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What is it.... the game! Post unknown objects to ID... and to stump others!

 
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Help me, help you.
Any ideas?
Figure is about 12" inches high, the arms have sockets for a 12 volt bulb with double filament inside.
The arms are raisable and in the back of the figure's butt area are holes to raise the arms via an attached string. No strings have been hooked up since I first saw it 40 plus years ago.
I know this forum is for stumping people, please realize I already am.
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With the blue paint I say it is a traffic control cop toy. I found several with the movable arms controlled by strings affixed to the back but not this particular version.
 
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I don't know what this is, but I'm calling it a "rock". It is about 2 1/2" long and 1 1/2" wide at its longest and widest.
My geological area is "active". It's been under the ocean and back above ocean level several times. There have been volcanoes in the region if you go back far enough. There have been glaciers which have a tendency to move stuff around, but also plate tectonics folding up sedimentary rock.





So I found this "rock" in my field and it sure isn't a plain old ordinary rock, so I'm hoping someone here on permies has some ideas...
 
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I made this from a piece of wood I pulled from the trash at work.
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I got a really good one this time. I'll be surprised if anyone knows what it is. It's about 160 years old.
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Jay Angler
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Is it some sort of dough sealer like for the edges of ravioli or perogies?
 
Jordan Holland
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Jay Angler wrote:Is it some sort of dough sealer like for the edges of ravioli or perogies?



No, but that might make sense. It could even work for that, but I don't want to risk abusing it like that since it's such a rare piece.
 
Robert Ray
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A curious tool. It has that fence for width and the stop for length. What is the length of the tool? Does it have anything to do with lantern wicks?
 
Mike Feddersen
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Jordan Holland wrote:I got a really good one this time. I'll be surprised if anyone knows what it is. It's about 160 years old.


I had to cheat, but was glad I did. What an interesting story you can find following this image down it's rabbit hole.
You sure can't find any for sale. At least I couldn't.
 
Jordan Holland
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Robert Ray wrote:A curious tool. It has that fence for width and the stop for length. What is the length of the tool? Does it have anything to do with lantern wicks?



It is five inches long. It has a stop for length, but not the length you are probably thinking. It also has an adjustment for the space between the top and bottom roller-gear-thingies. It does not do anything with wicks.
 
Jordan Holland
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Any more guesses, or is it time for the reveal?
 
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I vote give us a pic of the back side.
:D
 
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With the casting of the female face I'm guessing it's not a guys tool. don't tell us but let us see the back side and the printing unless that gives it away.
 
Jordan Holland
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Pearl Sutton wrote:I vote give us a pic of the back side.
:D


There's not much to the back. Just the thumb wheel that adjusts the aforementioned spacing of the roller thingies and a threaded hole for mounting it on a clamp that holds it to a table so you can turn the crank without it squirming around (which sadly I do not have). The printing is the name of the woman who marketed it, but not invented it.
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Pearl Sutton
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Well. That was spectacularly non-useful.
Ok, questions:
Did you know what it was before you bought it, and if so, why did you know? Does it relate to something you do?
What room would it be used in?

I still want this one figured out, not told :D

 
Jordan Holland
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Pearl Sutton wrote:Well. That was spectacularly non-useful.
Ok, questions:
Did you know what it was before you bought it, and if so, why did you know? Does it relate to something you do?
What room would it be used in?

I still want this one figured out, not told :D



I knew what it was, which is why I absolutely wanted it. It is the oldest version of such a device I've seen. No one at the auction knew what it was without reading the description. The auction house had never seen one. It does relate to something I do, but I do so much that doesn't really help much.

It would not have necessarily been used in a particular room. It was indeed advertised as being particularly useful due to it's portability, unlike many of its contemporary counterparts. It was advertised as being particularly suited to a particular trade that was often not stationary, but made housecalls (back then, but not today). It was also billed as being so cheap anyone could own one: $5. (That's about $117 inflation adjusted.)
 
Jay Angler
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Is it intended to pleat/press trim of some sort? Possibly for millenary?
 
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Women's hair did housecalls.... I can't think of what you'd do with hair with it though...

Jay may be right with hats or ribbons, but I think we ruled that out already? The stop thing baffles me.
 
Jordan Holland
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Jay Angler wrote:Is it intended to pleat/press trim of some sort? Possibly for millenary?



No, the finished product will be quite smooth. One advertising point was how well this small "fairy" device can supposedly outperform its larger contemporaries when it comes to doing delicate, smooth work.

Not used for hairdressing. The stop is quite counterintuitive. It kinda acts as a stop unintentionally, but also acts as an adjustment essential to function. Truly, it would be infinitely better if it did not act as a stop; this merely impedes rapid function, but is a necessary evil of such a simple mechanism. A more complicated version was later invented by the same guy that did away with the necessity of the stopping, but never went into production as it did not apparently work well.
 
Pearl Sutton
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Me and mom think it picks the locks on chastity belts!
That's why it makes house calls.
And why it's something you are interested in!

:D
 
Jordan Holland
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Pearl Sutton wrote:Me and mom think it picks the locks on chastity belts!
That's why it makes house calls.
And why it's something you are interested in!

:D



Lol! It does kinda look like it could be part of some medieval chastity belt itself!
 
Pearl Sutton
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Very old school credit card reader!

We are getting silly now.
 
Jay Angler
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Maybe we need a movie that shows how it moves? Might as well go all out - it might be Oscar worthy?
Is it hard or easy to crank - you mentioned it was missing it's clamp...
 
Jordan Holland
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Jay Angler wrote:Maybe we need a movie that shows how it moves? Might as well go all out - it might be Oscar worthy?
Is it hard or easy to crank - you mentioned it was missing it's clamp...



The crank just turns the rollers. There is virtually no resistance.
 
Jay Angler
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Is there a blade in there that slices something?
 
Jordan Holland
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Jay Angler wrote:Is there a blade in there that slices something?



No. It doesn't cut.
 
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could it possibly tighten a wire/string around something? or to something?
 
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Does it have something to do with making shoes?
 
Jordan Holland
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William Penny wrote:could it possibly tighten a wire/string around something? or to something?



It has nothing to do with wire, and it does not TIGHTEN a string around or to something.
 
Jordan Holland
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Cheryl Gallagher wrote:Does it have something to do with making shoes?



I cannot see it being used to make shoes.
 
Robert Ray
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Does it make tea bags or sachet d'epices?
 
Jordan Holland
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Robert Ray wrote:Does it make tea bags or sachet d'epices?



I doubt that idea ever crossed the maker's mind, but I guess it could be used to make those. Similar to the way a modern version of the gadget could, but 99.99% of people would likely never consider it.
 
Pearl Sutton
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When you use it is there heat involved?
 
Jordan Holland
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Pearl Sutton wrote:When you use it is there heat involved?



Heat is not involved. Though...I guess you could say some degree of heat could be applied to the finished product later to help finalize it before use.
 
Pearl Sutton
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Used wet or dry?
If wet, what liquid or oil?
 
Robert Ray
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Does it make some kind of piping for an upholstery edge or a sewn product?
 
Jordan Holland
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Pearl Sutton wrote:Used wet or dry?
If wet, what liquid or oil?



I imagine it was almost invariably used dry. Though it could be used wet. I presume it could even properly do its job fully underwater!
 
Jay Angler
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Jordan Holland wrote:It has nothing to do with wire, and it does not TIGHTEN a string around or to something.


Tightening baling twine before bigger machines that baled the whole bunch was a thing?
 
Jordan Holland
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Robert Ray wrote:Does it make some kind of piping for an upholstery edge or a sewn product?



No. It would generally be used on something larger. Piping probably wouldn't feed properly through the mechanism.
 
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