Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

811 Magneto = telephone ring generator. In period piece movies, there are
those phones, wall mounted, in wooden boxes with diagonal shelf in front.
Microphone mounted on arm on the box, earpiece on cable. Pick up earpiece
and turn crank to generate ring signal. The crank goes on the square boss
seen in the first picture. Lots of readers will recognize this.

813 ? Metal detector? Find iron shrapnel pieces in WW-1 war victims?

814 Air flow meter. ? Used to measure air flow in heating ducts? The
multiple dials on the indicator of the first example suggest that it
measures air flow rather than air speed. (counts turns for some specified
time to get an accurate measure of the flow rate)

816 ? It looks like a spring scale at first glance, but the hooks are
strangely placed. Weight on the hooks would make the reading decrease.
Also, it is hard to imagine bending the whole frame enough to use the entire
scale. Perhaps it hangs by the large ring, and various weights hang on the
hooks causing the whole thing to hang at an angle. Does the pointer pivot
at the angle near the left hook?

"R.H." wrote in message
. ..
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

811 small electrical generator

812 this is a "whatthehellisthis"

813 angle measurement, angle meter?

814 air speed meter?

815 exactly the same thing as 812

816 spring weighing scale

817 oops, next week i tell ya ;-)


Hi Rob,
did you ever think about offering your photos to wikipedia?


greeting from germany
Chris

"R.H." wrote in message
. ..
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

811. Electrical generator of some sort.

813. Device for measuring the magnetism in rock strata.

814 Wind speed measurement

816 spring balance. Measuring the tension in ropes perhaps?
--
Dave Baker
Puma Race Engines
www.pumaracing.co.uk
Camp American engineer minces about for high performance specialist (4,4,7)

R.H. wrote:
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

811- hand-cranked generator (missing the crank) used in very early
phone service to generate the 'ring' voltage

814- anemometers used on-board ship?

garrr, I'm out.

Dave

811 Definitely some sort of primitive magneto/generator

813 Based on the text on the dial, it appears to be some sort of gauge
for an environmental condition. Given the unique markings (0-90-0) I
would at first guess a type of protractor or angle gauge. Currently
I'm leaning towards either magnetic or electric field measurement.

Weirdly enough, I couldn't even find a Geo. A. Caldwell Co. in Boston,
Mass. which made anything related to instruments or tools.

814 Looks like a mechanical anemometer for measuring wind speed. Used
by HVAC technicians for measuring the airflow in ducting and hoods.
Might also have been used with canned smoke for airflow visualization.

815 Maybe a tool for making crimps like seen on the end of duct pipes.
More like corrugations than crimps, a common sheet metal tool is used
today. Looks almost identical except the interlocking leaves are
mounted on a pair of pliers.

816 Definitely doesn't make sense as a scale, more likely it might be
used as a force gauge or something. The weird thing is that I can't
visualize how the part would close up or move in such a way as to have
the pointer follow the scale. It seems as though it would only close
up or move down maybe 1/2" or so. This is reinforced by an apparent
lack of a pivot point.

After thinking and researching for 15 minutes or so, now I really want
to know the answers to this set.

"R.H." wrote in news:Vtj2h.22466$OE1.19195
@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com:

Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob




Jumping in a bit too late: the "shoe former", number 806, is properly
called a "last".

On Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:49:28 +0000, Smaug Ichorfang wrote:
"R.H." wrote in news:Vtj2h.22466$OE1.19195
@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com:

Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

Jumping in a bit too late: the "shoe former", number 806, is properly
called a "last".

No, that's not a last. It's the skeleton of a shoe tree.

The last is the thing that's shaped like an insole, that the shoemaker
actually builds the shoe around:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last

Cheers!
Rich

HI,

811, looks to be a hand crank generator for a field telephone.

813 Looks to be a device to find cracks in a casing. The instructions
include something like

Hold ........needle
..North and South .. .
..Move steadily near
surface over the
suspected area.

Kind of an early magneflux unit.

Thanks
Roger Haar

816 ? It looks like a spring scale at first glance, but the hooks are
strangely placed. Weight on the hooks would make the reading decrease.
Also, it is hard to imagine bending the whole frame enough to use the
entire
scale. Perhaps it hangs by the large ring, and various weights hang on
the
hooks causing the whole thing to hang at an angle. Does the pointer pivot
at the angle near the left hook?


From the picture it looks like the pointer might pivot, but I can't say for
sure, it doesn't belong to me.

Rob

did you ever think about offering your photos to wikipedia?



If they could use my photos they would be welcome to post them. I don't
know much about the site, any idea if there is a particular procedure for
offering photos? I looked around there a little but didn't see anything
about it.


Rob

813 Looks to be a device to find cracks in a casing. The instructions
include something like

Hold ........needle
..North and South .. .
..Move steadily near
surface over the
suspected area.

Kind of an early magneflux unit.


I'll go ahead and give the full text on the lower face of this device:

Hold vertical with needle
in north and south line
move steadily near
surface over the
suspected area

I'll give the name of this instrument tomorrow.

Rob

#142 is a telephone magneto.


Steve R.


"R.H." wrote in message
. ..
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


Rob

811: Telco ring generator (common in physics labs forty years ago...
ahh, the memories!).

813: magnetic probe/metal detector? Locator for buried iron...

814: anemometer

816: Looks like a way to weigh a pig in a poke (ya dangle the bagged
porker
from one end while hanging the thing up from the other end); the two
hook/eye pairs
indicate two scale scales, though I only see one marked.

"R.H." writes:
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/


#811 The generator assembly from a hand-cranked phone
#812 Combination square
#813 Inclinometer?
#816 Scale

According to R.H. :
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

O.K. Posting from rec.crafts.metalworking as usual.

811) A very old telephone ring magneto. Hand cranked generator
producing about 20 Hz -- the right frequency to ring a phone
bell -- or to drop an annunciator to get the operator's
attention.

Also enough voltage to really make a "friend" jump when you
crank it. :-)

I've never seen one which had the magnets painted red before.

This one is taller than the later versions of the same thing, but
it is the style which I played with as a kid.

The center pin moves out to contact the spring contact when
cranking, so the coil in the armature is not across the line the
rest of the time, loading down the talk signal.

Interesting -- it looks as though the original crank fitting was
machined off the center of the big gear, and instead there is a
square for a slip-on crank on the back. This suggests that it
has been modified for some other purpose, hence the removable
crank.

812) Hmm ... perhaps to hold flags for something like railroad
signaling?

813) Designed to measure the vertical component of the Earth's
magnetic field? Or perhaps to detect discontinuities in a steel
or iron object of some large size (via magnetic anomilies, of
course)?

For field use, not lab use, at least, or it would not be encased
like a pocket watch.

814) For measuring wind speed. The first one looks rather accurate,
and I *think* that it might actually count turns of the blades
between two times to give a more accurate reading.

They would probably be used in meteorology -- though they *might*
be used in wind tunnel testing instead.


815) Not really sure about this -- but I think that it could be used
to sharpen knife blades.

816) Well ... it is a scale of some sort -- and I think with two
ranges. The heavier range uses the hook on the bottom, and
a much lighter one uses the hook on the side. When used for the
heavier range, it is supported by the big ring on the top. When
used for the lighter range, by the smaller ring on the side.

20 to 300. Perhaps the more sensitive scale was in ounces, and
the heavier one in pounds.

It was probably used in sales of produce or products like bags
of nails and such. Though it *might* have been used to measure
force in tests for breaking point of various materials.


An interesting collection of tools and devices here.


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 ---

According to R.H. :
816 ? It looks like a spring scale at first glance, but the hooks are
strangely placed. Weight on the hooks would make the reading decrease.
Also, it is hard to imagine bending the whole frame enough to use the
entire
scale. Perhaps it hangs by the large ring, and various weights hang on
the
hooks causing the whole thing to hang at an angle. Does the pointer pivot
at the angle near the left hook?


From the picture it looks like the pointer might pivot, but I can't say for
sure, it doesn't belong to me.

I think that it not only pivots, but passes through an aperture
in the upper half of the main ring, and bears on the bottom of that
aperture. Thus, when weight was applied, it would move the pointer
upwards, not downwards.

And (as I just posted), I think that it is a two-range
weight/force measuring device. Use the big hanging ring and hook, and
it is for heavy items. Use the smaller hanging ring hook, and it
becomes much more sensitive.

If it is for US weights, I suspect pounds and ounces are the two
ranges.

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 ---

DoN. Nichols wrote:
According to R.H. :
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

812) Hmm ... perhaps to hold flags for something like railroad
signaling?

It's curious. One the arms can fold all the way into the side of the
triangle.


813) Designed to measure the vertical component of the Earth's
magnetic field? Or perhaps to detect discontinuities in a steel
or iron object of some large size (via magnetic anomilies, of
course)?

For field use, not lab use, at least, or it would not be encased
like a pocket watch.

I like what somebody else said, that it detects cracks in iron. If it
were a fixed structure like bridge, I wonder how one would detect cracks
running north and south.



815) Not really sure about this -- but I think that it could be used
to sharpen knife blades.

I like that. A butcher's steel can make a big difference by keeping the
microscopic edge of the blade straight. A butcher's steel takes skill.
Maybe this is designed to do the same thing with less skill required.

I find it hard to believe 815 is a sharpening tool... the hub seems to
interfere with the intersections of the legs.

"Doghouse" wrote in message
...
DoN. Nichols wrote:
According to R.H. :
Another set has just been posted:

http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

812) Hmm ... perhaps to hold flags for something like railroad
signaling?

It's curious. One the arms can fold all the way into the side of the
triangle.


813) Designed to measure the vertical component of the Earth's
magnetic field? Or perhaps to detect discontinuities in a steel
or iron object of some large size (via magnetic anomilies, of
course)?

For field use, not lab use, at least, or it would not be encased
like a pocket watch.

I like what somebody else said, that it detects cracks in iron. If it
were a fixed structure like bridge, I wonder how one would detect cracks
running north and south.



815) Not really sure about this -- but I think that it could be used
to sharpen knife blades.

I like that. A butcher's steel can make a big difference by keeping the
microscopic edge of the blade straight. A butcher's steel takes skill.
Maybe this is designed to do the same thing with less skill required.

Most of them have been answered correctly this week:







811. Telephone magneto

812. Carriage maker's square

813. Caldwell Boxfindr

814. Anemometer, miner's device for measuring airflow at the entrance to a
mine.

815. Knife sharpener

816. Ice or hide scale


Several new photos and some links have been posted on the answer page, along
with updates to the answers for the snake wrench, wire shovel, and barbed
wire wrapper:

http://pzphotosan142-z6.blogspot.com/


Rob

I just want to say how much I love the "What Is It" puzzles. I rarely
know what the item is (aside from the two I've submitted, I've only ever
recognized one immediately, and only got a few others right through
combinations of guesswork and research), but it's a lot of fun to try.

Next semester, I may direct some of my Intro Psych students to the site
in order to get them to learn a little more about object recognition,
patterns and creative thinking.

Great week-- every answer surprised me

--julie
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://juliewaters.com/

We've heard that a million monkeys at a million
keyboards could produce the Complete Works of
Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know
this is not true.

--Robert Wilensky, University of California

.... snip

813. Caldwell Boxfindr

So, what does a "Caldwell Boxfindr" do?



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

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

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

Thanks for your comments, I really enjoy working on the site each week, the
best thing about this hobby is that I never know what I'm going to find
next. I'm off to another tool show this weekend, I'm having much better
luck at these shows than the flea markets and antique malls.


Rob

"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
...
... snip

813. Caldwell Boxfindr

So, what does a "Caldwell Boxfindr" do?

I think that it's supposed to work like a metal detector, for locating
buried or hidden electrical boxes with the magnetized needle. I've done
some searching but can't find anything about it, seems like you would have
to be very close to the target to get it to work.


Rob

According to R.H. :
Most of them have been answered correctly this week:







811. Telephone magneto

Aha! The link to a site selling old magnetos shows every one
illustrated with the crank at the gear end as I thought -- not at the
end where the square is for a slip-on crank as shown in your puzzle one.

812. Carriage maker's square

813. Caldwell Boxfindr

O.K. I doubt electrical boxes specifically -- but anything made
of iron or steel which is large enough to pick up a field from the
Earth's field. And it would particularly point to discontinuities.
(Hmm ... it might be for finding the cast-iron cylindrical housings put
around buried water meters or water (or gas) valves at the entrance to a
property.

814. Anemometer, miner's device for measuring airflow at the entrance to a
mine.

O.K. The function was right -- just not the field of
application.

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 ---

R.H. wrote:
"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
...
... snip
813. Caldwell Boxfindr

So, what does a "Caldwell Boxfindr" do?

I think that it's supposed to work like a metal detector, for locating
buried or hidden electrical boxes with the magnetized needle. I've done
some searching but can't find anything about it, seems like you would have
to be very close to the target to get it to work.


Rob



I wonder what the crown is for and what the three-leg piece is for. I
wonder why it is marked all the way to horizontal.

George A Caldwell Company
Maintenance and repair of all types of hydrants
150 Old Page St, PO Box 646, Stoughton, MA 02072
Tel. (800) 695-4101

At the same address is International Metal, a scrap dealer founded in
1903. International Cable is a subsidiary.

George A Caldwell Company owns a waste-disposal site in Waldoboro ME,
which suggests that it and International Metal are the same company.

If you want to be a water utility one-call coordinator in Madison, you
have to know how to use a magnetic curb box finder.
http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/hr/jobspecs/Onecall-cor.htm

They gave away watch fobs showing their boxfinder:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Watch-Fob-CALDWE...cm dZViewItem

Here's another tool for the purpose:
http://www.pipehorn.com/pages/products/PA400.htm

Early in the 20th Century, the Ludlow Valve Company was perhaps the
world's largest manufacturer of fire hydrants. They were in Troy NY.
James H Caldwell became VP in 1892 and pres in 1909, retiring in the
1930s. Coincidence?

Thinking some more about the Caldwell Boxfinder reminded me of
something I used to use.
I had at one point a 1950's era "stud finder" which used a magnet to
find the nails in the studs. It said to hold at baseboard level, to
find the nails used to hold the baseboard to the studs. It had a small
magnetic pointer which would swing from side to side attracted to the
nails. Almost like a compass, but the magnet was attracted to the
nails. Believe it or not, it worked as well as my trusty Zircon.
ww88

You can still buy those.
Karl


woodworker88 wrote:
Thinking some more about the Caldwell Boxfinder reminded me of
something I used to use.
I had at one point a 1950's era "stud finder" which used a magnet to
find the nails in the studs. It said to hold at baseboard level, to
find the nails used to hold the baseboard to the studs. It had a small
magnetic pointer which would swing from side to side attracted to the
nails. Almost like a compass, but the magnet was attracted to the
nails. Believe it or not, it worked as well as my trusty Zircon.
ww88

On 5 Nov 2006 02:11:45 -0800, "
wrote:

You can still buy those.
Karl


woodworker88 wrote:
Thinking some more about the Caldwell Boxfinder reminded me of
something I used to use.
I had at one point a 1950's era "stud finder" which used a magnet to
find the nails in the studs. It said to hold at baseboard level, to
find the nails used to hold the baseboard to the studs. It had a small
magnetic pointer which would swing from side to side attracted to the
nails. Almost like a compass, but the magnet was attracted to the
nails. Believe it or not, it worked as well as my trusty Zircon.
ww88
Another name for the boxfinder is "dip needle" since it gives an
indication of the angle at which the earth's magnetic field "lines of
force" intersect the horizontal surface, thus the instruction to align
the instrument in the N-S plane. The dip angle is affected by the
presence of magnetic materials used in valve boxes and/or survey
marker bars. This instrument often comes as a rectangular 3x3x2 inch
box suspended from a shoulder strap and having an angled mirror to
allow the needle and scale to be viewed from above and may be found as
part of the equipment carried by most land surveyors.

From RCM
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

I wonder what the crown is for...


The needle on the Boxfindr was locked in place and pulling up on the crown
released it, if I remember correctly it was held in place with a magnet.
Thanks for the links that you posted a few days ago.


Rob

Another name for the boxfinder is "dip needle" since it gives an
indication of the angle at which the earth's magnetic field "lines of
force" intersect the horizontal surface, thus the instruction to align
the instrument in the N-S plane. The dip angle is affected by the
presence of magnetic materials used in valve boxes and/or survey
marker bars. This instrument often comes as a rectangular 3x3x2 inch
box suspended from a shoulder strap and having an angled mirror to
allow the needle and scale to be viewed from above and may be found as
part of the equipment carried by most land surveyors.

From RCM
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada



Thanks for the info, I added your exact description to the answer page since
I don't have time to paraphrase or rewrite it, let me know if you want your
name posted along with it.

http://pzphotosan142-z6.blogspot.com/


Rob

Wouldn't doubt it...That old metal is still better than the new stuff.

wrote:
You can still buy those.
Karl


woodworker88 wrote:
Thinking some more about the Caldwell Boxfinder reminded me of
something I used to use.
I had at one point a 1950's era "stud finder" which used a magnet to
find the nails in the studs. It said to hold at baseboard level, to
find the nails used to hold the baseboard to the studs. It had a small
magnetic pointer which would swing from side to side attracted to the
nails. Almost like a compass, but the magnet was attracted to the
nails. Believe it or not, it worked as well as my trusty Zircon.
ww88

Anyone know what one of these would be worth? I've come across one in an old boxful of stuff.

Yea, I heard you can get almost $5,000 for one of those in good
shape! Gee, you're lucky.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"unpolloloco" wrote in message
...

Anyone know what one of these would be worth? I've come across
one in
an old boxful of stuff.




--
unpolloloco

unpolloloco opin'd thus:


Anyone know what one of these would be worth? I've come across one in
an old boxful of stuff.

What one of WHAT?????

--
The things that come to those that wait are the things left by those who
got there first

unpolloloco wrote:
Anyone know what one of these would be worth? I've come across one in
an old boxful of stuff.


It appears to be the Roman Numerals for "142" unless my roman counting
skills are rusty (not surprising, really). Worth?