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Thread: What is this??

  1. #1
    Master
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    What is this??

    Hello all, I'm hoping that the enormous pool of knowledge and experience in the group might be able to help.

    My mother-in-law has this object among her things, inherited from a family member many years ago.

    None of us is sure what it is.

    About a foot tall, wooden base with brass plate screwed on. Brass pole with 5 rotating'signs', marked 4, 7, 10, 10, 20. The 'signs' rotate around the pole, but don't go up and down. The bottom three are the same width, the upper two are fatter. The 4 is shorter, all others are the same length.

    Looks like it should measure soemthing, but odd that there are 2 x 10, and the distances don't work.

    Any thoughts very welcome!


  2. #2
    Any family member with a connection to working in a post office?

    R
    Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.

  3. #3
    If no joy here I can heartily recommend https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/

  4. #4
    Master
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    Thanks both.

    No post office connection, Ralphy, but it came from my wife's uncle who was renowned for collecting totally random stuff. It could be connected.

    Jammie- have put it on there- thanks for the suggestion.

  5. #5
    Master
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    Vintage Lands End or John O Groats souvenir... ...I'll get me coat.

  6. #6
    Grand Master JasonM's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jammie*dodger View Post
    If no joy here I can heartily recommend https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/

    Curse you for distracting me from my work for an hour.
    Cheers..
    Jase

  7. #7
    Master Kirk280's Avatar
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    I think it is a device for measuring one’s slow worm

  8. #8
    Master
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    There was something similar on salvage hunters a while back it was some sort of shop display.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonM View Post
    Curse you for distracting me from my work for an hour.
    Likewise. Trouble is, I'll have forgotten what most of them are if I ever see them in the flesh.

    Can't see the OP's post in there yet though.

  10. #10
    Is it for measuring the height of Leprechauns?

  11. #11
    Master
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    Thanks for all your responses.

    It's up on the reddit site now. Hope I can get an answer from them!!

  12. #12
    Grand Master SimonK's Avatar
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    I wonder if it was a display for stockings, showing the different deniers, or something else that comes in different thicknesses? I also wonder if the two '10s' is a mistake, there should be a '15' between the '7' and the '20' and the second '10' has been taken from another stand?

  13. #13
    Master alfat33's Avatar
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    Do the numbers refer to the area of each sign rather than the length or height?

  14. #14
    Grand Master jwg663's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SimonK View Post
    I wonder if it was a display for stockings, showing the different deniers, or something else that comes in different thicknesses?<snip>...
    I thought shoelaces, with the numbers referring to eyelets/laceholes & hence the lower number/shorter lengths at the bottom.

    Edit: Yarn hanks by gauge?
    Last edited by jwg663; 23rd June 2021 at 10:20.
    ______

    ​Jim.

  15. #15
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    It is some kind of height or thickness measure, with the lower 3 measuring to the top edge (step down is underneath) and the top 2 measure to the lower edge (step is on top).
    That explains why 10 is repeated, the two edges meet at the same height.
    I would try measuring down from the correct surfaces to the base plate.
    It is also possible there was an offset, and that the measures each need a distance subtracting before they make sense.
    Measurements are likely to be in imperial, I guess.

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