MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

Bit blunt for that Tiz..... Any offers?

[Bodger]

Readers are chasing the wrong pitch on this thread , get a handle on it, take it in hand and cut to the chase ?

[Gloria]

Used in conjunction with a lathe for chasing screw threads.

[chinatyke]

Some of us have never seen things like that, we buy our screws from the ironmonger!

[Stanley]

Nice one Bodge! You and Gloria are right, used for making a thread by hand. I've seen them used by brass finishers and they are surprisingly quick and accurate especially with large fine threads. They call it 'striking a thread' because it is so quick.
Maz, someone somewhere has to make those threads and the ones you buy in the shop are made with very similar methods, most are formed with a die or rollers shaped just like this chaser.
Next one?

[chinatyke]

Maz, someone somewhere has to make those threads and the ones you buy in the shop are made with very similar methods, most are formed with a die or rollers shaped just like this chaser.

Don't blame Maz, I hold my hand up!

[Stanley]

I'm sorry Maz, put it down to a senior moment!
Thanks China for pointing that out.

[Marilyn]

I get blamed for so many things on this site...
I remain bemused and confused, but ( ultimately) innocent!

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

What's this?....

[Gloria]

Is it for taking the core out of something?

[Cathy]

Does it froth milk for cappuccino 's ?

[Tizer]

No, Cath, it's not for frothing milk. Gloria's getting warm but still a way to go!

[StoneRoad]

worm for checking / withdrawing all the remains of a previous firing of a smooth bore weapon (from cannon to pistol) before re-loading.

If you didn't, and the swabbing out didn't drown the waste 'bits', then the next load might fire prematurely.

[chinatyke]

StoneRoad's answer sounds right. I was going to say the end piece of a drain rod for clearing blocked drains.

[Stanley]

Getting a misfired charge out of a muzzle loader?

[Wendyf]

I think it's a slightly complicated corkscrew for removing corks from wine bottles, before some nice person invented the easy access screw top!

[Tizer]

Stone Road got the general idea and Stanley refined it. It's a `gun worm' which was used to pull out the bullet or ball after a gun misfired. It's said to have triggered the idea of a corkscrew. Here are photos of some other types: LINK

[Stanley]

I love that link Tiz. It reminds me of something I came across, I think in the Halifax area. 'The Cock, ball nipple and touch hole society' If you search for it on the web you come across a different world and their entry has been suspended. However, you can find an entry for the Muzzle Loaders Association of Great Britain. But I can't see any mention of the 'The Cock, ball nipple and touch hole society' which was nothing to do with sex but a group dedicated to firing muzzle loaders. Not actually a Mystery Object but still an interesting if little known fact! Perhaps the double entendre of the name was a bit too risqué!

[Tizer]

I reckon it was a lot too risqué - and risky too! More like something from a Benny Hill programme, haha!

[Stanley]

It did actually exist!
Try another oldie.....

[Tizer]

Acetylene lamp?

[PanBiker]

Carbide lamp

[Tizer]

Both!

[Stanley]

You got me..... I still have some carbide and occasionally fire it up just to remind myself what an excellent light acetylene gives. Incidentally the spare container was carried ready charged with carbide so that if the lamp went out you just had to add water and replace the exhausted one. There is a flint and steel in place so that even in the dark you can light it. If you've never seen one lit, it's a very white brilliant light. The first one I ever saw used was in the Treak Cliff Cavern in Derbyshire where one was used by the guide as a spotlight to show the size of the void under the hill. See THIS, right up Tizer's street!
Next one?