is found.


Rob

"Jeff R" wrote


Could there be a distinction between an ice auger which drills a hole, and
an ice anchor auger, which provides an anchor in the ice?


I wouldn't think an ice anchor auger would be able to screw itself into ice.
They would just use an ice auger to drill out the hole, put in the anchor,
fill the hole with water and let it refreeze.

On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:19:00 -0600, Barbara Bailey wrote:
On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:44:15 +0000 (UTC), "Norman Billingham"
wrote:
"R.H." wrote in message
m...
A few more photos have been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

Rob

#561 is a post-hole borer

Looks more like an earth anchor than a hole digger.

There isn't enough screw to carry the loose dirt out of the hole, but
the blades will cut their way into the ground and allow the hole to
close back around the shaft, making it difficult to pull it loose
without unscrewing it. The eye at the top of the shaft would allow a
rope or chain to be fastened there, tethering whatever is attached to
the other end of the rope.

Not to mention the stick that you use to twirl it. :-)

I've seen these used for mobile home tie-downs in tornado country,
which, of course, brings to mind an image of a trailer floor with
these four or five steel straps arched over it...

Cheers!
Rich

On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:21:41 -0800, Gerard 46 wrote:

| Scott Lurndal wrote:
| #559 is a bakelite poker chip lazy susan.

How in heck can you tell it has a lazy susan base ? _____Gerard S.

I wonder why he says it's bakelite - ours was polystyrene. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 05:22:03 +0000, Carl G. wrote:


"Susan" wrote in message
...
This may have been asked/answered before, but does anyone know or remember
a
TV Game show LONG time ago that would have unusual objects and 2 wrong and
1
correct answer were given? If you do remember the name of the show I
would
appreciate you sharing it with me :-)

Susan

Your description is similar to that of a game show called "Liar's Club",
except that in "Liar's Club" three of four celebrities provided incorrect
answers. Also, it wasn't produced a LONG time ago. It was produced in
1969, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1988. The host in 1969 was Rod Serling. Other
hosts were Bill Armstrong (1976-1977), Allen Ludden (1977-1978), and Eric
Boardman (1988-1989).

Carl G.

To these kids, that's a _very_ long time ago. Some of them weren't even
born yet then!

[Uh-oh - was that the sound of my bones creaking? ;-) ]

Cheers!
Rich

On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 16:16:15 +1100, Jeff R wrote:
"Oleg Lego" wrote in message
...
The R.H. entity posted thusly:

561. This was marked "ice auger", which I think is probably correct. It
has two cutting edges whereas most of the earth anchors that I've seen on
the web have just one, and look a little more similar to a drill, as seen
he

http://www.rackattack.com/product/62....htm?gad=CM2F2
P8BEghkEKJdN-87sRi4lIn_AyD94dcP&gkw=306258&utm_id=3

That's most definitely not an ice auger, or at least it's not even
close to any ice auger I have ever seen, and I've seen quite a number
of them.

A search for "ice auger" in Google Images will show you what an ice
auger looks like... the main feature being 'threads' that go most of
the way up the shaft.

Could there be a distinction between an ice auger which drills a hole, and
an ice anchor auger, which provides an anchor in the ice?

Definitely. To provide an anchor in the ice, you lay a chain on the
ice, and pour a few gallons of boiling water over it, and wait for
the ice to refreeze.

I'ts a _sand_ anchor - they use them a dozen at a time to tie down mobile
homes on sandy dirt in tornado alley. :-)

I guess it could be used for guy wires, but they're usually poured
concrete - this unit is either for a temporary installation or used on
mobile homes because they're cheap. (i.e., you can afford to buy a dozen
of them. ;-) )

Cheers!
Rich

On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 23:41:46 +0000, DoN. Nichols wrote:

According to Wood Butcher :
"R.H." wrote in message
. ..

[ ... ]

It looks like it could be used for either purpose, but I'm leaning towards
ice auger mostly because of the angle of the blades, the fact that there are
two of them, and it seems to me that it would would work well for shaving
ice.

The shaft doesn't appear robust enough to transmit the torque
required for an ice auger. I'm inclined to agree with the earth
auger hypothesis.

And the ring at the top does not look either strong enough, or
shaped properly to allow use as an anchor. It is too sharp-edged to not
cut through the rope attached to it.

I believe that shape is correct for a wooden T-handle fitted
through it to allow two people to march around the hole which is being
drilled.

Yes, the wooden handle is used to screw it into the ground, and then
a clevis bolt goes through the hole and secures a large (say, 3" or 8 cm
wide) steel strap that goes over the top of the mobile home and attaches
to the anchor on the other side with a similar clevis bolt. I'll email
my brother, who still lives in a trailer, and see if he can get a pic
of one.

Cheers!
Rich

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 22:40:59 -0600, Don Young wrote:
"Joe Barta" wrote in message
DoN. Nichols wrote:

Look at the eyes on the ones which your link leads to, and
compare it to the one on the puzzle photo. That puzzle photo one
is *only* designed to accept a wooden rod as a T-handle, not to
serve as a tie-down eye.

I still say post-hole digger.

I see what you mean, but I disagree.

I think if it were a post hole digger it would likely NOT have a
removable handle and the handle-neck juncture would probably be a
little beefier to hold up to years of use.

Our mystery auger seems to be made somewhat cheaply... which is
exactly what you'd expect with something that will see limited use and
will need to be bought in quantity.

I still think it's an earth auger anchor... we'll have to agree to
disagree.

Joe Barta
I have a post hole digger of this type, not having any fluting to bring out
the soil but a heavier shaft and fixed wooden handle. Since the shaft and
eye seem so light, I wonder if it might be an anchor for use in some kind of
loose material? I can't really imagine what material.

Sand.

Cheers!
Rich

564 is a saw set. 567 is a cartridge belt
"Rich Grise" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:19:00 -0600, Barbara Bailey wrote:
On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:44:15 +0000 (UTC), "Norman Billingham"
wrote:
"R.H." wrote in message
m...
A few more photos have been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

Rob

#561 is a post-hole borer

Looks more like an earth anchor than a hole digger.

There isn't enough screw to carry the loose dirt out of the hole, but
the blades will cut their way into the ground and allow the hole to
close back around the shaft, making it difficult to pull it loose
without unscrewing it. The eye at the top of the shaft would allow a
rope or chain to be fastened there, tethering whatever is attached to
the other end of the rope.

Not to mention the stick that you use to twirl it. :-)

I've seen these used for mobile home tie-downs in tornado country,
which, of course, brings to mind an image of a trailer floor with
these four or five steel straps arched over it...

Cheers!
Rich