MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Whyperion]

Its certainly some kind of plot chart blank of something against time . I thought tachographs , being a european idea would have been in 24hour format , and the centre hole is not round ,but a bit elongated on one side to prevent slippage in the tachometer.

[Stanley]

You've got it but not a tachograph, this was much earlier and no electrics involved. They are discs for the Servis Recorder, a clockwork driven device that was mounted in the cab. A pendulum controlled a stylus and the surface was covered with black wax overlaid with white paint. As the wagon moved the pendulum transmitted a faint trace to the chart which showed only one thing, that the vehicle was moving at a certain time.

[Stanley]

Try this one.....

[Wendyf]

Does anyone know what this could be from? I found it in our garden in North Wales over 30 years ago, its made from copper or brass or similar and shows farm tools used for harvesting and a basket full of the fruits of the harvest.

[Stanley]

Lovely little object Wendy. Obviously ornamental and possibly a brooch? 19th century?

[Whyperion]

Is it too small to be some kind of horse brass , thought it might be NFU badge from some time as the design reminded me of what I thought their logo was or had been.

[Wendyf]

NFU Mutual have a sheaf of corn as their logo. I think it must have been attached to something originally...perhaps a badge or brooch, or even harness as part of a fancy buckle.

[Steeplejerk]

The teeth on the rake of the badge look as if it could have been some kind of claspe,i was thinking old nfu membership badge or even womens land army ???

is that a wooden bleach kier Stanley ???

[Stanley]

You're getting very close Tom. There's been a deathly hush so I think you all need a clue. I took that pic while I was refurbishing the fulling mill machinery at Higher Mill, Helmshore. Here's the finished article.



One good story about this. The museum was open to the public while I was working and I became an exhibit for about a year. One day a man watched what I was doing and asked some questions that showed he knew what he was talking about. He asked me where I had served my apprenticeship and laughed when I told him I had no qualifications at all. It turned out he owned a joinery works and he told me that if I ever fancied a job he'd give me one. Nice.....
So, what exactly is it? No cheating, I've just realised the answer is in the file name. Bugger!

[Steeplejerk]

Sorry Stanley i had to cheat,i was very close,i wont give it away though ,is the machine behind it a raising barrel ??

[Stanley]

You little devil, I might have known! Yes, it's a teasel raising gig and that was going to be the next object! I give in, it's a dolly scourer. A washing machine for treating lengths of cloth. They were put round the rollers, stitched into an endless loop and machined till they were clean.

Alright clever clogs, have a go at this one:



I want to know what it is and why I posted it. What could it be used for?

[Steeplejerk]

Its whats left of the tenters spine after running that machine for 50+ years

[Stanley]

I like it and yes you're close but let's have some detail and why did I post them? I promise there's a reason...

[Steeplejerk]

Animal bones thrown in with the caustic to scrub the seeds out of the cloth ??

[Stanley]

Getting closer Tom. You're on the money with an industrial process. Move away from textiles.....

[chinatyke]

Could they be bones after being boiled to make bone or animal glue? Just a guess...

[Stanley]

Again, getting close. Time I came clean. They are bones from my oxtail soup which have been calcined in the stove when I burned some rubbish. Calcined bone was the magic ingredient in the best English porcelain, that's why we call it bone china. The demand was so great in the Potteries that bone was imported and at Shirley's Bone Mill they even have elephant bones. Rumour has it that human bone was burned as well. Once burned in a kiln the bones were ground in specialised mills. Flints were similarly treated to go into the mixture.

[Stanley]

Try this one.....

[Stanley]

The cotton waste should give you a clue......

[Stanley]

No guesses? Do I have to come clean?

[Stanley]

All right.... It's one of the high pressure steam valves out of the Bancroft Shed engine. I had it out to check the wear on the face and the sealing washer. All was OK so it was popped back in. Best way of learning, pull 'em to bits and put 'em back together! Better still, build one in the shed! Try this for size.... Why would a fitter want to have these babies about his person?


(Such a pleasure doing these pics with the auto lens.... £99 well spent!)

[Whyperion]

Look useful for retrieving dropped screws , nuts , bolts etc , or holding if in slight far away places.

Tweezes also useful for pulling out cotton threads etc when the get wrapped up in the works ( or carpet fibres from the model trains I get in - always need the worm gear cleaning )

[Steeplejerk]

Unsightly nostril hair

[Tizer]

Seeing bone china mentioned up above prompts me to add this link to the China Clay History Society which has a picture gallery with some interesting photos...
http://www.chinaclayhistory.org.uk/picture_gallery.htm

[PostmanPete]

They look a bit like medical forceps to me? (speaking as an ex-ambulance person)