Help me identify this tool...

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147 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 587980 28-Feb-2012 19:01
Im going to take a wild guess (and its probably way wrong) but it looks like it could be an early mitre tool. (for measuring angle cuts on picture frames/display boxes/timber corners) It dosent look like the 'blade' is notched or engraved so the usuable part is the measurements on the pad. Is it cast or just black steel? Looks about the 1950's.. shouldnt be too hard to find out what it is. I should know what it is by the morning. :) That sort of thing is really cool.. I inherited a box of things like that and I dont know what half of them are, although I did just unearth a magnificant solid carved brass chalk line dating back to the 30's. Im better with that stuff than I am with computers. Which reminds me, I came in tonight with a Mac issue..better get it posted and see if the guys can help. :D

Disrespective

946 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 587984 28-Feb-2012 19:07
SandyJ, I agree. It does seem to look like that type of thing. Just never seen any like it in my time with tools. Some other images. Back: Side: In case: www.archimage.co.nz psn: PabloNZ

riahon

770 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 588006 28-Feb-2012 20:20
It's the devils tool. You need to exorcise it now!

sleemanj

900 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 588011 28-Feb-2012 20:36
Are the graduations related to millimeters (seems likely metric due to being 0 to 10) indicating how far the central piece moves? That is, if the bar travels 0 to 10, does the central piece move a centimeter? --- James Sleeman My hobby - listing small amounts of interesting/useful hobby electronic components hardware and stuff on Trademe for cheap, all good geek stuff for the "maker" revolution ;-) Tip for Trademe addicts: install an addon for your browser to get thumbs for all listings.

riahon

770 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 588013 28-Feb-2012 20:44
In regards to the mounting part I wonder if there is another piece to this that allows it to slide like a guide. Interesting that the moving arm does not align with those angle measurements. It doesn't even look like it stays perpendicular with the white board as well. What does that centre screw do, the one in the slotted part.

MikeSkyrme

209 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

Reply # 588025 28-Feb-2012 21:09
A wild stab in the dark... It looks as if it clips on to another device, for example a drawing board T square. Michael Skyrme - Instrumentation & Controls

Disrespective

946 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 588046 28-Feb-2012 21:52
sleemanj: Are the graduations related to millimeters (seems likely metric due to being 0 to 10) indicating how far the central piece moves? That is, if the bar travels 0 to 10, does the central piece move a centimeter? No, there is no relation to a mm scale. The arm has a small slide on it which has a point that indicates where the arm is along the scale. It can move up and down the arm and will thus always align with the 10 mark, but not always with the 0 mark. riahon: In regards to the mounting part I wonder if there is another piece to this that allows it to slide like a guide. Interesting that the moving arm does not align with those angle measurements. It doesn't even look like it stays perpendicular with the white board as well. What does that centre screw do, the one in the slotted part. It certainly looks like it slides onto something. I've looked at all the old t-square type tools that were there and that I have and nothing seems to match. With the slide on the arm at full extension it aligns with each measure. The center screw seems to only hold the arm and provide a pivot point. www.archimage.co.nz psn: PabloNZ

semigeek

973 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 588056 28-Feb-2012 22:05
Could it be some sort of slide rule or protractor? Yep I say its a protractor and it slides on to a ruler. Well that's my guess anyway. Kind of like this thing http://www.awco.org/seminar2002/howardtheme/H-38-protr.jpg Apple: Have it their way Android: Have it your way

oxnsox

1508 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 588057 28-Feb-2012 22:12
It looks to me that it slides onto another tool (say a ruler) and is set to a particular mark on that device. ( * ) By moving the lever it appears that the lever action moves the slider by small fractions. So you're moving the lever to say make the determination of the actual measurement where there isn't a mark on the the original tool. (ruler) The slider then moves up/down the lever to read the(fraction) of the number that the original tool couldn't measure. (Where the pointer intersects the line) All a bit like the way you use the strange scales on a slide rule to get the decimal places. Or.... thats a completely wrong guess.

Disrespective

946 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 588061 28-Feb-2012 22:18
oxnsox: It looks to me that it slides onto another tool (say a ruler) and is set to a particular mark on that device. ( * ) By moving the lever it appears that the lever action moves the slider by small fractions. So you're moving the lever to say make the determination of the actual measurement where there isn't a mark on the the original tool. (ruler) The slider then moves up/down the lever to read the(fraction) of the number that the original tool couldn't measure. (Where the pointer intersects the line) All a bit like the way you use the strange scales on a slide rule to get the decimal places. Or.... thats a completely wrong guess. That's similar to what we were thinking here. It's just odd that it doesn't seem to have any measured relevance. Using my calipers I can't find any correlation between the numbers and distance the slide travels. I took a quick dirty video to show how it moves. Not ideal since my phone doesn't seem to have a macro video mode... www.archimage.co.nz psn: PabloNZ

oxnsox

1508 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 588071 28-Feb-2012 22:36
Other thing I thought of was for measuring thread pitch, but it seems to clamp on a flat device

stevenz

1965 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 588161 29-Feb-2012 09:10
I've seen the stylised cross symbol on military hardware, it might be some sort of sighting guide for a weapon of some sort. I've asked a couple of likely suspect to see if they have any ideas though. FWIW it doesn't look like any horology tool I've ever come across. "You are" = "You're" - Not "Your". "They are" = "They're" - Not "Their" or "There". You probably mean "lose" not "loose". There's no such word as "Alot". On the internet, wasting time, since '89.

tardtasticx

1932 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 588182 29-Feb-2012 09:51
Looks like something that would fit onto the side of an Architects Drawing Table. Something to keep a certain angle or something? Cant remember if I read here that the little arm moves when the whole metal thing moves. But that's my guess anyway. Don't know how much use it would be either to architects drawing plans on A2/A1 pages when that thing looks about the size of a large phone hahaha. Really interested to see what this actually turns out to be. Sam, Auckland Skype: tardtasticx

Disrespective

946 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 588184 29-Feb-2012 09:53
tardtasticx: Looks like something that would fit onto the side of an Architects Drawing Table. Something to keep a certain angle or something? Cant remember if I read here that the little arm moves when the whole metal thing moves. But that's my guess anyway. Don't know how much use it would be either to architects drawing plans on A2/A1 pages when that thing looks about the size of a large phone hahaha. Really interested to see what this actually turns out to be. I am and Architect and I can tell you that if it's related to my industry then it's not like anything i've ever seen before. It's only about 6 or 7cm long (don't have it in front of me) so is for quite precise work. www.archimage.co.nz psn: PabloNZ

tardtasticx

1932 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 588242 29-Feb-2012 11:19
Disrespective: tardtasticx: Looks like something that would fit onto the side of an Architects Drawing Table. Something to keep a certain angle or something? Cant remember if I read here that the little arm moves when the whole metal thing moves. But that's my guess anyway. Don't know how much use it would be either to architects drawing plans on A2/A1 pages when that thing looks about the size of a large phone hahaha. Really interested to see what this actually turns out to be. I am and Architect and I can tell you that if it's related to my industry then it's not like anything i've ever seen before. It's only about 6 or 7cm long (don't have it in front of me) so is for quite precise work.? I'm studying to be an architect at the moment and it just looked like it would fit into the little rail thing on the side of the drawing board where you fit rulers and such. Very strange none the less. Sam, Auckland Skype: tardtasticx

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