What is it? Set 432

[Rob H.]

This week's set has just been posted:

[kfvorwerk]

2506. PSP Mat (Pierced Steel Plank) or Marston Mat. Stone grooving hammer with replaceable bits. Karl

[Alexander Thesoso]

2503 I've never seen this before, and I'm amusingly confused. At first glance, this seems to be a simple drafting tool to transfer a setting to or from a divider, using a vernier to get 1/1000 inch accuracy. One would put one point of the divider in one of the 1/4" spaced dimples, the other point in the movable dimple, and set/read the distance. Now for my confusion... Putting the divider points in dimples in a steel plate would dull or bend the points. I'd doubt that the rounded bottoms of the dimples would give the specified accuracy. I don't get the meaning of "250 PITCH". I'd expect a bunch of scratches from the divider points if this were used the way I describe.

So, after a little thought, I have to guess this is not what I first describe.

[Stormin Mormon]

2503 special purpose angle finder, missing a part. 2504, never seen one of these. Dunno. 2505 levelling gage from a motor home? 2506 appears to be a section from a commercial shelving unit. 2507 probably a bottle and can opener. 2508, the metal ends look like maybe hair trimming ends? But, why on an adze?

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[Lee Michaels]

brother had one and it was huge, with a lot of leads, etc. I haven't seen them in this configuration, but I have seen them this big.

2506 looks a little like those modular aircraft landing strips. These were used extensively in WW II on soft ground. Just put them out and instant airfield. I wonder if these sections fit together. If they don't, then it is something else.

[Phil Kangas]

2506. PSP Mat (Pierced Steel Plank) or Marston Mat. Karl

Yup, that's what it is. I spent a year on this stuff at NKP in 1970 loading A-1 Skyraiders. phil k.

[e]

2503: Maybe for setting trammel points or dividers? or getting measure from a caliper? 2504: A service cart with a flip-down tray. I have seen them set up for a number of things. Don't know if this particular model had a specific purpose, or is a generic service cart. 2507: can and bottle tool?

[Rob H.]

That's a good link, thanks!

[Rob H.]

Your description of it is pretty accurate, it's a Leytool Micro Divider Setter, I didn't have a chance to play around with it so I don't know how well it works.

[Rob H.]

Sounds like a good use for it, I would guess this is correct but I haven't been able to prove it. Text on it reads "Chesley Industrial Inc, Michigan".

[DoN. Nichols]

2503) A tool for setting the points of machinist's dividers or trammels to with 0.001". One point is placed in the dimple in the movable part in the arc below the center, and the other in one of the line of marked dimples (markings in 0.500" intermediate dimples in steps of 0.250". Then it is adjusted until it gets the desired reading.

The inner scale appears to be marked from 0 to .250" (25), and the outer scale is a vernier to give direct readings in steps of 0.010" and down to what appears to be 0.0025", so I'm not sure how they get the claimed 1/1000" I'm presuming that the outer scale is fixed, and the inner one moves with the dimple int he arc.

Frankly, I would love to have one of those.

2504) The grating below the shelves suggests to me that it is for working on an engine up on a lift. It rolls under, and various things which are likely coated with oil are placed there, starting with the oil drain plug and likely the oil filter. (There should be some form of tray under that to catch the oil drips.) The grid allows the oil to flow through, but even small screws will not fall through. 2505) Some form of clinometer. I presume that the pointer is tapered so the bulk of its weight is below the pivot screw. A side view would have helped in this at least. The use of forward and reverse pitch suggests aircraft use. 2506) Frankly -- no serious guess.

It could be used for storing a bunch of tool holders for a miling machine -- likely 50 taper given the likely size. But for that it would need to be horizontal, and the hook shaped feet suggest that it attaches to a vertical surface.

2507) The bottom end could be used as a can opener. The hole in the center could be used as a sort of wrench. Not sure what the odd shape at the top end would fit.

Perhaps a military tool for a firearm?

2508) With all the replaceable teeth, I would guess that it is used in chipping stone -- likely for something like rough forming of gargoyles and grotesques or something similar.

Now to post and then see what others have suggested.

Enjoy, DoN.

[DoN. Nichols]

It is not for drafting dividers, but for machinist's dividers. Fine screw adjust, and points whose purpose is to scribe lines in metal during layout, so a lot tougher than the drafting points.

How rounded are they? Likely made by a prick punch to give the proper shape for the accuracy.

Pitch in a screw is how far it advances for a full turn. Commonly used for metric screws, but inch screws have the inverse, the pitch divided into 1.000"

What it is saying is that the dimples are set at intervals of

0.250" -- and would be understood by a machinist.

It looks to me as though it was disassembled and the steel bar with the dimples has been wire brushed under power.

And I commonly set them to steel scales (rulers) by placing one point in an engraved line and adjusting the other to another line and don't leave obvious scratches in the scales.

Actually -- with the exception of being made for machinist's dividers instead of draftsman's dividers -- pretty close. (And a draftsman would not need to set his dividers to that accuracy, as the lines produced are typically thicker than that. The lines left by the scriber points on the machinist's dividers (through a blue or red layout die) are much closer to that 0.001" accuracy.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Rob H.]

No one has guessed this item correctly yet, pretty difficult to figure it out if you've never seen one before so I'll give a hint, it's part of a display at a store.

[joeljcarver]

remember as a kid seeing these used in WWII.

[Rick]

506 is called Marshal Matting. It was used on soft ground all through the Pacific. I ran into it in VietNam, in the delta region, where it was used in a compound where heavy equipment was serviced. Without it the trucks would sink in the wet season.

[John G]

At least in the early days of the Vietnam war the whole of Vung Tau airfield consisted of this steel matting, even the hanger aprons.

[Steve W.]

Looks something like the clips used on coolers to hold the clear shields on the lights.

[Rob H.]

Thanks, this answers a number of questions that I had about this device.

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: 2506 (Landing mat)

During WWII, my dad was a boiler fireman at a company that made these mats from aluminum.

Need less to say, I had quite a collection of those round slugs in my toy box.

Lew

[TheNoTalentKid]

2504 is a cart for ribbon wound steel strapping in shipping applications. I saw this in the Uline catalog during lunch today.