What is it? Set 343

[Rob H.]

More items have been posted on the web site:

[Larry C]

Is 1969 a spark plug gap gauge?

Larry C

[Kevin(Bluey)]

1970 , spade for digging through ice to go ice fishing 1972 some device to cut some thing to length , like a wooden peg or dowel. The round wood is placed through the opening , the length set by the sliding stop and the whole thing revolves around the peg while adjusting the cutter inward 1974 looks like it could be a pressure test gauge , or maybe a manometer of some description.

[J Burns]

1971: cork puller

1974: cistern gage

[whit3rd]

1971: dandelion puller.

1972: tenon cutter; cuts the end of a stick cylindrical, like a lathe, only the cutter rotates and the stick stays still. This one looks bigger than usual, perhaps for a wheelwright?

[LDC]

the proper location if they are incorrectly moved. The hole that has the clip in it would be the yard line the marker would be returned to.

This is a guess. I had originally thought thought it was used by a watchman to know when to make the hourly patrol then noticed only ten holes not the necessary 12.

[Rob H.]

Good guess! It's a football official's chain yard marker.

Rob

[Mouse]

Is 1970 a bark spud?

[DoN. Nichols]

1969) At a guess, it is a time reminder -- perhaps when your parking meter will need more coins. Interesting that it skips 55 and 0/60. 1970) For cutting the ends and sides of a narrow ditch to bury a pipe?

If the end is really sharp, perhaps a flensing knife used in whaling?

1971) I think that this does the job of a corkscrew -- in spite of not having a screw mechanism.

The fact that the three pins go in at angles would give it enough of a grip on a cork to pull it - -and it looks less likely to break of a piece of the cork into the wine.

1972) Designed to cut a groove at a presettable distance from the end of a wooden dowel -- or perhaps even to cut through the walls of a cast-iron pipe. (A closer look at the depth stop might help there).

Anyway -- it is held in the brace of a brace-and-bit, slid on over the end of the workpiece, and turned with a pause every so many turns to adjust the presser V to increase the depth of cut.

1973) A pouring pitcher designed to filter particulates out of the liquid. Maybe oil -- maybe tea made without a teabag or the little strainer on a chain for tea without bags. :-) 1974) Hmm ... an interesting looking thing.

At a first guess -- for measuring and displaying hydraulic pressure using a column of mercury -- and for operating a pointer showing what the last reading was.

Perhaps it could be used to measure the depth of a fluid in a cylindrical tank based on the pressure -- which could be gasoline, oil, or any of a number of other liquids. (The pressure would change in a non-cylindrical tank, but the translation of pressure vs amount of fluid would be non-linear, and the scale on this looks fairly linear.

Now to see what others have suggested.

Enjoy, DoN.

[J Burns]

1973: Sugar cup for soldiers drinking coffee around a campfire. The "spout" holds a spoon.

[J Burns]

Uh-oh,the "spout" was for a razor.

[Andy Dingley]

#1969 Counter. The holes aren't gauges, they're just labels. You set it to "read" any of the numbers by where you clip the hook. Might be for surveying?

#1972 Tenon cutter. Used by a hand-turned brace that holds it by the squared tapered end on the right. The depth of the cutter knife is adjustable (often sprung loaded, so it doesn't have to be re-adjusted mid-cut) and there's an adjustable length stop in the middle.

[Rob H.]

razor.

Rob

[Rob H.]

I just did a search and found a site that said the compartment is indeed for a razor although the museum where I shot the photo had it marked as being a compartment for a shaving brush. I guess it could have been used for either or both, hard to say if the compartment was meant for one particular item.

Rob

[J Burns]

During a shave, what would be wrong with putting the brush in the cup with the soap? That's the way I did it. It looks as if you'd damage a brush putting it in the side compartment, and it would tend to fall out.

As for museums... I once purchased a photocopy of a Civil War journal from a museum. The author was in my g-grandfather's company.

I read the journal and found that the curator's published synopsis was fictional.

[Rob H.]

This answer is correct.

Still not sure about the mystery gauge but the rest of them have been answered correctly this week:

[DoN. Nichols]

Hmm ... perhaps for the shaving foam, kept warm by hot water in the main tank?

Enjoy, DoN.

[J Burns]

1974: The word "MESS" is suggestive. A century ago, the water supply on many military posts was probably very limited. It can take a lot of water to run a mess hall. Much would depend on cleaning techniques, carelessness, and deliberate waste. Running out could mean a holiday for mess hall personnel as the troops ate field rations.

I wonder if there's a record of regulations governing water use a century ago. A post commander could have rationed water to a 300-gallon tank for the mess hall. A highly visible gage for that tank would have shown the mess-hall manager what he had to work with and enabled NCOs to monitor usage for specific tasks.

[Rob H.]

Sounds plausible, I'll pass this on to the owner of it, he got it from an auction as did the previous owner of it. I'll ask if there a military base near where he lives.

Rob