What is it? Set 291

[Rob H.]

This week's set has been posted:

[Alexander Thesoso]

1659 Carp gun. String surgical rubber tubing to make a slingshot like device. Tie the fishline to the back of an arrow. In the early spring, stand on a bridge over a stream, looking down through the water. Shoot fish. I've seen guys carrying back 5-foot carp.

[Snag]

1657 is also a screwdriver , using the pen/pencil as a handle . 1658 is an ATV/motorcycle lift - the vee pieces can be adjusted for different frame rail widths . Looks a lot like the one my bagger is sitting on as I type this ...

[Rob H.]

Looks like it could be used as a screwdriver, but that's not the answer that I was looking for.

Rob

[Paul K. Dickman]

I think it is an escape compass.

The clip is magnetized and points north when balanced on a pin.

Paul K. Dickman

[SteveBell]

Staple remover

[Steve W.]

1657 - Sort of looks like you could use it as a small screwdriver.

1658 - Motorcycle/ATV lift (I have the same one only painted blue)

1659 - Fishing spear gun. Missing the power bands though.

1660 -

1661 - Fencing tightener?

1662 -

[Andrew Erickson]

this time.

1657 - I was about to say this was a pen pocket clip, and then I read the description. The spade end of the clip, opposite the pen attachment, looks as though it has a screwdriver tip or two; perhaps it can be used for adjusting screw adjusters, such as potentiometer adjustments in electronic devices. It probably wouldn't work well for tuning coils, being metallic. 1658 - Engine hoist/support, holding the (car?) engine from underneath while mounts are being disassembled and hoses and wires disconnected and such. 1659 - Harpoon launcher? 1660 - Tool for inserting spray (or possibly gas jets) heads into a pipe when making e.g. irrigation or washing machinery (or possibly gas burners). 1661 - This is pretty obviously used to bind down or ratchet up something against something else. What the somethings are is not clear; I'll go way far out on a limb and guess it's to replace tracks on a tank or similar vehicle when they get disarranged and come off the proper sprockets and such, but that's probably not right. 1662 - Keyring and locker combination memory aide for a nonconformist high school student

Now to read other guesses....

[Sonny]

1657 - Envelope opener? I like "Staple remover", also.

[Calif Bill]

Pin clip to hold it in the pocket. There were lots of pens that just had a clip that went around them like that. The flat end, kept the shirt from getting cut and held better. may still have some at mom's house. They valuable?

[DoN. Nichols]

1657) Three possibilities depending.

a) The tip of the clip could serve as a small screwdriver, probably about the right size for RS-232 connectors' jackscrews.

b) If the end view shows a hex, it could be used for a (minimal) wrench for something like 1/4" nuts.

c) The opening in the side could be slid up or down to indicate the grade of the "lead" in the device, if it is really for a drafting pencil instead of a pen.

1658) Looks to me like a transmission jack -- used when removing and replacing an automotive transmission. It looks like a rather nice one to me. 1659) Looks like a gun for spear fishing -- and I think that it would be used from above the water's surface instead of while SCUBA diving.

It also looks as though it could be used for launching tennis balls -- but I can't think of any reason to launch them attached to a reel for retrieval. It also looks as though the bottom front has guide rollers for rather heavy duty line unless it is for heavy-duty rubber bands to provide the power to launch whatever it is.

Perhaps it could be used to launch and retrieve something like a ultrasonic transducer for fish spotting or something like that.

1660) A strange device. Obviously the handle moves a plunger, pressing whatever is held into the blades held in the bottom. If it were a bit smaller I could imagine it being used to cut the foil or plastic around a wine bottle, and if it were larger I could imagine the plunger part being used to re-install the cork into the wine bottle.

I'm not at all sure what function the black handle serves, unless it hides a corkscrew -- but that would be very low-tech compared to the rest of it.

1661) For gripping and lifting something which you don't want to get your hands on -- burning coals, a fish with nasty teeth, a 'gator, or something else. I would like to have a few more view angles to perhaps figure out more about the mechanism. 1662) The D-ring for either releasing a parachute or something like a pilot's ejection seat. It looks a bit small for the latter, which normally is gripped by both hands in use to reduce the chances of the arms being blown back by the slipstream and being broken by the seat's frame.

Now to see what other's have said.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Rob H.]

Good guess! This answer is correct.

Rob

[Rob H.]

Correct, it's what they pull to release a parachute.

Rob

[Paul K. Dickman]

I had seen a couple when I was a kid. The only thing I remembered was that the clip had an unusually high arch to make it balance easier.

Paul K. Dickman

[Lee Michaels]

Wow, an escape compass?? I have never heard of that. I wonder how practical it would be. You would need to know a lot about the local terrain for something like this to be useful. And you would also need to know the declination of true north from magnetic north too. It would seem like a regular compass and a map would be much more useful.

But that was then. Now a satellite phone and a GPS device would be excellent choices for survival equipment.

[Matthew Russotto]

1658: Looks like a jack. My car has a ridge which those V-shaped things would work for, but not two ridges, so its probable for something else. Plus it doesn't lift enough for a car jack. 1659: Looks like someone's idea of a better fishing rod. Don't know much about fishing so I don't have any idea how well it would work 1660: For piercing the side of a can for some reason? Or possibly a shaving kit. 1661: Trailer hitch?

[Carl G.]

1660 Looks like it might be used to put initials on a golf ball.

Carl G.

[Jerry Wass]

1662 is a parachute rip-cord handle--The longer side of the D handle fits snuglyinto a sewn pocket.

[Nick Wedd]

In message , Lee Michaels writes

But rather easier for the guards to notice and confiscate when you are in PoW camp.

Nick

[Steve R.]

It looks like 1567 can also be used as a screwdriver

Steve R.