[photoptimist]

I invented dirt. Come on, credit where credit is due."

The invention of dirt had a rocky start, didn't it?

[photoptimist]

OK, I'll play.

What is this?






{Full disclosure: I have had this for about 45 years, and have asked plenty of people to help identify it, and yet still, to this day, have no clue what it is for.}

Thanks for posting this!

I looked around for a mystery object but did not find anything suitable. I've got lots of very recognizable objects and I've got lots of totally inscrutable tidbits from deep inside old cameras or electronics that no one would recognize but nothing that seemed to fit the spirit of being a mystery object.

[normhead]

The invention of dirt had a rocky start, didn't it?

I thought it was something to do with a "big bang".

[Racer X 69]

Thanks for posting this!

Seemed like the least I could do.

Now tell me what this thing is.

[photoptimist]

Seemed like the least I could do.

Now tell me what this thing is.

:cheesy:

A tester to see if someone really has brass balls?

[Racer X 69]

I thought it was something to do with a "big bang".

Big bang?



Or, Big Bang?

It would appear that the doogit to be tested must have a shape that fits between the pointy thing on the left and the flattened thing on the right. And when the compression screw is turned, it relieves the pressure on the gauge, which must have a negative effect on the way the dial is graduated. So the thing must be inserted with pressure to be applied immediately, and then reduced. I'm guessing it's used to calibrate something rather than to determine crush strength.

Any idea what those numbers relate to? pounds per square inch? newton-meters?

[Racer X 69]

Any idea what those numbers relate to? pounds per square inch? newton-meters?

The gage face is only marked 0 to 160, and below it has the manufacturer, Federal, and the word Warranted below that. Otherwise the gage is not marked for units (PSI, NM, etc.)

[Geodude]

The gage face is only marked 0 to 160, and below it has the manufacturer, Federal, and the word Warranted below that. Otherwise the gage is not marked for units (PSI, NM, etc.)

It's for measuring the pressure resistance of hard boiled eggs, so that the proper temperature and cooking time can be precisely determined.

[nosliwmit]

It looks like it might be a steam pressure gauge, though the mechanical contraption that it's mounted to is certainly a mystery... Look here for a Federal Warranted gauge that looks nearly identical: Vintage 6'' Brass Federal Steam Pressure Gauge 160 PSI Chicago-Marshalltown | #458796327

Maybe it was associated with a pasteurization system?

[Racer X 69]

It looks like it might be a steam pressure gauge, though the mechanical contraption that it's mounted to is certainly a mystery... Look here for a Federal Warranted gauge that looks nearly identical: Vintage 6'' Brass Federal Steam Pressure Gauge 160 PSI Chicago-Marshalltown | #458796327

Maybe it was associated with a pasteurization system?

The style is certainly the same. But gauge on this thing is only two and a half inches in diameter, not six.

I like the idea that it has something to do with pasteurization though, considering I found it in a barn where dairy operations once happened.

The style is certainly the same. But gauge on this thing is only two and a half inches in diameter, not six.

I like the idea that it has something to do with pasteurization though, considering I found it in a barn where dairy operations once happened.

By Jove, I think you've got it! When pasteurization began, it was done by heating up large quantities of milk in a sort of vat or cauldron. That gizmo is the equivalent of a candy thermometer, or for a roast, or for checking the deep fat fryer temperature. The outer frame is a sort of spring, and as it flexes, it increases or decreases pressure on the side of the gauge, which probably has a plunger actuator below the extension that's screwed down to it. What's missing between the two parts that look like Frankenstein's electrodes is probably sort of bimetallic spring. The screw adjuster on the right calibrates the bimetallic spring, that being counter-tensioned against the springiness of the frame. Holding the grip on the bottom, one would dip the upper part including the bimetallic spring (or something else that expands and contracts in a regular way) and read the temperature on the gauge, so you'd know when the pasteurization was complete.

How's that for a theory?

This is a lot like "History Detectives", "Ask This Old House", and "Antiques Road Show", all rolled into one.

looks dangerous! any guesses?

[Racer X 69]

looks dangerous! any guesses?

A sawblade on a weedeater.

I actually have one for my Stihl weedeater. Works great for saplings, vine maple and blackberry vines.

A sawblade on a weedeater.

I actually have one for my Stihl weedeater. Works great for saplings, vine maple and blackberry vines.

Another winner! I actually felt like this approach was too much of a "trick", photographing a chunk of a thing in order to make it less recognizable.

I got that machine to cut down bamboo planted by the former resident, who, as a VietNamese guy who'd lived through the war, planted it because he thought it was a good security feature. Interesting guy, his wife is Hmong and her brother was a fighter pilot for the U.S. in the war to save the (obsolete as a strategic raw material) rubber plantations and the Catholic population of the South from the Communist Buddhists in the North.

The machine has a 3.5 HP gas engine to run that circular saw, just like a weed-whacker but with more oomph.