What is it? Set 255

[Rob H.]

For the third and last items in this set, I know the general purpose for them, maybe someone can tell us the specifics:

[Alexander Thesoso]

1441 Engine Indicator. Used to show displacement vs. pressure for heat (steam) engine. Makes a graph/picture of the engine cycle.

[Dwayne & Ang]

1441 could be a steam whistle maybe a multi pitch? 1442 Guessing some kind of machine for preparing wool seperating it out and lining up the strands. 1443 bad angle on the picture but maybe for taking the top layer off a road ready for new tarmac. 1444 maybe a device for stretching material taunt over a drum or for furniture. 1445 empty lipstick holder? 1446 nail extracter the lever mechanism would give extra grip to the sides.

First try at this so be nice.

[DoN. Nichols]

vs the stroke. Working from the first photo, the cylinder on the left is spring loaded and rotated by the string wrapped around the groove just above the support arm. The string is attached to a point on the linkage which travels a distance just a little short of the circumference of the groove.

A piece of paper is clipped under the two long fingers shown on the back view in the second photo.

The bottom of the right cylinder (in the upper photo) is screwed onto a steam port (replacing a plug which normally lives there). Increase in the pressure lifts the black arm and draws a line in the paper.

The spring in that cylinder is changed out to change the full-scale pressure so the pen moves close to the full height of the paper. The photo of the similar instrument shows one of the spare springs out in the open, and two more in the storage box along with what looks like a ring to change the length of string for a full stroke.

I wish that I could remember the actual name of the device, but it is used in the design phase to maximize the power from a given stroke by tuning the timing of the valves. It can be used to check everything later during preventive maintenance as well.

I've read about these -- but this is the first time that I have seen good detailed photos.

Thank you.

1442) Hmm ... a cotton gin perhaps? Or for processing flax or something similar. 1443) I think that this is the tool used to move linked Jersey barriers to change lane assignments. I've seen them on use both in construction areas, and in bridges where a certain number of the middle lanes are shifted to be one direction at one part of the day and the other direction at another part, to correspond with the traffic patterns. 1444) To clamp the end of a ribbon (steel or other material) with a thick end piece for installing it is my guess. 1445) A punch for cutting out circular pieces of a fairly soft material. Perhaps for making holes in gaskets, or perhaps for making something like the valve pads in English construction concertinas. I think that the diameter of the punch is a bit small for the latter use, however. What is it -- about 3/8" ID? The shape of the sharpened edge suggests that the intended end product is the circular punch-out, not the hole. 1446) A tool for picking up something heavy with a round projection on the top. Lifting the handle close the jaws on the projection. I guess that it could be used for something softer than steel (such as wood) if you could live with the indentations made by the jaws.

Now to see what others have said, DoN.

[Marc Dashevsky]

It looks like an alternative to a cigar cutter -- a cigar punch.

[Andrew Erickson]

Maybe somebody can, but probably not me...sorry.

bottommost handscrew connector is evidently designed to attach to some standardized spigot or similar mechanical connector, while the plunger mechanism appears to be some adjustable pressure regulator (presumably adjusted by hanging various weights from the free end of the long crosspiece and/or changing springs). It would seem the cup would fill up when the pressure exceeded a certain fixed level, if I'm interpreting the patent drawing properly.

Perhaps this is somehow used in a brewery to obtain a sample of the brew being brewed for testing or tasting purposes.

1442 - Device used to separate out flax strands (to eventually produce linen thread/cloth), possibly? It could also be a carding machine for wool (probably not cotton in New York!), but there doesn't seem to be any automated means of removing the cleaned wool from the spiked drum, nor do the spikes look sufficiently numerous. 1443 - Funky construction/mining equipment. Maybe this is used to shift Jersey barriers around, sort of like a giant zipper might do if it zipped concrete walls. Whatever it is, I'm not sure I want to try to maintain it! 1444 - Maybe a valve/valve spring manipulation tool for old L-head engine valves? 1445 - This seems to be a nice little punch, I would guess for leather. The retractable blade also permits easy stripping of the punched-out holes should they become stuck in the blade. 1446 - Tongs to grip...something. The notched jaws suggest that whatever is gripped possibly has a vertical hanging rod or cable, which is attached to a somewhat larger shaft or toggle.

[Stuart]

I would have thought a nail puller of some sort.

[Flash]

1441 Some sort of device to determine specific gravity ofliquids = = maybe cream (butterfat) in milk? 1442 To comb out broom-straw?

1443 To mill down pavement for resurfacing

1444 Who knows? Innocent little sucker, isn't it?

1445 Ya got me there.

1446 Used for carrying something (probably hot) Or maybe to extract something (think teeth, here -- OWIE !)

Flash

[Tom Veatch]

Yep, definitely a pick up/carry tool for something

Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA

[Matthew T. Russotto]

espresso maker.

1442: Perhaps for carding fibers. Looks too coarse for that, but maybe for a coarse fiber as for rope. 1443: Looks like a slipform paver, for extruding a lane-width ribbon of concrete without requiring a fixed form. Note it's "CMI" (Concrete Mobile Equipment), not "CEI", which fooled me; CEI makes asphalt equipment, which looks different. 1444: That's a genuine damnedifiknow. 1445: Handy tool for removing eyes from potatoes.

[Matthew T. Russotto]

Naa, here's one of those

's others that are even smaller and actually drive more or less sideways to move the barrier an entire lane width.

[Rob H.]

although we have lots of road construction and concrete barriers.

Rob

[DoN. Nichols]

see it when we drove from the DC area to the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut once a year to help with the festival.

IIRC, there were even two of these in use at once, with one following not too far behind the other, to shift two full lines in a single pass -- quicker than a two-pass requirement as covered in the web page. There was also one of these in use not too far from where I live in VA during some construction -- but it and the linked barriers have gone elsewhere now.

Thanks, DoN.

[John Husvar]

We generally use two tools to seat solid tires on wheelchair rims, but that gadget looks like a heckuva lot better than what we use.

We have a commercial rig to do it by rolling it around the circumference between the tire and rim. I think it's even more difficult to use, especially on molded plastic wheels with the truncated pyramid-shaped solids.

So called snap on tires can be a cast-iron SOB to mount.

John

[CBFalconer]

I can clearly remember mounting solid rubber tires on cars without any problems or tools. I did this about 70 years ago, on model cars. The tires were about 1/4 to 1/2 inch diameter. HTH.