MYSTERY OBJECTS

[chinatyke]

Spawned from these?

[Stanley]

Sorry, no China. They had a definite and very practical use though today they are most often seen as garden ornaments.

[Big Kev]

Garden chairs?

[Tizer]

They were used to elevate food/crop storage sheds above ground level to prevent attack by rodents.

[Stanley]

I've got to give it to you Tiz. Actually they were always used set out in rows as the foundation course for a hay or corn stack so as to allow air circulation and as you say, hopefully deter rodents. They were called 'Staddle Stones'.
Next one?

[plaques]

Stanley's model beam engine uses a pantograph arrangement on the piston mechanism.
This reminded me of this mystery object, What is it?
.

[chinatyke]

Is it something to do with astronomy?

[Stanley]

Draughtsman's pantograph for enlarging a drawing?

[plaques]

Not used for astronomical measurements as far as I know, not for magnifying or reducing drawing sizes.
Although it has lots of applications most people would have used one of these in connection with heat engines studies (steam, gas, petrol etc)

[Stanley]

Is it for analysing and quantifying the area of a time/pressure curve in a cylinder?

[plaques]

Correct Stanley. A planimeter. This one is a bit more upmarket with a compensator on the arm to make it more accurate. It can be used for any two dimensional area measurement as quoted.. pressure time volumes, cross section areas, and cartography like your estate maps. Planimeter. Don't ask me why they work the maths is a bit to deep for me. I find it easier to count the squares on a fine lined graph paper.

[Stanley]

Nice! I've never seen or used one, I just looked at the shape of the curve, all I was interested in was timing and valve function.



Indicator diagram for one of the cylinders on the Earby Victoria beam engine in 1951. A good one, no bad events and working hard!

[Stanley]

Can anyone tell me what is going on here?

[Gloria]

Never seen this before.
Is the power of the wheel between the two "boats" being used to saw logs?

[Stanley]

Got to give it to you Gloria. I'm not too sure what it is doing but yes, it's a floating water wheel, still used in some parts of Eastern Europe. Well done... Now put a new one up!

[Gloria]

Can't find one Stanley, but will find something in the next week or two.

[Tizer]

Well done and now take a break, Gloria, while people consider the identity this object...

[chinatyke]

Is it a scutcher for making paper pulp?

[Tizer]

Oh well, it was a mystery object for 9 minutes! Well done, China, I don't know about the word scutcher but you've identified what it does. This one is called a Holland Beater... LINK

[chinatyke]

I did work for John C Carlson (later Carlson-Ford) at Butts Mill, Barlick, when I was 17. They made filtration sheets in a similar way to the paper making process. Something was retained by my tiny brain!

[Stanley]

Try this one...

[Tizer]

Were they originally alongside a railway track?

[Stanley]

Sorry but no. The clue is in the separation into independent small units. Think of industries where that is an advantage.

[chinatyke]

Munitions industry? Filling shells or packing dynamite.

[Stanley]

Getting very close China. Think more basic than that...