What is it? Set 241

[Rob H.]

I've got plans all day Friday, so I'll be posting the answers early tomorrow morning:

[kfvorwerk]

1362. Hand Lead Line. to determine water depth under a boat or ship.

[Ed Huntress]

1362 -- sounding lead. ("Mark...twain!")

[Matthew T. Russotto]

1361: Another special-purpose multitool. Wrench, nail head lifter, perhaps a nail starter. 1362: It's a weight, on a rope. Likely for some nautical purpose.

[Bruce in Bangkok]

1362 is a lead line used aboard ship to measure depths of water. Note the distinctive markers that allow the use in the dark.

Bruce-in-Bangkok (correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)

[DoN. Nichols]

1357) Hmm ... maybe seeing the opposite side of a few sample louvers might give a clue as to the relationship between the sets of numbers.

At a guess -- something related to a game of some sort.

1358) Hmm ... some sort of critter trap designed to releas the critter at the pull of the line.

I've heard of pigeon shoots where you shoot at released pigeons. Probably something which would be shut down by PETA these days.

1359) No real clue. The shape suggest a shoeshine setup, with the shoeshine boy sitting on the lower step -- if it is rigid enough. But there is no discoloration to indicate that it was actually used for that -- or much of anything. 1360) If it were a single wire (capillary tube) I would consider the possibility that it would be a temperature sensor which uses expanding liquid to transfer the measurements to elsewhere.

But this is multi strand wire, and the end opens. It may be for sampling some kind of mud or muck at the bottom of a well or something similar.

1361) Hmm ... a wrench combined with a wedge. Might be for adjusting the height of a machine tool of some sort. 1362) Looks like a sounding line for measuring the depth of the water. Normally I would expect a finer line than shown, but the ties of ribbons around it at intervals may be intended to mark the minimum safe depth. The wood cross-pin would float pulling the first length of line vertical. Beyond that -- it depends on the motion of the ship.

There should be a cavity in the bottom of the weight, to pull up some samples of the bottom to give the navigator a clue where he is.

Now to see what others have guessed.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Andrew Erickson]

1357 - I'd guess some sort of gaming/gambling device, but how it gets used is a mystery to me. I'd suspect the slats might be able to be moved about to different positions to vary the game more; that might also explain the upside-down numbers on the top slat. 1358 - A live trap for a mouse or similar small critter. Pressure on the base causes the three sides to swing up into a pyramid, capturing the inmate. (An ancient Egyptian design?) 1359 - Just a guess: a calculator or adding machine? 1360 - Possibly a tester for air in wells or similar deep pits to use before descending; if a lit candle in the metal case stayed lit after being lowered, the air didn't contain too much carbon dioxide to suffocate the descender. No idea why one would need such sturdy wire rope if that's the case, though. 1361 - Combination of wrench and, ummm, wedge tool thingy. Possibly a drift of some sort to aid in removing keys holding bits or other implements in a chuck of some sort, and a wrench to tighten them in place? 1362 - Sounding line to determine the depth of water from a boat, the various tied on ribbons indicating various depths in a reasonably standard (but still mysterious to landlubbers) scheme.

On to other's thoughts....