2006-09-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

780. Audio tape splicer

There is a diagonal blade for cutting the tape, and two blades that are bowed in slightly for trimming the top and bottom of the splice, so that it will easily move through the tape machine.

781. This was marked "coal shovel", though it was probably used on a farm for moving produce.

782. Carpet stretcher

Thanks to Bill for sending in this image:

783. Tripod collar, it's designed to fit a specific type of lens so that the lens itself can be easily mounted to a tripod instead of mounting the camera. This is useful because it balances the lens better and reduces lens shake.

A similar collar mounted on a lens:

784. Adding machine, patent number 414,959.

Before I did any research on this one, I came across this book while surfing the web:

So I went ahead and ordered it, figuring if I couldn't find anything on the web about the item, the book would identify it. Well, it arrived in the mail earlier this week, and even though this device is on the cover, it's not included in the book(!). Anyway, though the book is a bit small and the illustrations are black and white, it's got some interesting things it, several of which I've featured on my site.

785. Probably another version of this grappling hook, for retrieving objects from wells. The cross-piece is set to keep the tongs open, and when it's lowered over an object, the cross-piece is knocked out of the way, allowing the tongs to close when the unit is hauled up by the ring.

Another view of the top part:

When the jaws are closed the top piece slides down and locks them in position:

The spring shown in this picture is not the original, but has been added to show where one most likely belongs. According to the owner, the area of the tool below the notches is curved and looks to have been made for the placement of a spring.

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If you haven't already seen it, the Cool Tools web site is worth checking out, he has lots of interesting tools posted. Yesterday I received a green laser that I ordered after reading about it there, it's much brighter than a red one, and at night you can even see the beam well enough to use it to point out individual stars.

One caveat, it's not nearly as bright in actual use as it appears in the photo on Cool Tools, when I first tried it I couldn't see the beam and thought I got ripped off. But after a couple minutes when my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could clearly see a faint beam pointing up to the stars, which I couldn't duplicate with the red laser. I was in a city environment with the usual light pollution, so I'm sure it works even better out in the country, especially after the eyes have had time to become acclimated to the night.

These green lasers have been fairly expensive until they just recently came down in price, I got one for a little over $40 at Amazon. If anyone is wondering, I don't make money from any of the links that I post.

Last week's set is seen below, click here to view the entire post:

What is it? Answers 134