MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

Ingenious Maz but no. It was made with a specific purpose in mind....

[plaques]

To hold pot gobblers.

[Marilyn]

Oh no.... my Mother had a very discreet plastic small thing. That is big enough to put a set of horse teeth in...

[Tizer]

Is it one of those magnifying, single-lens eye glasses that jewellers wear?

[chinatyke]

The clue is: "Think back to the time I put a very hot pan on the counter top."

Trouble is I can't remember what you did to remove the mark, or was this something you made to hide it?

[Stanley]

Sorry to all of you, not there yet.
China wrong clue, that's a red herring introduced by Maz. Concentrate on "It was made with a specific purpose in mind...." I'll add that it was used by a retailer.

[Gloria]

Measure for medicine?

[Stanley]

Gloria, you are so close I feel I have to give it to you. It's a rice measure made as an advert for Euryza rice mills in Hamburg. It is marked on the bottom as being one quarter of a seer. The seer is a dry measure equal to 1.41 litres in Bombay. The contents were struck off level at the rim and could be used for any dry product.
Next one?

[Stanley]

An easy one for you.



Can anyone tell me what's notable about this vernier calliper?

[Bodger]

Metric/Imperial

[Stanley]

Correct Bodge but there's a bit more to it than that.

[plaques]

I'll keep quiet, don't want to appear too vulgar by taking it from Gloria.

[Gloria]

Think it’s German, but just looks bog standard to me.

[Tizer]

The movable scales are not normal, they are extended. Is it intended for someone with poor vision or for use under conditions of poor vision? Another notable point is that Mauser made guns.

[Stanley]

I am not going to be hard on you. What I have always liked about this vernier is that, quite unusually, it measures in fractions and can be used to 128ths as the main scale is in 16ths. Most are decimal, marked in tenths. The other thing as Tiz correctly noticed, is that it's made by Mauser in Germany and I wouldn't have expected them to be interested in fractional Imperial measurements.
I've never seen another like it and I use it more frequently than any of my other callipers.
Next one?

[Stanley]

What is it?

[PanBiker]

Well it's a big box for a relatively small tool. Looks like some kind of rolling scribe device?

[Stanley]

That's what I thought Ian when it landed. Sorry no.

[PanBiker]

I know what it is now but only because I read all the posts, cunning, the half spheres on the top look like captive ball bearings but I know now they are not. I'll not let on.

[Big Kev]

I know what it is now but only because I read all the posts, cunning, the half spheres on the top look like captive ball bearings but I know now they are not. I'll not let on.

Me neither

[Stanley]

Oh, go on then we can have another!

[Stanley]

No takers so It's an optical centre finder for the shed. See shed matters for a full explanation. I'll put my thinking cap on for the next one.

[Stanley]

What are these tools used for?

[Big Kev]

Lead working?

[Gloria]

Caulking tools?