What is it?

I've been collecting unusual objects for quite a while, and several years ago I started posting them on this site as puzzles for visitors to figure out what they are. Most of the items are mine but a few belong to others, if you aren't interested in tools there are plenty of other type objects that have also been posted.

For first time visitors I recommend this archive for a wide variety of some of my best pieces.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Welcome readers of the Tangled Bank!





472. 5" long




473. Another close-up of something most people have seen before:





474. 36" long





475. 10" long









476. 6" long






477. 12-3/4" long



Answers


The Tangled Bank is a collection of articles from some of the best science, nature and medical blogs on the web. Thanks to this week's host Living the Scientific Life for including this site in the current edition.


If anyone is interested, I added a new post to my pseudoscope page explaining how to make one with mirrors.

posted by Rob H. at 6:57 PM

15 Comments:

  • 472. Appears to be a marking set but seems to have extra characters.

    475. Looks to be some sort of circular hand drill possibly to use with rough lumber or some sort?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/06/2005 7:07 AM  

  • >473. flourescent light tube
    >476. Can Opener
    >477. Flax comb

    All correct

    >472. Appears to be a marking set but seems to have extra characters.

    Nope, the bottom of this one looks the same as the top.


    >475. Looks to be some sort of circular hand drill possibly to use with rough lumber or some sort?

    >475. Bung hole cutter for barrels and casks.

    Yes, it's a boring tool for barrels.

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/07/2005 3:48 PM  

  • >474. ...light bulb gripper for changing bulbs?


    It's not for changing bulbs, the business end is just 1" diameter and isn't expandable.

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/08/2005 3:18 PM  

  • >474. Well then, perhaps it cleans pipe

    You've got the right idea, but it wasn't used for pipes

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/09/2005 7:26 AM  

  • 474 For scraping steam boiler tubes?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/09/2005 9:49 AM  

  • >474 For scraping steam boiler tubes?

    No, but it is for something similar to pipes and tubes.

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/09/2005 1:33 PM  

  • 474 I'll say it's for cannon barrels

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/09/2005 10:26 PM  

  • >474 I'll say it's for cannon barrels

    You're going in the right direction, but the business end of this one is only 1" diameter.

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/10/2005 6:48 PM  

  • 474. I'll bite. Given the length, the diameter and the bushing, it apparently is used to finish/clean the inside of a shotgun barrel.

    -Edward

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/10/2005 10:24 PM  

  • >474. ...used to finish/clean the inside of a shotgun barrel.

    Correct, it was marked "gun cleaner".

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/11/2005 4:21 AM  

  • 474. I am curious as to the exact diameter of the bushing and if it is fixed. Since the flare on the cleaning tines is larger than the bushing, the only way to easily feed it into a straight barrel would be handle-first. It might therefore have been intended for a blunderbuss-style barrel. If the bushing is mobile, then it could have been used to compress the tines prior to insertion.

    - Edward

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/11/2005 10:05 AM  

  • >474. I am curious as to the exact diameter of the bushing and if it is fixed...

    I don't own this one, but I'll take another look at it this weekend and hopefully have an answer for your question on Saturday.

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/12/2005 7:25 PM  

  • The bushing is fixed and it's diameter is a bit over 5/8". The tines can be compressed a little by hand, I'm not sure exactly what type of gun this was for.

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/15/2005 3:37 PM  

  • Below is a link to an article on shotgun gauge sizes. The measurement you give is the equivalent to 0.625 inches, just a bit too large for a 12 gauge barrel likely too small for a 20 gauge.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun#Gauge

    There are some Internet references to Civil War shotgun barrels with an 18 gauge barrel in which this would fit perfectly.

    - Edward

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/18/2005 5:51 AM  

  • Thanks for the link, you might be right about it being from the civil war.

    By Blogger Rob H., at 10/18/2005 4:50 PM  

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