Can you identify what this box contains?

[pontarfynach]

Someone on b3ta found a wooden box. In it were lots of little bits of paper of various sizes, mostly circular. What the hell is it?

Pics here

[mrcheerful]

(possibly, but in very dark recesses of mind)

mrcheerful

[bigcat]

with some tool. But why collect them, why make them? For what?

NT

[Rob Morley]

Shims for re-padding flutes, saxophones etc?

[Chris J Dixon]

pairs for making woolly bobbles. You put two identical shapes back to back, wrap the wool through the central hole and around them until you have enough on, then insert your scissors between the two sheets cutting the wool , which you secure round the middle, then fluff it up to a ball shape.

Chris

[Lobster]

...so, you clearly spend a lot of time making fluffy bobbles, Chris?!

David

[Bill H]

Looks a bit clean for engineers.

[RedOnRed]

They look like roughly made circular pieces of card/paper with crudely formed holes made in them.

The mystery is of course why? I'll put my dearstalker on and puff on my large angular pipe for a while on that one.

[Peter Ramm]

Home made "hole" reinforcers for filed documents?

[Peter Parry]

As has been suggested - spacers for use by a tailor sewing buttons on to trousers and suits. Placing one of these between button and fabric gives you a degree of stand-off which makes the button easier to fasten.

Any idea where they come from?

[John Rumm]

Backing pads to go on a small rotary polishing/sanding wheel. The hole is where the screw plus disc that holds them on the pad goes through into the end of the mandril.

[mike ring]

Peter Parry wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'm afraid I don't quite believe this - I've always used a matchstick, and it's so much more convenient in use than thes would be I'd think tailors would have a precision reusable matchstick.

Of course I'm open to be proved wrong- I'd certainly like to know the answer

mike

[Lobster]

Seems the most plausible answer so far I agree; but if so why are they round? It would be much easier to cut square ones, which would do just the same job (Ok, unless the buttons were really clseo together!)

David

[bigcat]

easier

I'm not really convinced either. A hole doesnt stop the cloth lifting up so its against the button, it wouldnt work I dont think. As said, a needle or other matchlike device would work, but I dont think thick card discs would. Also I got the impression these were only paper, which would make them useless as spacers.

NT

[bigcat]

I wondered that, if you put nut washers and bolt on a stack of them you get a paper wheel, which can be used for grinding and polishing. But those wheels would be tiny, so would have to do high rpm to get anywhere, and anything assembled that basically and run that fast would vibrate like crazy. I know cos I've made wheels that run at 20,000 rpm, and they do.

The other problem with that idea is IIRC there were several different but near sizes: why would one want several wheels of close but not identical sizes?

And the final q is, why did they cut the paper but not assemble the wheels? And why are there no bolts nuts washers or collets in the box?

I bet theres some craft that uses these, we just dont know what. From the fancy quality box it does look more craft than business to me.

NT

[VivienB]

button making? I have seen some very old buttons made by using a needle to wind thread from edge to middle of tiny circles of paper or card.

- Regards, VivienB

[David Shepherd]

David

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think 'musical instruments' too.

[bof]

In message , David Shepherd writes

Just don't tell SWMBO, or she'll be off to get a couple of boxes