On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:49:04 -0000, DAC
<[email protected]> wrote:
>1076 looks like the weights used to turn cattle horns down.
><http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e0768e-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5>
>
That sure looks a lot like the second picture. This patent
looks like the first one but only has one set screw. Patent
number 1,287,540 issued Dec 10 1918. See:
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=1287540
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email
On 30 Aug, 09:01, "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote:
> Set 195 has just been posted:
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
1074 Oil lamp, usually described as an "engineer's lamp", but I've
never found out just what you did with them.
1075 Valve lock. You lock it around the stem of a screwdown valve and
it stops it being closed.
1077 Blacksmith's nail headers
1078 Eel trap.
1076 looks like the weights used to turn cattle horns down. <http://
www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e0768e-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5>
On Aug 30, 3:01 am, "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote:
> Set 195 has just been posted:
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
> Please don't send any email to the account that I use to post here on the
> newsgroups, for some reason it doesn't receive any incoming mail, instead
> use the gmail account on my profile on the web site.
>
> Rob
On Aug 30, 3:01 am, "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote:
> Set 195 has just been posted:
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
#1075 looks life a thumb cuff but they come in pairs.
Dennis
Leon Fisk wrote:
> On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:19:16 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>>Yes, it is a lever lock, having three spring loaded levers with hooked
>>ends which all must be raised to release the "tongue", or whatever that
>>heavy projecting piece is called.
>>
>>There are no discernable lettering or other markings on it.
>>
>>I bought it at an antique shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts aver 30 years
>>ago, and every once in a while I ask around hoping to get a cite on a
>>definitive answer about it's application.
>>
>>I tend to think it was either a prototype, or maybe a "master piece"
>>made by an apprentice locksmith as a requirement for proving his skills
>>for making the transition to become a master locksmith.
>
>
> Hi Jeff,
>
> Can you lock it with out the key? It appears like it would
> simply snap shut without use of the key.
Yep, just squeeze it closed and the hooked ends of the three spring
loaded levers slide up the "ramp" and drop down behind it.
>
> The reason I ask is that would limit its uses. If someone
> were to use it where only one side is accessible and could
> lock it without the key... oops! Now how do you unlock it?
> The key hole could be blocked. I'm thinking about the
> kingpin idea for one. It would be difficult to unlock it
> with the keyhole on top, if not impossible. Maybe that is
> why we don't see more of them around :)
>
> This item is pretty well stuck in my memory. If I ever
> figure it out or come up with a really solid lead you'll
> hear about it.
>
Thanks, my curious mind would sure like to know if it's a "one off"
piece or something with a definite useful application.
Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.
"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote:
>
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > [email protected] says...
> to it. )-;
> >>
> >> I always got a kick out of those old round ones on the roads - they
> >> remind me of those round black bombs in the cartoons. ;-)
>
> Those round black bombs were "Toledo Torch" brand. I had a set of six for
> a while, but they escaped, and are on the loose somewhere in central
> Florida now.
>
> LLoyd
Unfortunately, lots of strange things are loose in Central Florida.
I sold about 100 of the large version from a closed nursery at
Renninger's Flea market in Mt Dora about 12 years ago. The antique
freaks were buying them by the dozen, to use for decorations.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
Barbara Bailey wrote:
>
> There's a secondary definition of "smudge" as a noun that is "a smoky
> fire". Now it's most often used in connection with protecting fruit
> plantaions from frost, but you'll also find it in woodscraft and
> outdoorsmanship guides to refer to a fire designed to throw smoke,
> rather than burn cleanly, either to keep away insects or as a signal.
Groves in Florida spray a fine mist that freezes on the fruit, then
harvest and process it as fast as they can, so it doesn't thaw and go
bad. I used to live in Lake county, and you KNEW when it dropped to 34
degrees during the night, when all those diesel pumps were fired up.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote:
>
> "Michael A. Terrell" <[email protected]> fired this volley in
> news:[email protected]:
> > Groves in Florida spray a fine mist that freezes on the fruit, then
> > harvest and process it as fast as they can, so it doesn't thaw and go
> > bad. I used to live in Lake county, and you KNEW when it dropped to 34
> > degrees during the night, when all those diesel pumps were fired up.
>
> They do that now - and since the late 70's - because EPA made them stop
> "firing" the groves.
>
> I had a grove pot for many years that I used to cleanly dispose of used
> motor oil. If it's tuned correctly, it will burn anything you can
> vaporize below about 400F, and can be made to burn with a clean blue
> flame. The grove people used to deliberately make them run rich and
> smoke, in the belief that the smoke "would hold the heat in".
>
> I grew up in Florida in the 50's and 60's. It was common for school-aged
> boys to hire out to fuel and re-fuel the pots in the wee hours.
>
> LLoyd
My first visit was in '66. I moved here about 21 years later, onto 5
acres of a frozen out 25 acre orange grove.
<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=37126+terrell+lane,+leesburg+florida&sll=28.891483,-81.77006&sspn=0.006791,0.009978&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=28.891623,-81.770049&spn=0.006791,0.009978&t=h&z=17&iwloc=addr&om=1&cbll=28.890308,-81.767153>
Just to the right of the pool is where the house was. I now live north
of Lake county.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
Jonathan Wilson wrote:
>
> > #1075 looks life a thumb cuff but they come in pairs.
> How many people do you know who have thumbs 1-1/4" wide?
Before, or after the dreaded 'hammer' accident? ;-)
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
"William Bagwell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:56:16 -0400, "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Yes, it was made to be used by oil workers. Anyone know what this lamp
>>was
>>commonly called? It has a somewhat colorful nickname.
>
> Flambo? Have vague recollections of the round highway safety ones being
> called that when I was a kid.
> --
> William
Nope, that's not what I was looking for.
Rob
> That sure looks a lot like the second picture. This patent
> looks like the first one but only has one set screw. Patent
> number 1,287,540 issued Dec 10 1918. See:
>
> http://www.google.com/patents?vid=1287540
Thanks for the patent Leon, I didn't have that one yet.
Five of them have been answered correctly this week, but I haven't been able
to verify what the lock is used for.
http://pzphotosans194-xr.blogspot.com/
Rob
> It looks like Jeff W's. lock. If so I've looked for it
> before and didn't find anything worth mentioning. I was
> actually kind of hoping someone could ID it too. Curious
> device.
>
> I have had a soft spot for locks ever since I was a kid. If
> I ever come across something like it...
Good memory, it is Jeff's, looks like it might be a hard one to nail down.
I would guess that there aren't very many of these locks around.
Rob
> It resembles patent # 2,656,706, granted to Lucas in 1953 to keep a
> tractor from hooking up to a trailer's kingpin.
>
> The key mechanism on yours looks older. I wish I knew when trailer
> kingpins may have been 1-1/4" or less.
Thanks for finding that, I added it to the answer page as a possible
application for the lock.
Rob
"R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Set 195 has just been posted:
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Please don't send any email to the account that I use to post here on the
> newsgroups, for some reason it doesn't receive any incoming mail, instead
> use the gmail account on my profile on the web site.
>
>
> Rob
1076: shaft balance weight
--
Ed Huntress
"Ed Huntress" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:WDwBi.686$ih.146@trnddc01...
>> 1074 Smudge Pot
>
> I wondered about that, but what would it be for? Smudge pots for
> protecting fruit crops were introduced in the US in 1913. What would they
> have been used for previously?
>
> --
> Ed Huntress
>
Modern highway warning markers. :~)
Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of clean air
was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway hazard lights. Once
upon a time, it was common to see a number of smoking, flickering smudge
pots set in the road around construction sites and road repair sites. The
point was that they would burn all night. Nowadays, the equivalent is the
flashing strobes that get put on temporary highway barriers. Police also
sometimes used them instead of flares around accidents. They were also too
cheap and dirty to steal.
"Ed Huntress" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:WDwBi.686$ih.146@trnddc01...
>> 1074 Smudge Pot
>
> I wondered about that, but what would it be for? Smudge pots for
> protecting fruit crops were introduced in the US in 1913. What would they
> have been used for previously?
>
> --
> Ed Huntress
>
"Barbara Bailey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:20:56 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:K1BBi.22775$Zg.17526@trnddc08...
>>> Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of clean
>>> air was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway hazard lights.
>>> Once upon a time, it was common to see a number of smoking, flickering
>>> smudge pots set in the road around construction sites and road repair
>>> sites. The point was that they would burn all night. Nowadays, the
>>> equivalent is the flashing strobes that get put on temporary highway
>>> barriers. Police also sometimes used them instead of flares around
>>> accidents. They were also too cheap and dirty to steal.
>>
>>Aha. I wonder why they were called "smudge" pots, then.
>
> There's a secondary definition of "smudge" as a noun that is "a smoky
> fire". Now it's most often used in connection with protecting fruit
> plantaions from frost, but you'll also find it in woodscraft and
> outdoorsmanship guides to refer to a fire designed to throw smoke,
> rather than burn cleanly, either to keep away insects or as a signal.
Aha. Thanks, Barbara. I think we have several of those smudge pots here on
rec.crafts.metalworking. They're definitely designed to blow smoke.
--
Ed Huntress
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:20:56 -0400, Ed Huntress wrote:
> > "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:K1BBi.22775$Zg.17526@trnddc08...
> >> Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of clean
> >> air was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway hazard lights.
> >> Once upon a time, it was common to see a number of smoking, flickering
> >> smudge pots set in the road around construction sites and road repair
> >> sites. The point was that they would burn all night. Nowadays, the
> >> equivalent is the flashing strobes that get put on temporary highway
> >> barriers. Police also sometimes used them instead of flares around
> >> accidents. They were also too cheap and dirty to steal.
> >
> > Aha. I wonder why they were called "smudge" pots, then.
> >
> > Oh, well. Sometimes a question isn't worth asking. <g>
> >
>
> Are you still wondering? It's because they burn with such a dirty,
> greasy, sooty flame that just going near one you can smudge your
> clothes. ;-)
>
> And, humph! Once again, the only one I got, and somebody beat me
> to it. )-;
>
> I always got a kick out of those old round ones on the roads - they
> remind me of those round black bombs in the cartoons. ;-)
I'm 55 and I had the same imagery when I was a kid. I had forgotten
about those round ones until the discussion about the two-armed weirdo,
1074. I wonder when the local streets department stopped using them?
--
Go to http://MarcDashevsky.com to send me e-mail.
1074 Smudge Pot
"R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Set 195 has just been posted:
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Please don't send any email to the account that I use to post here on the
> newsgroups, for some reason it doesn't receive any incoming mail, instead
> use the gmail account on my profile on the web site.
>
>
> Rob
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
to it. )-;
>>
>> I always got a kick out of those old round ones on the roads - they
>> remind me of those round black bombs in the cartoons. ;-)
Those round black bombs were "Toledo Torch" brand. I had a set of six for
a while, but they escaped, and are on the loose somewhere in central
Florida now.
LLoyd
"Michael A. Terrell" <[email protected]> fired this volley in
news:[email protected]:
> Groves in Florida spray a fine mist that freezes on the fruit, then
> harvest and process it as fast as they can, so it doesn't thaw and go
> bad. I used to live in Lake county, and you KNEW when it dropped to 34
> degrees during the night, when all those diesel pumps were fired up.
They do that now - and since the late 70's - because EPA made them stop
"firing" the groves.
I had a grove pot for many years that I used to cleanly dispose of used
motor oil. If it's tuned correctly, it will burn anything you can
vaporize below about 400F, and can be made to burn with a clean blue
flame. The grove people used to deliberately make them run rich and
smoke, in the belief that the smoke "would hold the heat in".
I grew up in Florida in the 50's and 60's. It was common for school-aged
boys to hire out to fuel and re-fuel the pots in the wee hours.
LLoyd
Leon Fisk wrote:
> On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:14:48 -0400, E Z Peaces
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>R.H. wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>>It looks like Jeff W's. lock. If so I've looked for it
>>>>before and didn't find anything worth mentioning. I was
>>>>actually kind of hoping someone could ID it too. Curious
>>>>device.
>>>>
>>>>I have had a soft spot for locks ever since I was a kid. If
>>>>I ever come across something like it...
>>>
>>>
>>>Good memory, it is Jeff's, looks like it might be a hard one to nail
>>>down. I would guess that there aren't very many of these locks around.
>>>
>>>Rob
>>
>>It resembles patent # 2,656,706, granted to Lucas in 1953 to keep a
>>tractor from hooking up to a trailer's kingpin.
>>
>>The key mechanism on yours looks older. I wish I knew when trailer
>>kingpins may have been 1-1/4" or less.
>
>
> That is a nice guess and maybe right. I dug around for
> awhile with that thought in mind but couldn't come up with
> anything better than your referenced patent number.
>
> One thing I see that is somewhat troublesome is the keyhole.
> It doesn't leave a whole lot of room for clearing the
> shoulder on the hitch pin. I guess we would have to see some
> of the old hitch pins to be sure.
>
> The type of key suggests it was a lever lock which is an old
> reliable design. Pin tumblers have been around since the
> 1850's (Yale patent ~1848). I would suspect that the lock
> dates back to the 1800's going by construction & key, but
> I'm just guessing. I kind of think it has a Railroad look to
> it myself (shrug).
>
Yes, it is a lever lock, having three spring loaded levers with hooked
ends which all must be raised to release the "tongue", or whatever that
heavy projecting piece is called.
There are no discernable lettering or other markings on it.
I bought it at an antique shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts aver 30 years
ago, and every once in a while I ask around hoping to get a cite on a
definitive answer about it's application.
I tend to think it was either a prototype, or maybe a "master piece"
made by an apprentice locksmith as a requirement for proving his skills
for making the transition to become a master locksmith.
Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:12:26 -0400, Leon Fisk
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:05:42 GMT, "Alexander Thesoso"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>1074 Smudge Pot
>
>It is a Safety Derrick Lamp. Patent number 126,688 issued
>May 14, 1872. See:
>
>http://www.google.com/patents?vid=126688
That jibes with what I found, which was that the Jarecki Mfg Co was a
maker of oil-drilling and brass-fitting equipment in Erie PA,
established in 1865.
"The principal specialties of the works are malleable iron fittings,
oil well supplies, brass work for engine builders, plumbers and steam
and gas fitters, which comprehends a vast variety of articles of
various styles and sizes."
<http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:UK-_Bmjsc4kJ:www.rootsweb.com/~paerie/bates/bates3VII.htm+jarecki+Mfg&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=16&gl=us>
about 1/4 of the way down the page.
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:01:28 -0400, "R.H." <[email protected]>
wrote:
>Set 195 has just been posted:
>
>http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
>Please don't send any email to the account that I use to post here on the
>newsgroups, for some reason it doesn't receive any incoming mail, instead
>use the gmail account on my profile on the web site.
>
>
>Rob
1078 appears to be a fish, crawfish or crab trap of some sort. I'd be
most inclined to say fish.
"dpb" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Ed Huntress wrote:
>> "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:WDwBi.686$ih.146@trnddc01...
>>> 1074 Smudge Pot
>>
>> I wondered about that, but what would it be for? Smudge pots for
>> protecting fruit crops were introduced in the US in 1913. What would they
>> have been used for previously?
>
> Out of curiousity, where did you find the information on 1913 for
> orchard/vineyard/etc. use? A particular style/brand/type maybe, would
> seem late for the concept anyway???
>
> (I haven't looked at the posted pic's, w/ dialup the load time is so long
> as to rarely try...)
After seeing the smudge pot answer, and vaguely remembering that smudge pots
for protecting trees was something that started in California in the early
part of the last century, I Googled it. I found two or three articles that
described it as something that started with a big freeze out there, in 1913.
As for how I "vaguely remembered" it, that was from a paper I wrote in 9th
grade, when I lived in Florida. Some things stick in one's memory. 'Too bad
the important things don't.
--
Ed Huntress
R.H. wrote:
> Set 195 has just been posted:
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Please don't send any email to the account that I use to post here on
> the newsgroups, for some reason it doesn't receive any incoming mail,
> instead use the gmail account on my profile on the web site.
>
>
> Rob
>
1177 are blacksmiths' heading tools for holding bolts while forming
the head.
1178 here it would be an eel trap, in the US a snake trap?
Tom
Ed Huntress wrote:
> "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:WDwBi.686$ih.146@trnddc01...
>> 1074 Smudge Pot
>
> I wondered about that, but what would it be for? Smudge pots for protecting
> fruit crops were introduced in the US in 1913. What would they have been
> used for previously?
Out of curiousity, where did you find the information on 1913 for
orchard/vineyard/etc. use? A particular style/brand/type maybe, would
seem late for the concept anyway???
(I haven't looked at the posted pic's, w/ dialup the load time is so
long as to rarely try...)
--
Barbara Bailey wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:20:56 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>> "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in
>> message
>> news:K1BBi.22775$Zg.17526@trnddc08...
>>> Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of
>>> clean air was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway
>>> hazard lights. Once upon a time, it was common to see a number of
>>> smoking, flickering smudge pots set in the road around
>>> construction
>>> sites and road repair sites. The point was that they would burn
>>> all night. Nowadays, the equivalent is the flashing strobes that
>>> get put on temporary highway barriers. Police also sometimes used
>>> them instead of flares around accidents. They were also too cheap
>>> and dirty to steal.
>>
>> Aha. I wonder why they were called "smudge" pots, then.
>
> There's a secondary definition of "smudge" as a noun that is "a
> smoky
> fire". Now it's most often used in connection with protecting fruit
> plantaions from frost, but you'll also find it in woodscraft and
> outdoorsmanship guides to refer to a fire designed to throw smoke,
> rather than burn cleanly, either to keep away insects or as a
> signal.
By way of making a smudge when the mosquitos got bad my Dad used to
pull the air filter and squirt some oil into the air intake on his
lawn tractor. Seemed to work and looked cool as Hell (at least to a 6
year old). Probably wreck the emission control system these days.
--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
R.H. wrote:
>
>
>> It looks like Jeff W's. lock. If so I've looked for it
>> before and didn't find anything worth mentioning. I was
>> actually kind of hoping someone could ID it too. Curious
>> device.
>>
>> I have had a soft spot for locks ever since I was a kid. If
>> I ever come across something like it...
>
>
> Good memory, it is Jeff's, looks like it might be a hard one to nail
> down. I would guess that there aren't very many of these locks around.
>
> Rob
It resembles patent # 2,656,706, granted to Lucas in 1953 to keep a
tractor from hooking up to a trailer's kingpin.
The key mechanism on yours looks older. I wish I knew when trailer
kingpins may have been 1-1/4" or less.
Leon Fisk wrote:
> On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:14:48 -0400, E Z Peaces
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> R.H. wrote:
>>>
>>>> It looks like Jeff W's. lock. If so I've looked for it
>>>> before and didn't find anything worth mentioning. I was
>>>> actually kind of hoping someone could ID it too. Curious
>>>> device.
>>>>
>>>> I have had a soft spot for locks ever since I was a kid. If
>>>> I ever come across something like it...
>>>
>>> Good memory, it is Jeff's, looks like it might be a hard one to nail
>>> down. I would guess that there aren't very many of these locks around.
>>>
>>> Rob
>> It resembles patent # 2,656,706, granted to Lucas in 1953 to keep a
>> tractor from hooking up to a trailer's kingpin.
>>
>> The key mechanism on yours looks older. I wish I knew when trailer
>> kingpins may have been 1-1/4" or less.
>
> That is a nice guess and maybe right. I dug around for
> awhile with that thought in mind but couldn't come up with
> anything better than your referenced patent number.
>
> One thing I see that is somewhat troublesome is the keyhole.
> It doesn't leave a whole lot of room for clearing the
> shoulder on the hitch pin. I guess we would have to see some
> of the old hitch pins to be sure.
>
> The type of key suggests it was a lever lock which is an old
> reliable design. Pin tumblers have been around since the
> 1850's (Yale patent ~1848). I would suspect that the lock
> dates back to the 1800's going by construction & key, but
> I'm just guessing. I kind of think it has a Railroad look to
> it myself (shrug).
>
I've found another patent: 1,479,796.
It's John Endebrock of the Trailmobile Company describing the automatic
coupler. He filed the patent in 1919. His drawings may not be to
scale. A 1-1/4" kingpin sounds big enough for the weights they pulled
in those days.
The lock doesn't look thick enough to cover the whole shaft of the
kingpin. It would serve its purpose as long as the clamp couldn't get
between the lock and the trailer's fifth wheel.
It looks as if the shoulder would partially block the keyhole if it
stuck out more than 1/8" or so. So you slide the lock up the shaft,
away from the shoulder, to the bottom of the trailer's fifth wheel.
Well, don't slide it up so far that the loop on the key hits the
shoulder. Sliding the lock up should make it easier to use the key.
I wonder if a tumbler lock would have been more subject to jamming from
corrosion or dirt. The downward-facing keyhole might make it tough for
a lockpicker. He'd need to be on his back at the right height, and he'd
have to worry about grit in his eyes.
Leon Fisk wrote:
> On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:44:17 -0400, E Z Peaces
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>> It looks as if the shoulder would partially block the keyhole if it
>> stuck out more than 1/8" or so. So you slide the lock up the shaft,
>> away from the shoulder, to the bottom of the trailer's fifth wheel.
>> Well, don't slide it up so far that the loop on the key hits the
>> shoulder. Sliding the lock up should make it easier to use the key.
>>
>> I wonder if a tumbler lock would have been more subject to jamming from
>> corrosion or dirt. The downward-facing keyhole might make it tough for
>> a lockpicker. He'd need to be on his back at the right height, and he'd
>> have to worry about grit in his eyes.
>
> I've made "prototypes" before for this-and-that... if I had
> failed to leave enough room/clearance to insert the key in a
> reasonable manner, it would have been corrected before any
> production took place. I can think of ways to make it work
> too, but it wouldn't make sense if it was for this exact
> purpose.
>
> It should be quite protected underneath the trailer and I
> doubt that debris would be a problem. Plus the patent you
> already referenced has the key going in the side and appears
> to use a tumbler lock. They seemed to be okay with it. I
> would guess that where the lock was stored when it wasn't
> being used would be the most troublesome :)
>
> Right now I don't have any better ideas...
>
Well, of course I don't /know/ it was for a trailer kingpin, but I'd
like to argue for the possibility.
I'm thinking of a lock devised about 1919, when Trailmobile began making
automatic couplers. The lock may not have been patented. It may have
been an adaptation of a handcuff design.
The patent I found was filed in 1951. Trailers were much bigger, with
locked doors to protect cargo. Roads were paved and couplers were
standardized. A driver with a skeleton key could move a trailer
hundreds of miles before it was reported missing. That would be a
reason to use a tumbler lock.
It seems to me that it would be hard to design a collar lock keyed from
the side that would be resistant to opening with a chisel. Still, with
so many trailers full of valuable cargo, it could be worth an inventor's
while to devise something more convenient than other locks.
I imagine RH's lock may have been made when there wasn't a big market
because there weren't many automatic couplers and truckers weren't so
concerned with locks because cargoes weren't so valuable and trailers
couldn't be taken very far very fast.
I think such a lock would be keyed from the bottom as a simple way to
keep it resistant to a chisel. The inventor might use the smallest
possible key clearance because a smaller collar could be harder to
chisel open.
I say this because I don't have any better ideas, either.
"Rich Grise" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I always got a kick out of those old round ones on the roads - they
> remind me of those round black bombs in the cartoons. ;-)
>
> Cheers!
> Rich
>
I have a ball shaped brass covered Smudge pot like the ones on the high ways
many years ago. It's relatively new as I purchased it new at a Fireplace
store. I burn that Citronella oil in it to keep mosquitoes away.
"Rich Grise" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:20:56 -0400, Ed Huntress wrote:
>> "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:K1BBi.22775$Zg.17526@trnddc08...
>>> Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of clean
>>> air was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway hazard lights.
>>> Once upon a time, it was common to see a number of smoking, flickering
>>> smudge pots set in the road around construction sites and road repair
>>> sites. The point was that they would burn all night. Nowadays, the
>>> equivalent is the flashing strobes that get put on temporary highway
>>> barriers. Police also sometimes used them instead of flares around
>>> accidents. They were also too cheap and dirty to steal.
>>
>> Aha. I wonder why they were called "smudge" pots, then.
>>
>> Oh, well. Sometimes a question isn't worth asking. <g>
>>
>
> Are you still wondering? It's because they burn with such a dirty,
> greasy, sooty flame that just going near one you can smudge your
> clothes. ;-)
Well, sure. Maybe I should have wondered how the onces used for protecting
fruit trees were called smudge pots. Maybe the name was already in
circulation.
>
> And, humph! Once again, the only one I got, and somebody beat me
> to it. )-;
I think you have to be up at 4:00 in the morning. I was loading up for an
hour of snapper fishing, and turned on my computer so I could see the
highlights of last night's Yankees - Red Sox game.
>
> I always got a kick out of those old round ones on the roads - they
> remind me of those round black bombs in the cartoons. ;-)
>
> Cheers!
> Rich
Thanks for the story, Rich.
--
Ed Huntress
On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:19:16 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
<[email protected]> wrote:
<snip>
>Yes, it is a lever lock, having three spring loaded levers with hooked
>ends which all must be raised to release the "tongue", or whatever that
>heavy projecting piece is called.
>
>There are no discernable lettering or other markings on it.
>
>I bought it at an antique shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts aver 30 years
>ago, and every once in a while I ask around hoping to get a cite on a
>definitive answer about it's application.
>
>I tend to think it was either a prototype, or maybe a "master piece"
>made by an apprentice locksmith as a requirement for proving his skills
>for making the transition to become a master locksmith.
Hi Jeff,
Can you lock it with out the key? It appears like it would
simply snap shut without use of the key.
The reason I ask is that would limit its uses. If someone
were to use it where only one side is accessible and could
lock it without the key... oops! Now how do you unlock it?
The key hole could be blocked. I'm thinking about the
kingpin idea for one. It would be difficult to unlock it
with the keyhole on top, if not impossible. Maybe that is
why we don't see more of them around :)
This item is pretty well stuck in my memory. If I ever
figure it out or come up with a really solid lead you'll
hear about it.
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:56:16 -0400, "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote:
>Yes, it was made to be used by oil workers. Anyone know what this lamp was
>commonly called? It has a somewhat colorful nickname.
Flambo? Have vague recollections of the round highway safety ones being
called that when I was a kid.
--
William
On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:34:04 -0400, "R.H."
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>> That sure looks a lot like the second picture. This patent
>> looks like the first one but only has one set screw. Patent
>> number 1,287,540 issued Dec 10 1918. See:
>>
>> http://www.google.com/patents?vid=1287540
>
>
>
>Thanks for the patent Leon, I didn't have that one yet.
>
>
>Five of them have been answered correctly this week, but I haven't been able
>to verify what the lock is used for.
>
>
>http://pzphotosans194-xr.blogspot.com/
>
Hi Rob,
It looks like Jeff W's. lock. If so I've looked for it
before and didn't find anything worth mentioning. I was
actually kind of hoping someone could ID it too. Curious
device.
I have had a soft spot for locks ever since I was a kid. If
I ever come across something like it...
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email
"Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:K1BBi.22775$Zg.17526@trnddc08...
> Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of clean
> air was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway hazard lights.
> Once upon a time, it was common to see a number of smoking, flickering
> smudge pots set in the road around construction sites and road repair
> sites. The point was that they would burn all night. Nowadays, the
> equivalent is the flashing strobes that get put on temporary highway
> barriers. Police also sometimes used them instead of flares around
> accidents. They were also too cheap and dirty to steal.
Aha. I wonder why they were called "smudge" pots, then.
Oh, well. Sometimes a question isn't worth asking. <g>
Thanks, though, for the info.
--
Ed Huntresss
"Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:WDwBi.686$ih.146@trnddc01...
> 1074 Smudge Pot
I wondered about that, but what would it be for? Smudge pots for protecting
fruit crops were introduced in the US in 1913. What would they have been
used for previously?
--
Ed Huntress
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:20:56 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:K1BBi.22775$Zg.17526@trnddc08...
>> Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of clean
>> air was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway hazard lights.
>> Once upon a time, it was common to see a number of smoking, flickering
>> smudge pots set in the road around construction sites and road repair
>> sites. The point was that they would burn all night. Nowadays, the
>> equivalent is the flashing strobes that get put on temporary highway
>> barriers. Police also sometimes used them instead of flares around
>> accidents. They were also too cheap and dirty to steal.
>
>Aha. I wonder why they were called "smudge" pots, then.
There's a secondary definition of "smudge" as a noun that is "a smoky
fire". Now it's most often used in connection with protecting fruit
plantaions from frost, but you'll also find it in woodscraft and
outdoorsmanship guides to refer to a fire designed to throw smoke,
rather than burn cleanly, either to keep away insects or as a signal.
>
>Oh, well. Sometimes a question isn't worth asking. <g>
>
>Thanks, though, for the info.
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:20:56 -0400, Ed Huntress wrote:
> "Alexander Thesoso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:K1BBi.22775$Zg.17526@trnddc08...
>> Other than the crop protection purpose, and before the concept of clean
>> air was grasped, small smudge pots were used as highway hazard lights.
>> Once upon a time, it was common to see a number of smoking, flickering
>> smudge pots set in the road around construction sites and road repair
>> sites. The point was that they would burn all night. Nowadays, the
>> equivalent is the flashing strobes that get put on temporary highway
>> barriers. Police also sometimes used them instead of flares around
>> accidents. They were also too cheap and dirty to steal.
>
> Aha. I wonder why they were called "smudge" pots, then.
>
> Oh, well. Sometimes a question isn't worth asking. <g>
>
Are you still wondering? It's because they burn with such a dirty,
greasy, sooty flame that just going near one you can smudge your
clothes. ;-)
And, humph! Once again, the only one I got, and somebody beat me
to it. )-;
I always got a kick out of those old round ones on the roads - they
remind me of those round black bombs in the cartoons. ;-)
Cheers!
Rich
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:01:28 -0400, R.H. wrote:
> Set 195 has just been posted:
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Please don't send any email to the account that I use to post here on the
> newsgroups, for some reason it doesn't receive any incoming mail,
Spamfilter, maybe? ;-)
1073 Pasta crimper
1074 Teapot for the Dyslexic
1075 Cock ring, for VERY bad boys.
1076 Male Chastity Device, for VERY VERY bad boys. ;-)
1077 Tie Rods ???
1078 Chinese Fingercuffs for the Jolly Green Giant.
Cheers1
Rich
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:05:42 GMT, "Alexander Thesoso"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>1074 Smudge Pot
It is a Safety Derrick Lamp. Patent number 126,688 issued
May 14, 1872. See:
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=126688
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email
On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:14:48 -0400, E Z Peaces
<[email protected]> wrote:
>R.H. wrote:
>>
>>
>>> It looks like Jeff W's. lock. If so I've looked for it
>>> before and didn't find anything worth mentioning. I was
>>> actually kind of hoping someone could ID it too. Curious
>>> device.
>>>
>>> I have had a soft spot for locks ever since I was a kid. If
>>> I ever come across something like it...
>>
>>
>> Good memory, it is Jeff's, looks like it might be a hard one to nail
>> down. I would guess that there aren't very many of these locks around.
>>
>> Rob
>It resembles patent # 2,656,706, granted to Lucas in 1953 to keep a
>tractor from hooking up to a trailer's kingpin.
>
>The key mechanism on yours looks older. I wish I knew when trailer
>kingpins may have been 1-1/4" or less.
That is a nice guess and maybe right. I dug around for
awhile with that thought in mind but couldn't come up with
anything better than your referenced patent number.
One thing I see that is somewhat troublesome is the keyhole.
It doesn't leave a whole lot of room for clearing the
shoulder on the hitch pin. I guess we would have to see some
of the old hitch pins to be sure.
The type of key suggests it was a lever lock which is an old
reliable design. Pin tumblers have been around since the
1850's (Yale patent ~1848). I would suspect that the lock
dates back to the 1800's going by construction & key, but
I'm just guessing. I kind of think it has a Railroad look to
it myself (shrug).
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email
On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:44:17 -0400, E Z Peaces
<[email protected]> wrote:
<snip>
>It looks as if the shoulder would partially block the keyhole if it
>stuck out more than 1/8" or so. So you slide the lock up the shaft,
>away from the shoulder, to the bottom of the trailer's fifth wheel.
>Well, don't slide it up so far that the loop on the key hits the
>shoulder. Sliding the lock up should make it easier to use the key.
>
>I wonder if a tumbler lock would have been more subject to jamming from
>corrosion or dirt. The downward-facing keyhole might make it tough for
>a lockpicker. He'd need to be on his back at the right height, and he'd
>have to worry about grit in his eyes.
I've made "prototypes" before for this-and-that... if I had
failed to leave enough room/clearance to insert the key in a
reasonable manner, it would have been corrected before any
production took place. I can think of ways to make it work
too, but it wouldn't make sense if it was for this exact
purpose.
It should be quite protected underneath the trailer and I
doubt that debris would be a problem. Plus the patent you
already referenced has the key going in the side and appears
to use a tumbler lock. They seemed to be okay with it. I
would guess that where the lock was stored when it wasn't
being used would be the most troublesome :)
Right now I don't have any better ideas...
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email