MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

Nobody has got there yet so here's a clue:

[chinatyke]

It has Metric and Imperial scales but is this unusual? I'm not an engineer.

And it is a funny colour, satin chrome?

[Stanley]

Quite usual China. The evidence is there if you look carefully and think about it. Think how you measure with a vernier, what the principle is.

[chinatyke]

Just thinking aloud:

The divisions on the Imperial main scale are 1/16" so the vernier scale would be 1/(16x8) = 1/128" so you could measure 1/128" accurately. Thank goodness for metrication.

Surely this should be marked on the Vernier somewhere? And not unusual?

Still say it is a funny colour.

[Pluggy]

Looks Identical to the Vernier Caliper illustrated on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vernier_caliper.svg

[Tizer]

Mauser is a German weapons company. In quiet times when there weren't enough wars going on they made other things including the vernier calipers shown in Stanley's photo. The word `INOX' is there to signify they are made from stainless steel - the acronym comes from the French word `inoxydable' (not oxidisable). The calipers apparently have a popular Mauser lock. I don't know exactly what the special characteristic is that Stanley's asking us to identify but it's probably mentioned on these forum pages about the Mauser vernier caliper (where I got my information):
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/an ... ls-152818/

[David Whipp]

I'm afraid I don't know how you measure with a vernier... does the tool convert between SI and Imperial?

[chinatyke]

It has 10 marked on the lower Vernier scale, usually this is just marked zero. ?????

[PanBiker]

Both sides of the instrument take outside measurements. Is it not the norm to have one measuring outside and the other one for taking inside measures?

I hasten to add I know nothing about vernier tools as well, just a guess.

[Stanley]

You've got there and Ian specified it. Most verniers have inches in tenths and the vernier scale 1-10 so you are measuring thousandths of an inch. The metric vernier is always 1-10. This one has the main divisions in sixteenths and the vernier 1-8 so 8X16 = 128ths. All very familiar to old farts like me and unlike metric, a measurement like 1/3" is exact, not a recurring decimal! I've never seen a vernier calibrated like this before but I'm sure they exist. Tiz is dead right, German manufacture and the original owner was called A Fransen, I know because it's engraved on the back. Inside and outside measurements are the same on the scale because the gap of the inside jaws is in exact alignment with the outside jaws. My favourite calliper because my head translates fractions to thousandths automatically as I was taught in fractions as a lad. Once it's in there you never lose it.
Right, try this one and yes, I'm getting desperate! Exact answer and origin, there is an interesting story behind it....

[PanBiker]

Some kind of steam powered pump but I don't know what for.

[Tizer]

I'm afraid I don't know how you measure with a vernier... does the tool convert between SI and Imperial?

David, have a look at the animations on the Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernier_scale

[Stanley]

You're right Ian but a bit more detail please.....

[Stanley]

I'm being hard I know but I'll give it one more day.

[PanBiker]

Is from the bottom of the pit for the steam engine build in the other thread?

[Stanley]

No Ian and you actually got it right a few posts ago but I wanted to see if anyone recognised what was strange about it. It's a boiler feed pump but not one you will have seen before because it's German. When Schaeffer and Budenberg moved to their new factory near Altrincham in the late 19th century they used a lot of German equipment. They refurbished all the gauges on Ellenroad free and when I was down at their plant I spotted the pump and enquired about it. They gave it to me and Newton refurbished it. Don't think Ellenroad ever used it but it's a good little pump, very compact and powerful.
Try this one. All right it's a Weir steam pump but what's unusual about it?

[Gloria]

Is it upright instead of on it's side???

[Stanley]

That's a sensible guess Gloria and logical. Funny thing is that I've never thought of that before. Weir built their pumps upright because they were originally designed for use in ships where the floor space was limited so the smaller footprint was an advantage. However, that's not the answer..... Have a very close look at it and compare with other Weir pumps.

[Stanley]

It looks as though I shall have to tell you. This is a large Weir boiler feed pump at Ellenroad. It's unusual in that it has three legs instead of the normal two and is also very large. I got onto Weir about it and gave them the serial number. It transpired that it was one of a pair made for ICI and was intended for pumping acid. To foil corrosion the rods bucket and bottom liner are made of stainless steel. Ellenroad bought this one second hand in the 1940s I think and you can see it in the pump room at Ellenroad if you visit. I tried it out and it works fine but we relied on electric feed pumps controlled by Mobrey gear on the boiler so we had automatic water level control. Now I have to think of another..... (Has anyone else got one?)

[David Whipp]

Not so much a mystery object as a mystery location. Even someone born on this street and still living in the vicinity didn't know this was there.

Where is it?

[PanBiker]

I'm sure I have seen it but can't think where! There are a lot more similar examples in Barlick as well though.

Here's one from me to give Stanley a break.

[Stanley]

David. If it's in Barlick it could be somewhere near the junction of Park Road and Park Avenue because in 1910 that's where the new houses were being built. Almost all the houses up Park Avenue are in named terraces. Or is it on Rainhall Road just over the old railway bridge.
Ian, at first sight it looks like a teething ring!
Thanks to both of you for relieving the load......

[David Whipp]

Is Ian's object part of a children's conical tower (I doubt it!).

The Willden View picture is one of a series I took a couple of years ago of all the date stones and inscriptions I could find in Barlick. Its location is near the oldest part of town... more detective work needed.

[Stanley]

Townhead?

[David Whipp]

Townhead?

Nope, but warmer.