What is it? XCVIII
 

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

What is it? XCVIII
 

R.H. wrote:
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob


563 Old fire extingisher

564 Saw set, for setting the teeth on saws

565 ??

566 ??

567 Ammo Carrier?

568 ??

from rcm

What is it? XCVIII
 

R.H. wrote:

Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I
wasn't able to verify them so I've included them
in this new post.

My one piece of insight to share on #471 is that if you look at the red
numbers, they are different by 4 or 5 from the adjacent red numbers.
With the exception of 9 and 0 (which are either 1 or 9 apart, depending
on how you look at it.)

My gut feeling is that this dial is for remapping the 0-9 digits such
that adjacent digits do not come out near each other in the remap,
maybe something like a grey code. The 20-tooth cog and the
microswitch-style rider look like something out of a phone
pulse-switching system, although what kind of stepper switch they might
control I still do not fathom.

Tim.

What is it? XCVIII
 

"563 Old carbon tet fire extinguisher

564 Saw set

565 Ice crusher?

566 ?

567 Ammo pouches---M1 carbine? Garand?

568 leather skiving tool?

What is it? XCVIII
 

R.H. wrote:
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

Hi Rob...My guesses...

563 Is that a Galileo Thermometer Globe?
564 Saw Tooth Set
565 Art Deco (70's) mixer/blender
566 Cane Handle
567 WWI Ammo Belt
568 Crimping tool of some sort?

What is it? XCVIII
 

bremen68 wrote:
R.H. wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob


Hi Rob...My guesses...

563 Is that a Galileo Thermometer Globe?
564 Saw Tooth Set
565 Art Deco (70's) mixer/blender
566 Cane Handle
567 WWI Ammo Belt
568 Crimping tool of some sort?



565. Jetson's coffee grinder?

566. Place holding pointer used when reading from a Torah scroll?

That insect like thing depicted on it makes me wonder, but maybe it's a
representation of a locust like insect which is considered kosher?

http://oukosher.org/index.php/faqs/single/locusts/

Jeff



--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented."

What is it? XCVIII
 

Hi

565 looks like an ice crusher from about 1960.

566 looks like a top piece for a walking stick,
but ir might be a bit small. Clearly a round
shaft ( 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter) fits into it.

Thanks
Roger Haar

******************************************
"R.H." wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

Rob

What is it? XCVIII
 

R.H. wrote:
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

568. Stanley spokeshave with handles that attach on ends or with one
upright. Came with flat and curved bases, and a fence. Can't remember
the number offhand.

John Martin

What is it? XCVIII
 

On 19/01/2006 11:29 AM, John Martin wrote:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

568. Stanley spokeshave with handles that attach on ends or with one
upright. Came with flat and curved bases, and a fence. Can't remember
the number offhand.

Good call. Stanley #67 "Universal".

What is it? XCVIII
 

I think that is suppose to represent a glove or hand gripping something,
Looks a lot like a glove from a suit of armour. It might be a cane top
without the stick??

Jeff Wisnia wrote:
bremen68 wrote:

R.H. wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new
and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the
unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to
verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob



Hi Rob...My guesses...

563 Is that a Galileo Thermometer Globe?
564 Saw Tooth Set
565 Art Deco (70's) mixer/blender
566 Cane Handle
567 WWI Ammo Belt
568 Crimping tool of some sort?



565. Jetson's coffee grinder?

566. Place holding pointer used when reading from a Torah scroll?

That insect like thing depicted on it makes me wonder, but maybe it's a
representation of a locust like insect which is considered kosher?

http://oukosher.org/index.php/faqs/single/locusts/

Jeff

What is it? XCVIII
 

566. A "Beauty and the Beast" edition of a candle holder ?

246. Tool box ? jewelry box ?

447. some tool to place or remove horse shoes ?

212. a square peg for matching square holes ?

244. it looks like a rope could be put around in the gap around the screw,
and screwing the bottom part would hold the rope in place.
better yet, an identical object like this one would have its loop fit in
the gap. It could make a strange chain.

What is it? XCVIII
 

"R.H." wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

Rob

518 looks very much like a foundry worker's "floor rammer".

Tom

What is it? XCVIII
 

543: Seems like long ago an old timer pointed to one of those and said
it was a fencing tool. You looped the wire on one of the teeth and
levered it against whatever was handy to tighten the wire, and you
hammered staples with the hammerhead. How you held the wire tight while
you removed the puller and switched to the hammerhead is unclear.

447: I did get pictures of that last fall.
Well, I *took* some pictures. They didn't come out so good. I thought
there was enough light but there wasn't. I've been working on some of
them and if you want I can post the one or two that actually have
something to see on ABPW later this evening. I believe there's one
where you can clearly see this part as one piece of a one-man bucksaw.
I haven't talked about it because I'm embarassed about saying I was
going to take photos and then coming back with mostly pictures of a
black cat eating licorice in a cave at midnight.

What is it? XCVIII
 

"R.H." writes:
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob


#564 Saw Set (for setting handsaw teeth)
#565 Ice Crusher
#568 Stanley #65? universal spokeshave

What is it? XCVIII
 

I have a guess at 244.

It is a weight from a chain from a WWII D-Day Flail tank.

See the picture on the right near the bottom of:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_dday/clues.html

The front of the tank had a rotating cylinder with 6-ft. chains attached.
The chain had fist-sized weights hung on it. The flailing chains detonated
mines.

"R.H." wrote in message
. ..
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and
the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to
verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

What is it? XCVIII
 

On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 09:46:19 +0000, R.H. wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Well, I'm late, as usual, but there is at least one I want to guess at
before I read everybody else's answers:

563 - a decorative dangly thing, on art deco chandeliers and the like.
564 - clearly some kind of squeezer with interchangeable dies, but I
have no idea what it's supposed to squeeze.
565 - Art Deco Salad Shooter?
566 - Walking Stick Finial, sans stick
567 - Ammo Belt
568 - no idea
569 - oops! Never mind. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

What is it? XCVIII
 

What is it? XCVIII
 

On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 07:04:52 -0500, Howard R Garner wrote:

R.H. wrote:
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob


563 Old fire extingisher

D'OH! Yes! Of course! That's where I've seen those things dangle! (I had
guessed "something decorative, like a chandelier") It was so many decades
ago, I definitely remember seeing them hanging in soft metal straps, but
forgot entirely where I saw one, until just now, you triggered my memory -
in my Grandma's attic!

Except, I'd be more likely to categorize it as an early version of a
"sprinkler"[1], not a whole extinguisher, unless it's full of halon or
something. ;-)

Thanks!
Rich

[1]Or maybe a "splasher?" ;-) It's held by a band of low-melting alloy,
which when it melts, drops the globe on whatever's under it, the glass
is incredibly fragile, it breaks, and dumps the liquid all over
everything. I remember Dad cautioning me not to touch them in Grandma's
attic, because they were so fragile. ;-)

What is it? XCVIII
 

On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 05:00:03 -0800, Tim Shoppa wrote:

R.H. wrote:

Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I
wasn't able to verify them so I've included them
in this new post.

My one piece of insight to share on #471 is that if you look at the red
numbers, they are different by 4 or 5 from the adjacent red numbers.
With the exception of 9 and 0 (which are either 1 or 9 apart, depending
on how you look at it.)

My gut feeling is that this dial is for remapping the 0-9 digits such
that adjacent digits do not come out near each other in the remap,
maybe something like a grey code. The 20-tooth cog and the
microswitch-style rider look like something out of a phone
pulse-switching system, although what kind of stepper switch they might
control I still do not fathom.


Maybe from an "Enigma" coder/decoder circa WWII. I'm almost sure I've
seen such a thing before - the 45 degree bevel on the back is a
dead giveaway that it stuck out from some console, but I can't remember
for the life of me where I've seen it.

Thanks,
Rich

What is it? XCVIII
 

Doug Payne wrote:
On 19/01/2006 11:29 AM, John Martin wrote:
http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

568. Stanley spokeshave with handles that attach on ends or with one
upright. Came with flat and curved bases, and a fence. Can't remember
the number offhand.

Good call. Stanley #67 "Universal".

You people should also be posting these answers as comments on the
puzzlephotos site, so the people who posted them can have the benefit of
your answers too!

- Brooks


--
The "bmoses-nospam" address is valid; no unmunging needed.

What is it? XCVIII
 

On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 11:12:30 -0500, Jeff Wisnia wrote:

bremen68 wrote:
R.H. wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob


Hi Rob...My guesses...

563 Is that a Galileo Thermometer Globe?
564 Saw Tooth Set
565 Art Deco (70's) mixer/blender
566 Cane Handle
567 WWI Ammo Belt
568 Crimping tool of some sort?



565. Jetson's coffee grinder?

566. Place holding pointer used when reading from a Torah scroll?

The Monkey's Gauntlet. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

What is it? XCVIII
 

R.H. wrote:
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob


563 is a fire extingusher. the "throw it at the fire" type. :-)
564 looks something like a saw set but is not.
565 I think is an ice crusher for those fancy drinks.
...lew...

What is it? XCVIII
 

According to R.H. :
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

O.K. I'm posting from rec.crafts.metalworking again.

563) My first guess would be a sock darning "egg". I'm not sure why
the liquid -- other than to give it a bit of heft.

564) That is an interesting tool. I suspect that the sliding part
under the thumb screw is serrated on the surface which fits
against the body of the tool, and that the body is similarly
serrated, so once you tighten the screw, the sliding part won't
slide at the wrong time.

It looks as though its function is to bend something held in the
angled jaws -- perhaps to do something like crimp the end of
some copper tubing.

In any case, when the handles are operated, the square rod rises
to push the workpiece against the horizontal part of the
removable anvil in the top jaw. (I wonder what other jaw sets
were available for it?)

The spring is obviously to push the rod back and thus push the
handle back to its rest position.

565) I'm sure that I've seen one of these before. I forget whether
it was to produce shaved ice, or to squeeze an orange half to
produce juice. I think the former, because I don't see a firm
enough catch on the top to keep the orange half from pushing the
lid open.

566) Perhaps a weight for the end of a curtain pull?

567) Military style ammo belt. Each pocket would hold a stripper
clip full of rifle rounds.

It looks as though it is intended to be only part of a complete
set. Perhaps it joins to another, or perhaps to a knapsack.

568) Some kind of wood plane -- perhaps for wagon wheel spokes?


Old mystery items follow:

436) Perhaps one of Ben Franklin's electricity experiments?

471) Simple encryption/decryption device? Set the white arrow
to a white number to go one way, set the darker (perhaps red)
arrow to a white number to go the other way? Not a very good
encryption system -- perhaps something to use along with a
locksmith's book of key numbers to cut depths for recreating a
key for a lock in hand?

472) I still think that this is a sort of dirt tamper -- perhaps to
compact the dirt just shoveled into a post hole around the
fence post.

473) No real clue on this one.


244) It looks as though it is intended to be assembled around a
leather strap, and then hung from something. Perhaps part of
the harness for a team of oxen?

228) Looking at this again, it seems to me that it was designed to
unfold and be slid along the edge of a plank to make a scribe a
particular distance from the edge. Looking at the triangular
ruler in the photos, I would guess that the distance is 18", but
it could be something similar.

Perhaps it is for marking planks to be cut to width at a
sawmill?

76) Perhaps it goes on the bottom end of a wooden tripod leg,
such as for a surveyor's tripod?

186) I don't remember seeing this one before. I would like a closer
look at the jaws. Perhaps it is a punch for making holes in
leather belts? I'm not sure what the pivoting part is for --
other than to keep it a fixed distance off the floor, or to
clamp in a vise to free both hands to thread the leather into
position and then operate the handles to punch the hole?

202) Could the "reamer" actually be a screwdriver point? I think
that I've seen vaguely similar devices designed to work the
screws holding pole pieces into the frame of a generator. You
have to take out a very large and tight screw to replace the
coils around the pole pieces.

The screw on the other end adjusts for different diameters of
generators.

212) Hmmm ... can you measure the distance between the sides and the
top and bottom surfaces? It looks as though it is intended to
be a gauge block with a handle of some sort.

Is it tapered, or is that an artifact of the camera?

I would guess that it is quite close to 1.000" square.

246) No more to add to this one.

298) Perhaps tongs for picking up an ice cube from in a glass.

Perhaps designed to grip a coffee urn similar in shape to a
Florence flask (spherical bottom and cylindrical neck).

The quality does not look good enough to be chemistry lab
equipment.

447) No additional guesses on this one.

432) Hmm ... designed to hold bait on a trap?

Or designed to mold a lead weight of a fixed size?

383) I forget what guesses this one brought.

I think that it is either designed for chipping something with
the edge presented by the hammer head used in a normal manner,
or for folding the edge of something at an awkward angle, thus
explaining the angle of the hammer face.

I prefer this collection of old puzzles to your posting the
previous week's as a semi-continuation of the current week's puzzles.

Now to see what others have guessed.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

What is it? XCVIII
 

According to Rich Grise :
On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 05:00:03 -0800, Tim Shoppa wrote:

R.H. wrote:

Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I
wasn't able to verify them so I've included them
in this new post.

My one piece of insight to share on #471 is that if you look at the red
numbers, they are different by 4 or 5 from the adjacent red numbers.
With the exception of 9 and 0 (which are either 1 or 9 apart, depending
on how you look at it.)

My gut feeling is that this dial is for remapping the 0-9 digits such
that adjacent digits do not come out near each other in the remap,
maybe something like a grey code. The 20-tooth cog and the
microswitch-style rider look like something out of a phone
pulse-switching system, although what kind of stepper switch they might
control I still do not fathom.


Maybe from an "Enigma" coder/decoder circa WWII. I'm almost sure I've
seen such a thing before - the 45 degree bevel on the back is a
dead giveaway that it stuck out from some console, but I can't remember
for the life of me where I've seen it.

Too simple to be an "enigma", which used several rotors, with
crossed wiring from contacts on one side to contacts on the other side,
and some subset of them were rotated with each new character entered.
There was a keyboard, which closed contacts, fed through all of the
rotors (I think that the general one was three rotor, and the submarine
force later got a four-rotor version), and the scrambled wiring
eventually lit a small lamp behind the character which stood for the
original one.

But it probably could be used for something like changing digits
in a key code book for cutting a key from the number on the lock. (They
would not want it to be too simple, but also not so difficult that a
locksmith could not make keys at need.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

What is it? XCVIII
 

On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 09:46:19 GMT, "R.H." wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob



565 appears to be some sort of a kitchen grinder-- for coffee or
spices would be my guess

566 is the handle from a walking stick

567 military ammo pouches?

What is it? XCVIII
 

The machineman entity posted thusly:

I think that is suppose to represent a glove or hand gripping something,
Looks a lot like a glove from a suit of armour. It might be a cane top
without the stick??

566: Candle holder?

What is it? XCVIII
 

"R.H." wrote:

Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

Rob

#564 is a Stearns saw set, possibly 103 or 104 model.

Tom

What is it? XCVIII
 

Rich Grise wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 05:00:03 -0800, Tim Shoppa wrote:
My one piece of insight to share on #471 is that if you look at the red
numbers, they are different by 4 or 5 from the adjacent red numbers.
With the exception of 9 and 0 (which are either 1 or 9 apart, depending
on how you look at it.)

My gut feeling is that this dial is for remapping the 0-9 digits such
that adjacent digits do not come out near each other in the remap,
maybe something like a grey code. The 20-tooth cog and the
microswitch-style rider look like something out of a phone
pulse-switching system, although what kind of stepper switch they might
control I still do not fathom.


Maybe from an "Enigma" coder/decoder circa WWII. I'm almost sure I've
seen such a thing before - the 45 degree bevel on the back is a
dead giveaway that it stuck out from some console, but I can't remember
for the life of me where I've seen it.

I think it's more likely from a simple machine (not a "coder/decoder"
like an Enigma machine) that has to scatter sequential digits such that
the are not adjacent in the machine's operation. Don's suggestion of a
key-cutter might be close, but it would do the mapping because you
don't really want a key cut to pattern #4 to be close to a key cut to
#3 or #5 (replace "key" with whatever this thing does! I think
security/encryption is a bit of a red herring, it's probably something
more to do with mechanical tolerances and not cutting a strip of
something too thin or maybe something more like the utility of a hash
index in computing.)

I can't rule out it being from some sort of encryption device but the
mapping is so straightforward that it would provide zero real security
itself.

And the fact that there are twenty teeth on the cog and twenty digits
(two different colors) around the dial has to mean something, I just
don't know what! Going back to the "hash index" idea, maybe there are
ten useful doohinkeys in a machine, and they don't want to wear any out
in favor of others, so at each shift change they advance the dial one
and use that setting on the machine.

As to style, it's simplicity and lack of adornment suggests something
like a East European public telephone from the 50's. At the same time,
it looks like it was machined out of solid billet (aluminum? and really
thick housing!) and not cast as a mass-produced item would be.

As enigmatic as Gary Larson's "Cow Tools" :-).

http://www.salon.com/people/portfoli...on/older4.html

Tim.

What is it? XCVIII
 

566. Place holding pointer used when reading from a Torah scroll?

That insect like thing depicted on it makes me wonder, but maybe it's a
representation of a locust like insect which is considered kosher?

I think that it's supposed to be a dragon, though the head of it is lacking
in detail and is the weakest part of the piece.


Rob

What is it? XCVIII
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
543: Seems like long ago an old timer pointed to one of those and said
it was a fencing tool. You looped the wire on one of the teeth and
levered it against whatever was handy to tighten the wire, and you
hammered staples with the hammerhead.

Sounds reasonable, though this tool doesn't look like it would be very
comfortable to hold with a bare hand.



447: I did get pictures of that last fall.
Well, I *took* some pictures. They didn't come out so good. I thought
there was enough light but there wasn't. I've been working on some of
them and if you want I can post the one or two that actually have
something to see on ABPW later this evening. I believe there's one
where you can clearly see this part as one piece of a one-man bucksaw.
I haven't talked about it because I'm embarassed about saying I was
going to take photos and then coming back with mostly pictures of a
black cat eating licorice in a cave at midnight.

Yes, please post them, I just did a google search on bucksaws and didn't see
anything like #447, so I'd be interested to see your photos.

Thanks,
Rob

What is it? XCVIII
 

They've all been answered correctly this week:








563. Fire grenade

564. Saw set

565. Ice crusher

566. Cane handle

567. Ammo belt

568. Stanley No. 67 spoke shave


A few new photos and a link have been posted on the answer page:

http://pzphotosans100bv.blogspot.com/

I'll reply to more posts tomorrow, I've got a busy night ahead of me.


Rob

What is it? XCVIII
 

In article ,
Rich Grise wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 07:04:52 -0500, Howard R Garner wrote:

R.H. wrote:
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is
new and the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the
unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able
to verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob


563 Old fire extingisher

D'OH! Yes! Of course! That's where I've seen those things dangle! (I had
guessed "something decorative, like a chandelier") It was so many decades
ago, I definitely remember seeing them hanging in soft metal straps, but
forgot entirely where I saw one, until just now, you triggered my memory -
in my Grandma's attic!

Except, I'd be more likely to categorize it as an early version of a
"sprinkler"[1], not a whole extinguisher, unless it's full of halon or
something. ;-)

Would you believe "Carbon tetra-chloride"?

It _does_ extinguish fires. But the gas it givesoff is rather dangerous.

What is it? XCVIII
 

According to Tim Shoppa :
Rich Grise wrote:

[ ... ]

Maybe from an "Enigma" coder/decoder circa WWII. I'm almost sure I've
seen such a thing before - the 45 degree bevel on the back is a
dead giveaway that it stuck out from some console, but I can't remember
for the life of me where I've seen it.

I think it's more likely from a simple machine (not a "coder/decoder"
like an Enigma machine) that has to scatter sequential digits such that
the are not adjacent in the machine's operation. Don's suggestion of a
key-cutter might be close, but it would do the mapping because you
don't really want a key cut to pattern #4 to be close to a key cut to
#3 or #5 (replace "key" with whatever this thing does! I think
security/encryption is a bit of a red herring, it's probably something
more to do with mechanical tolerances and not cutting a strip of
something too thin or maybe something more like the utility of a hash
index in computing.)

I can't rule out it being from some sort of encryption device but the
mapping is so straightforward that it would provide zero real security
itself.

And the fact that there are twenty teeth on the cog and twenty digits
(two different colors) around the dial has to mean something, I just
don't know what! Going back to the "hash index" idea, maybe there are
ten useful doohinkeys in a machine, and they don't want to wear any out
in favor of others, so at each shift change they advance the dial one
and use that setting on the machine.

Note that when one of the digits on the dial is aligned with the
leftmost index mark (clearly white), the red digits are visible through
the holes. When one of the digits on the dial is aligned with the
rightmost index mark (darker -- perhaps red), the white digits are
visible instead.

The white digits are sequential, but in reverse order of the
ones on the dial, while the red digits are scattered.

Using the white index, you have ten possible substitution
patterns, depending on which dial digit is aligned with the index.
Using the darker (possibly red) index, you have ten other possible
substitution patterns.

Perhaps it is for something simple like obfuscating codes being
broadcast -- say from a controller to police cars via radio.

The roller is not part of a switch, but rather just a detent, to
hold the "dial" at its last setting.

The angled base suggests that it should be on a desktop or a
console top. It is too dark to tell whether it has some drilled and
tapped holes for mounting to the surface, or perhaps has a black felt
pad to simply make it sort of non-slip.

As to style, it's simplicity and lack of adornment suggests something
like a East European public telephone from the 50's. At the same time,
it looks like it was machined out of solid billet (aluminum? and really
thick housing!) and not cast as a mass-produced item would be.

Agreed -- but someone cared enough to do a nice job of engraving
the digits and anodize the various parts rather nicely.

As enigmatic as Gary Larson's "Cow Tools" :-).

http://www.salon.com/people/portfoli...on/older4.html

I like that one.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

What is it? XCVIII
 

566 Glove of the type required when petting my cat.

"R.H." wrote in message
. ..
Two sets of photos have been posted this week, the first one is new and
the
second is a repost of unsolved objects. Some of the items in the unsolved
set may have been correctly answered previously but I wasn't able to
verify
them so I've included them in this new post.

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

What is it? XCVIII
 

The Robert Bonomi entity posted thusly:

Would you believe "Carbon tetra-chloride"?

It _does_ extinguish fires. But the gas it givesoff is rather dangerous.

Minor trivia:
Folks who made hats used to use 'carbon-tet', and it affected their
brains. Hence the phrase "Mad as a hatter".

What is it? XCVIII
 

Robert Bonomi:
Would you believe "Carbon tetra-chloride"?
It _does_ extinguish fires. But the gas it givesoff is rather dangerous.

Oleg Lego:
Folks who made hats used to use 'carbon-tet', and it affected their
brains. Hence the phrase "Mad as a hatter".

Nope. That was mercury, not carbon tet.
--
Mark Brader And as in nerdish thought he stood,
Toronto the Jargontalk, with awk and grep,
Came geeking through the Cobol wood,
and edlin as it schlepped.
--Larry Colen (after Lewis Carroll)

What is it? XCVIII
 

563 Fire extinguisher bottle filled with Carbontetrachloride IIRC

564 Saw Set

565 Wall mounted ice crusher

566 Cane topper?

567 Ammo Belt

568 Ice shaver for making shaved ice like snowcones.

What is it? XCVIII
 

What is it? XCVIII
 

On Sat, 21 Jan 2006 00:19:56 -0600, Oleg Lego
wrote:

The Robert Bonomi entity posted thusly:

Would you believe "Carbon tetra-chloride"?

It _does_ extinguish fires. But the gas it givesoff is rather dangerous.

Minor trivia:
Folks who made hats used to use 'carbon-tet', and it affected their
brains. Hence the phrase "Mad as a hatter".

Thought it was mercury salts that did that to the hatters. The mercury
salts were used for curing the pelts that went into the hats.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

What is it? XCVIII
 

In article ,
Oleg Lego wrote:
The Robert Bonomi entity posted thusly:

Would you believe "Carbon tetra-chloride"?

It _does_ extinguish fires. But the gas it givesoff is rather dangerous.

Minor trivia:
Folks who made hats used to use 'carbon-tet', and it affected their
brains. Hence the phrase "Mad as a hatter".

Heard the same story, but with mercury.


--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.