A Brass Candle Snuffer

At least, I think that's what it is.

the handle doesn't look quite right -- it appears to have been lopped off. I should come up with a nice way to terminate the handle.

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A Handle Tip

I found something that may do nicely. Here's a view of it.

It's a little, hollow, brass-plated steel cap of some sort. It was in a bin labelled "miscellaneous". I'll fill it with epoxy, bore it to accept the end of the handle rod and glue it on with CA adhesive. That should finish off the snuffer reasonably well.

- - -

Here's the cap filled with epoxy.

(I can't get over how well I guesstimated the amount of epoxy to mix up; I got it exactly right. You'd think I knew what I was doing.)

I'll leave that to fully cure for a day or two, then it will be ready for boring and installation.

- - -

And here it is all done.

Now I have to see if there's a candlestick in the house that needs a snuffer to go with it.

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A 0 - 100 Amp Simpson AC Ammeter

This meter  is much more compact than the one I showed earlier. Its bezel is 2 3/8" square; its round body in back would fit a 2 3/16" diameter panel opening.

Inside, the coil is nowhere near as substantial as that in the other meter.

The difference is huge. Presumably, this meter's designer knew what he was doing, but one has to wonder about that relatively light gauge winding's ability to sustain a high current reading without heating excessively.

Whatever. This meter can join its bigger brother.

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A Vermont American 5/8" Countersink

I like these single-flute countersinks, they don't 'chatter', but some of them can be poorly ground with inadequate or non-existent relief angle. This one appears to be beautifully made. Here's a good view of its business end.

I'll put this in the cabinet where I keep all my countersinks.

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A Cutler-Hammer No. 10316 H89A Pilot Relay

It's not entirely clear to me what this item is for. I think it may be for starting motors that don't employ an integral centrifugal switch for energizing/de-energizing the start winding.

This appears to be an item that's been long out of production. I think that Cutler-Hammer was acquired by Eaton at some point, but I can't seem to find the story of that.

In any event, I have sixteen of these. I'll stash them in my miscellaneous switches bin.

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An Edwards No. 725 Dixie Buzzer

This one was made in Canada. I doubt they're made here anymore.

Edwards and this style of buzzer are still with us. Not everything has gone solid-state and microprocessorized.

I'll stash this with some miscellaneous electrical gear. I could use it to give my house a doorbell, but I doubt that I'd care for the sound of it, and knocking still works, even in the event of a power outage.

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A 0 - 100 Amp AC/DC Ammeter

From my dad's days as a generator mechanic, no doubt. It was made in England. Major diameter at the bezel is 99.4mm. It would fit in a 93mm diameter panel opening.

The logo on the dial face says, "NEWAGE GROUP". Newage Group these days appears to be a clothing manufacturer.

On the rear of the meter's case is "HOBUT". Hobut looks more like it.

I opened it up just for the heck of it. Here's a view of the meter's innards.

The terminals and coil are quite substantial, as one would expect for a 100 Amp meter.

A date revealed itself when I took the casing off -- it's "1959/2".

I'll give the grimy casing a good scrub, and put this away with some other spare gauges I have.

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Five 7/16" Bore Pillow Block Bearings

They were made in Canada. Googling "F602C" got me nowhere.

7/16" is not a real common shaft diameter, so the likelihood of my finding a use for these is slim to nil.

Be that as it may, I'll stash them in my 7/16" diameters bin.

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An Orange Knob

Aside from being ugly, it's a pretty nice knob.

I'll stash it in the bin where I keep spare knobs and handles. If I ever find a use for it, I can refinish it to suit.

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A Boxed Set Of Six 12-24 Taps

Well, that should keep me in 12-24 taps for the rest of eternity.

12-24 is one of the more obscure inch threads; I hardly ever encounter it.

Anyway, this can go in the drawer where I keep my taps and dies.

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A Small, Rather Odd Doorknob

It's a bit smaller than a usual doorknob, and it's meant to go onto a threaded spindle. The thread appears to be 3/8"-20, which is an obscure UN thread that I've never encountered before. The setscrew is 14"-28.

This can go in my bin of spare door latch sets. Perhaps a use will suggest itself someday.

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A Small Parts Carousel

I remember this from my boyhood. It was suspended from the ceiling of my dad's basement workshop. It mostly contained, and still contains, electrical crimp terminals. I think I want this item to reside in my basement workshop.

The welded steel frame affair that supports it, and within which the carousel rotates, has gone missing though. I'll have to fabricate a functional equivalent frame out of wood. The interesting part of that project will be to come up with suitable bearings for the thing to rotate in.

Each end of the carousel has a little 5/16" diameter stub shaft, like so.

That's what I'll have to fabricate two bearings for. I have an idea how to go about it. We'll see how it pans out.

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Three Corbin Cabinet Locks

Corbin currently exists as Corbin Russwin. There's a brief historical note about Corbin Russwin here.

These locks make me want to build something that could use them, but that's unlikely to happen anytime soon -- other priorities prevail. Meanwhile, I'll stash these in the shoebox labelled "LOCKS", where I have some similar items.

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An Electrostrip Elbow In A Tee Box

Electrostrip is a surface-mount electrical outlet raceway system that dates back to the 1950s. My dad did a baseboard installation of it in my older sister's bedroom way back then. It was a two-wire system; there was no ground conductor. The installation probably still exists.

Electrostrip is still with us, but it's now three-wire, as it should be. Siemens owns the name. There's a PDF installation guide here.

The pictured elbow is about as useless to me as useless can get, but I'll put it with my electrical stuff as a keepsake.

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An Eagle Oil Can

Now there's the classic shape of all the world's idea of an 'oil can'.

This one is in beautiful condition -- it holds and dispenses oil without leaking; imagine that.

I'll put this next to a couple of plastic versions that I keep at the back of my drill press. I think I may retire one of the plastic ones, and let this beauty take its place.

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An "Original TECALEMIT" Grease Gun

It seems this tool was meant for use on some British cars of the 1940s and '50s.

It's beautifully constructed. I'll put it in the cabinet where I keep specialized lubricants.

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A Silva Polaris Compass

I already have one of these; I keep it in my truck's glove bin.

I'll put this in the tackle box where I keep miscellaneous camping gear.

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A Roll Of Really Wide Masking Tape

This is the best idea I've seen since masking tape itself -- six inch wide masking tape. I wish I'd had this when I was installing baseboard.

Needless to say, I'll put this with my other rolls of masking tape.

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A Hank Of Chair Webbing Material

This brings back memories of chair repairs -- endless, constant chair repairs.

Webbed aluminum folding chairs have many virtues, but being maintenance free is not one of them. Many years ago, we owned several such chairs, and replacing tattered plastic webbing got to be what seemed like a ceaseless chore.

We no longer have any of those chairs, and I don't miss them -- not one little bit.

I'll put this with cord material; I may find a use for it some day, but it won't be for re-webbing any chairs of ours.

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An AC Voltmeter

It has a line cord attached, so it can be plugged into an outlet. This would have been one of my dad's generator service tools, from his days with Kohler and Onan.

I think I may, just for the heck of it, install this in the furnace room of my home as a monitoring instrument. Any time I I want to check the voltage level we're being supplied, I can look in on it. I have what I need to make a mounting bracket for it. I think I'll  do that. I'll show you when I'm done.

This can go on my 'work in progress' shelf.

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A Chieftain No. 7 Duck Call

Hmmm.

I didn't know my dad was all that avid a duck hunter, though he certainly was a hunter; deer and partridge were more his game.

 I'll stash this with my camping gear, I suppose, though the likelihood of me ever wanting to call a duck is slim to nil.

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A Box Of Staples

They're 1/4" staples; I don't have that size.

I'll put them with all my other staples.

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A Mystery Tool

Whatever it is, it sure is an ugly one.

It looks like it's meant to grip something that completes it -- a scraper of some sort, possibly?

I'll put it in with my scrapers for now. Maybe I'll come across something that obviously goes with it.

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A Tub Full Of Wood Ash

I was going to throw this out until I googled "wood ash uses", and discovered that wood ash is pretty useful stuff.

Since one of its uses is as a metal polish, I'll stash this in the cabinet where I keep that sort of thing.

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And Another Match Holder

It appears that my dad had a thing for match holders. Maybe he'd read Jack London's story.

This match holder is based on a 20 gauge shotgun shell. At the open end, there's some electrical tape wrapped so that an 11/16" chair tip fits snugly. It has a capacity of ten kitchen matches.

This can go in the tackle box where I keep miscellaneous bits of camping gear.

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Another Match Holder

This one is an opaque vial with a 'push/turn' cap.

It has a capacity of twelve kitchen matches, along with a little rectangle of sandpaper for a striking surface.

I think I'll keep this one in my truck's glove bin. It can be the beginning of my acquisition of survivalist gear for when the world as we know it ends (any day now).

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A Rodale 'Flip Seal' Cord Connector

This thing is ancient -- it's neither polarized nor grounded. The Rodale Manufacturing company appears to be no longer with us.

The connector is ruggedly constructed, but it may well be the most useless thing I have in my possession. I'll keep it as a museum piece -- a bit of the electrical industry's remote antiquity. It can go in my 'electrical stuff' bin.

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A Tube Of Powdered Graphite

Powdered graphite is a superb dry lubricant, but it's filthy stuff if you get it on you. I've sprinkled and smeared a little on that paper to try to give an idea.

My dad probably used it as a lock lubricant -- that's one of its commonest uses.

Graphite is also a fine lubricant for tiny plastic parts that rub/slide against one another. Such things are common in laser and impact printers. When I worked in the printer service field, I kept a big, soft pencil near at hand; it made a good tool for rubbing a coating of graphite on the surfaces of parts that were prone to bind.

I'll put the pictured tube of graphite in the cabinet where I keep specialized lubricants.

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An Articulated Lamp

It's missing its steel clamp, but that's ok. Where this is going, the clamp won't be needed.

- - -

And here we are -- a lamp for the metal lathe.

That's let me take away the jury rigged trouble light I had there; I can install the trouble light over at the shop's hydraulic press.

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A Match Holder

That tube is plugged in the middle, so there are two compartments.

At the right is a compartment for a piece of sandpaper, so one always has at hand a guaranteed reliable striking surface. At the left is the match compartment (indicated by the '+' sign), with a capacity of eight kitchen matches. The holder looks watertight to me, and would surely float.

This item reminds me of a story.

I'll stash this in the tackle box where I keep miscellaneous items of camping gear.

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A Oil Bottle With An Applicator Brush Cap

There's no maker's name on it. It's all but empty. My hunch is that it's a gun maintenance tool.

I'll put it in the cabinet where I keep special lubricants.

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Addendum -- THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

I found an all-metal version.

It's beautifully made; the cap is an exquisite bit of machining.

I'll put it in the cabinet with the plastic one.

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Hoppe's No. 9 Bore Cleaner

Unlike Stag, Hoppe is still a going concern.

This can join the Stag item.

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Stag Nitro-Powder Solvent

It's a 2 fl. oz. bottle from Stag Lubricant Company of Rockwood, Ontario. That firm appears to be no longer with us.

It's gun cleaning solvent. Here's what it says on the back of the bottle:

"Use a patch of soft, clean canton flannel. Soak with STAG solvent and push slowly through bore from breach. Swab with another patch, working rod both ways. Rub well with dry patch. Change patches until one comes out clean. When no dark spots are seen in bore, soak patch with Solvent and push slowly through bore as rust prevention."

For want of a better place, I'll put this in the cabinet where I keep special lubricants.

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A Silva Huntsman Compass

The thing is exquisite, and very compact. It's 5/16" thick, about 1 5/8" x 2 1/4". It will fit in the smallest ticket pocket of a pair of jeans.

I think I'll keep it on me at all times. I got lost in the bush once when I was a teenager on a deer hunt; 'can't say that I much enjoyed the experience. After a couple of hours or so, the sun came out and I was able to get my bearings to find my way back to the cabin. Had I had even the most rudimentary compass on me, I'd have gotten out much sooner.

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A Mercury Switch

This may be the switch my dad once installed in a 1960-vintage car of his, as part of a rudimentary theft alarm. The switch was mounted on the underside of the hood. Opening the hood, or moving the vehicle, would tilt/jiggle the switch causing the horn to sound.

I'm not sure why my dad was so theft-conscious; Toronto in 1960 was not exactly a major centre of urban crime. Perhaps he'd been reading Popular Mechanics magazine, or some such American trash.

Anyway, mercury is neat stuff -- a metal that's a liquid at room temperature. The mind boggles.

When I was a boy, I had a pill vial with a bead of mercury in it that had been salvaged from a broken mercury thermometer. I'd take it out from time to time and roll it about in the palm of my hand; I thought it a fascinating thing to observe.

'Explains a lot, possibly.

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I'll stash this in the box where I keep spare, miscellaneous switches.

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A Leviton No. 1002 Push Button Switch

Does this ever look like an old-timer. It has a ceramic body, and it operates with a great, big CLICK.

I can hardly wait to find a use for it. Meanwhile, I'll stash it with my other spare switches.

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A Kohler P/N 243487 Switch

It's a 'Klixon' item, made in the USA by the the Spencer Thermostat Co. of Attleboro, Massachusetts. It appears to be a resettable thermal cut-out switch.

Stamped on the back are "T6A" and "C6373-7", but there's nothing that explicitly states the cut-out temperature.

This can go in my shoebox full of spare switches.

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Update -- FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015

The item has been sold.

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A Doorbell Pushbutton Switch

This looks to me like it may have been a garage sale find, obtained for a very reasonable price, rather than the outrageous sticker price of $2.39.

$2.39!? For what!? Where is there $2.39 in that few grams of plastic and metal? 2.39¢ to make and package it, maybe, and it retails for $2.39!? WTF!?

This can go in my shoebox full of spare switches.

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A Kraus & Naimer A211 Load Supply Switch Made For Kohler

It's truly an exquisite piece of gear.

This one was obviously intended for a marine installation -- note the 'SHORE' position. When the boat was docked where a local hydro utility was available, the switch would be set to 'SHORE' to connect the boat's load to the utility. When out on the water, the switch would be set to 'KOHLER' to connect the boat's load to its on-board generator's output.

I'll stash this with my other Kohler parts. If I ever acquire a generator for the house, I may be able to use it.

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A Kohler Muffler P/N 230410

I'll stash this with my other Kohler parts.

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