What is it? Set 338

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

[Rob H.]

More photos have been posted on the web site:

[Alexander Thesoso]

1939 Guess... Though I've never seen one like this... Telegraph key / bug.

1941

Yoke for a draft animal. Donkey, mule, horse?

1944 I'm looking forward to a lot of funny/silly guesses on this one.

[Doug Miller]

1942 - stylus and guides from an Etch-A-Sketch

[Dave__67]

1939 Morse Code key, a 'bug'.

Dave

[Steve W.]

1939 - Morse code paddle key. That one is a Bencher unit, just like the one on my bench. 1940 -

1941 - Flip top chair/step stool. Flip over the top section and you get a small set of steps.

1942 -

1943 - wooden hames for use with a collar to harness a horse.

1944 - message cylinder? Might read that this is a private message and opening by anyone other than the king/commander/ whoever means you face the death penalty.

[Lloyd E. Sponenburgh]

Dave__67 fired this volley in news:95c8184b-d878- [e-mail]:

IF it's a bug (I had the same idea) it is absolutely the weirdest one I've ever seen. The stroke timing weights (if that's what they are) don't appear adjustable, and the whole thing appears to pivot about the flex of that long looped spring in back.

Definitely a "bug from outer space".

I also cannot figure out what that rotating star-shaped element between the paddles is...

LLoyd

[Jerry Wass]

338 telegraph key, "Vibroplex" was one mfgr-- Dashes were made by pressing key sideways in one direction, A series of dots was generated by pressing the other direction.weight on spring adjusted for speed of repetition of dots much less tiring, operation by rolling the wrist from side to side. 1943 A pair of hames--fit on a Horsecollar which was a leather faced canvas pad stuffed with ???.The assembly was held together with hamestraps---if you ever been whipped with a hamestrap you'd remember it!! a pc of leather about ¼" thick, 1-¼ wide & 18" long with a belt buckle on one end.--If you had some nice animals used for light work, you could get some collar pads---usually yellow w/red trim little larger than the horsecollar about an inch thick stuffed with cotton--fancy! Jerry

[J. Clarke]

My first reaction was that it was a bug too. Looking at it closely and thinking about it, I'm wondering if there are some pieces missing.

[Dave__67]

878-

Perhaps technically not a bug, looks like the proper term is a paddle (after some looking). Bugs have a dit key and a dah key, a paddle is just two keys.

[Lloyd E. Sponenburgh]

Dave__67 fired this volley in news:da07a153-0f07- [e-mail]:

Yep, have had both. The Vibroplex was a real mechanical bug, the paddle switches worked with an electronic keyer.

(de WA4ZEG)

LLoyd

[Steve W.]

It's a Bencher Iambic paddle. Have one on my bench. Works by squeezing the two paddles. Takes a bit of practice to use.

[Steve W.]

An iambic key can send faster with less effort than a straight key. Also because of the way the paddle works it like a Vibroplex bug can highly reduce the chances of developing carpel tunnel do to the repetitive motion. It does take a bit of practice to use one and since they are VERY adjustable it takes a while to fine tune it to your fist.

[Rob H.]

Thanks, that's a good link, I knew it was a step ladder but didn't know it was called a Franklin chair, someone sent me the photo, it's the only one that I've ever seen.

Rob

[Rob H.]

Yes, hames is the answer that I was looking for, they're used on a work horse.

Rob

[Carl G.]

1939 Telegraph key. 1940 Reminds me of an "impossible object" puzzle. For some reason "hay" comes to mind (perhaps it is used for bailing, winnowing, etc.). 1941 Chair that can be converted into a step ladder. 1942 Etch-a-Sketch drawing mechanism--without all of the nasty gray powder. 1943 Yoke for cattle or horses? 1944 Military classified message tube. The original inscription ended something like "Not to be opened by anyone under the rank of upon penalty of death". Possibly Civil-war era.

Carl G.

[DoN. Nichols]

1939) Not a "bug" (a Morse Code key which mechanically times the spacing and duration of the dots), but one designed to send commands to an electronic package which generates the timing of the dots, spaces, and (I believe) the dashes as well, leaving only the inter-letter and inter-word spaces to the user.

O.K. A quick search in Google tells me that this is called an "Iambic keyer" -- distinguished by the dual paddles.

Hmm ... it looks as though the one used to illustrate the type in Wikipedia is the very one you have in your question.

See:

1940) Hmm ... for all I know -- this could be simply an exercise in wood carving -- or a simple puzzle. To disassemble it, you rotate the part opposite the "spur" 90 degrees and work the two tabs out through the slots. Once that is done, the remaining shorter piece can be similarly removed from the longer one.

It might be an example of folk jewelry.

1941) Intersting -- combination chair and step ladder. The back pivots forward with two-thirds of the seat, putting the extra steps above the first two. And the number matches my birth year -- FWIW. :-) 1942) Looks like part of a high frequency antenna.

At a guess two bands. I'm too lazy to calculate the probable frequencies. :-)

1943) Part of the harness for allowing a horse (or perhaps an ox) to draw a heavy load. 1944) A message tube for military or diplomatic messages? It looks as though the end caps remove -- either a friction fit, or a threaded fit.

Now to see what others have suggested.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Lobby Dosser]

I think those are hames for oxen. Hames for horses have more of a curve.

[--riverman]

Yeah, thats what I thought also. But it contains some clues

--found on a beach

--well carved

--able to be disassembled

--triangular shape

For some reason, I think it came off a boat. I'm imagining the corner of a triangular sail...maybe this is some sort of batten puller or device for tensioning a sail or something. I think of the woodcraft and carving skill of mariners....

This one is curious.

--riverman

[gerson]

"Carl G."wrote

something like "Not to be opened by anyone under the rank

Because I reckon you'd you probably *know*, I decline to suggest what I thought it might have been (that is the inside of a pianola roll).