What is it? Set 431

[Rob H.]

I need some help with the first item this week:

[kfvorwerk]

2502. Antique surveyor's alidade. For use on a plane table. A more modern one.

[Edward Erbeck]

2501 is for opening Bottles and Cans. The old style Bottle opener is just before the Tail. Twist tops are handled by the "inner circle" by the bumps and Pop tops are started by the first fin behind the Head.

Crazy Ed

[Dave__67]

Not sure the 1st one is anything in particular other than a handle that clamps to a square shaft.

Dave

[Stormin Mormon]

I'll admit, I have totally no ideas, for any of them.

You did it -- totally stumped me.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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[Bill]

#2498 Pressure cooker?

Bill

[Bill]

Looks like I might get one this week!

#2500 A clamp for holding the leather tip of a pool cue in place while glueing it on!

Bill

[Gerald Ross]

Looks like a spring loaded cutter head on it. Maybe to square off the end of a pool stick or something similar.

[Rob H.]

KarlAlidade is correct.

[Rob H.]

Yes, it's made by the people that make Yeti coolers.

[Rob H.]

It's not a cooker, it's something a little more sinister than that.

[Edward Erbeck]

2499 looks like it could be old Ice Fishing Ploes.

Crazy Ed

[Rob H.]

That's it! If you look really close you can see some line that is wrapped around the middle part of the upper one.

[DoN. Nichols]

2497) I first have to ask a question: Does the metal part pivot around the pin near the large end, and stick out the small end? If so, I would need to see what that small end looks like extended.

However, if it does not (I think that there is a smaller pin to prevent that), I could see this being used as a wrench for square-headed screws such as are common on lathes. The metal can take the wear, the large rivet gives it strength to avoid spreading, and the wood makes a more comfortable handle than the forged metal wrenches for the purpose would have.

2498) It looks like the top piece is a Fresnel lens, so it could be used to focus sunlight onto something held in the center of the bowl. Perhaps to light a cigarette or a tobacco pipe's contents? But the green glass would absorb a lot of the heat out of the sunlight.

So a second option might be a disassembled high voltage insulator?

Is that some form of tape on the elbow in the third photo? And is that a loop of wire sticking through it, or a marking on the tape?

2499) If the points were not so sharp and long, I might consider this to be some form of shuttle for weaving. The yarn could be wound around between the projecting horns on the first one, and perhaps the second one had similar horns which were somewhat broken off.

As it is -- perhaps for gigging fish? (But there should be a barb on the pints for that.)

2500) This looks like a tool for forcing a cork into (or back into) a wine bottle. 2501) Hmm ... the ridges in the center hole look as though they would be good to grip a ribbed bottle cap of a certain size, and some of the lips appear to be reasonable for lifting press-on caps for something like a jam jar. Not too sure about anything else. 2502) A rule for use on a chart table -- to sight though it to a landmark, and the upper edge of the rule (if unlocked in the center) would turn it into a parallel rule, for drawing a line parallel to another or to the sighting.

Anyway, for navigating or surveying.

Now to post and then see what others have suggested.

Enjoy, DoN.

[DoN. Nichols]

If sinister, then it is a timed explosive charge, set off by the Sun near noon. (Or at least the housing for it, without the powder charge.)

Enjoy, DoN.

[usablevirus]

"Rob H." scribbled:

is it used in a gas chamber?

[Rob H.]

Nope, it's not related to a gas chamber.

[Rob H.]

Not exactly correct but you're close, there are explosives involved.

[kfvorwerk]

Thanks for doing these. They're always interesting. Karl

[Rob H.]

You're both correct, it's a clamp and a trimmer, we didn't have a tool like this so instead would just use sandpaper to flatten the end of the cue.

No proof yet for the first item but the rest have all been identified this week, the answers can be seen here: