What is it? Set 332

[Rob H.]

That's right! I had done some patent searching a couple days ago and didn't find anything but just a few minutes ago I had some luck. The patent says it's for loading coal into a furnace and not making a mess, see line 45:

[Mark & Juanita]

1903 Window awning tool

1904 Gas stove burner

1905 Tie hanger

1906 Looks like a pooper scooper

1907 Chicken houses

1908 Looks like some kind of message holder

[Michael Kenefick]

1903 - Hand drill, the handle folds down? 1904 - part of an automated bell gong? 1905 - Tie Rack, (except for those sharp points?) 1906 - Flower / Tree planting shovel? Or used to dig holes for feet to walk in the side of a hill? 1907 - grain / corn storage / driers 1908 - some type of pa> Need some help with the unusual shovel this week:

[Rob H.]

One thing that I forgot to mention about the shovel, there is a metal sleeve on the handle that supposedly makes it easier to rotate and release the coal.

Only the last one was unsolved this week, the answers for this set can be seen here:

[Bill]

Thank you for running the "game"! Bill

[DoN. Nichols]

specialized drill brace, not the awning tool which I thought -- mostly because the chuck end did not look much like the standard chucks on the braces of the period. I guess that this one was smaller in diameter to make it easier to cut in corners or close to walls.

As for (1908) -- could it not have also been used for shoveling coal in a steam engine (locomotive)? Pretty much the same constraints there as for a furnace.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Rob H.]

I'm sure it could have been used on a steam engine, someone told me they saw one in a fire museum where it was used with an old steam pumper, but with a patent date of 1938 it was invented after steam pumpers were no longer in use.

Rob

[Jesse]

We had one that we used for an old Sunbeam coal furnace in our house in the 60's to early 70's. I wonder if it is still in my moms basement? I'll have to take a look when I get a chance.

[J Burns]

Are coal ashes powdery like wood ashes? Did you use the special shovel to remove ashes as well as fetch coal?

[Alexander Thesoso]

Coal ashes are not like wood ashes.

While there may be variations, depending on the coal variety and size, in general, coal ash is very unpleasant glassy, gritty, dirty, heavy clinker. The impurities in the coal melt to a glassy slag, that fizzes, bubbles and breaks into small sharp-edged pieces.

[Jesse]

We had a stoker furnace. It had augers that took the ashes out of the furnace. The ashes would go up and into garbage cans that we would take out and dump on the ash pile. So there was no need to shovel out the furnace manually.