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What's Sean got now?


Sean N

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I'm having a big clearout, and keep coming across mystery parts. Often I've either forgotten what they are or didn't know in the first place.

 

I thought it might be interesting to post some of them up here as an on-going quiz and see if anyone can identify them, rather along the lines of Clive's Mystery Objects (though probably much less mysterious) - the difference being that I won't be able to tell you if you're right or not!

 

 

Most are vehicle parts, so it'll probably be obvious what they are generally - a light, a speedometer, whatever - but perhaps not the details or what they're from. Given the sources they're probably mostly British, as well - I don't think that's giving too much away!

 

OK, first item, maybe obvious but I don't know what it's from and I find it interesting:

 

IMG_3425.jpg

 

IMG_3426.jpg

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I'm having a big clearout, and keep coming across mystery parts. Often I've either forgotten what they are or didn't know in the first place.

 

I thought it might be interesting to post some of them up here as an on-going quiz and see if anyone can identify them, rather along the lines of Clive's Mystery Objects (though probably much less mysterious) - the difference being that I won't be able to tell you if you're right or not!

 

 

Most are vehicle parts, so it'll probably be obvious what they are generally - a light, a speedometer, whatever - but perhaps not the details or what they're from. Given the sources they're probably mostly British, as well - I don't think that's giving too much away!

 

OK, first item, maybe obvious but I don't know what it's from and I find it interesting:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]94084[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]94085[/ATTACH]

maybe a brencarrier. John
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Thanks John, that was easier than I thought. Based on you answer I searched t'interweb and found this:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bren-Gun-Carrier-Universal-Carrier-MKI-MKII-Speedometer-/271523123160

 

I thought it was an interesting item, given the anti-clockwise rotation and the way the face is marked up with gears and speeds.

 

I'll obviously have to try harder for the next one!

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OK, here's another.

 

This device consists of a rope attached to the eye of a small pulley. On the other end of the pulley is the metal apparatus you can see, which consists of a U shape piece pivoted in a slot. Pulling up on the U slides the pivot along the slot, causing a pair of serrated jaws to close. The triangle is fitted through the U shape. It's obviously for gripping something, but what and why?

 

IMG_3653.jpg

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It's for tensioning wire. I think that the triangular bit is what you hold to do the easy part of the pull, then you run the rope round another pulley that is hooked onto a tree or something, back round the pulley on the device and then pull on the end of the rope and you have a three times mechanical advantage. You have enough wire sticking out of the device to the left to fasten it off to something solid, then you can remove the device.

 

David

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That's a good thought, David. I'd been trying to think what could be gripped in such small jaws and for some reason I didn't think of wire. It'd certainly work in the way you suggest.

 

Question is, what wire and - given that it came in a lot of WD MV associated stuff - is there an MV connection and if so, what? I didn't note if there were any markings on it, but I can have a look tomorrow.

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Had another look at it this morning. The only markings are 'Wynn Timmins', a broad arrow and a 1940 date. Wynn Timmins are apparently a Birmingham general toolmaker.

 

The jaws, once the grease and muck are cleaned off, are obviously for wire - they have a semicircular groove in. It's quite small, looks like it'd be for about 1/8" diameter wire or thereabouts, and you'd only get two or three fingers through the triangle if you were pulling on it.

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It's a lineman's tool for use with telephone/telegraph lines. Quite possibly Post Office rather than military, because the "draw tongs" used for air line usually have a ratchet and spring scale for setting the tension correctly (it's quite large and varies according to the air temperature when you erect the line). For 70lb (weight per mile length) cadmium-copper, the tension is 90lb at 0F, 75lb at 20F, 55lb at 60F, 35lb at 100F and 30lb at 120F though I would not like to be laying air lines at either temperature extreme!

 

The triangle is probably for attaching to the lineman's safety belt so he can lean backwards to keep the cable clear of the ground during the initial laying (i.e: before it gets properly tensioned and fixed to the pole insulators).

 

Chris.

(I collect this kind of stuff.):red:

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Thanks Chris, that's very helpful. I think this would be military (1) because it has a broad arrow on it, though I appreciate that might apply to other government surplus, (2) because it came with a load of military vehicle spares from a vehicle repairers whose bread and butter work was contract MV repair for the WD.

 

There was a lot of stuff for signals vehicles with it though, so maybe they were issued for signals linemen - so there's a new accessory all you signals types can hunt down for your MV!

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Thanks Chris, that's very helpful. I think this would be military (1) because it has a broad arrow on it, though I appreciate that might apply to other government surplus, (2) because it came with a load of military vehicle spares from a vehicle repairers whose bread and butter work was contract MV repair for the WD.

 

There was a lot of stuff for signals vehicles with it though, so maybe they were issued for signals linemen - so there's a new accessory all you signals types can hunt down for your MV!

 

The broad arrow is the "Government Property" mark, and that applied to GPO kit as well (I have cable jointing tools with the broad arrow and GPO 1949 stamped on them).

 

That said, it's an interesting piece, and I might be tempted at some point (though I don't see myself ever needing to erect overhead telephone lines). :-D

 

Other line kit would also be of interest.

 

Chris.

(Beltring-on-Sea tomorrow, must get an early night. Zzzzzzzzzz....)

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I take your point Chris, and yes, the broad arrow is government property generally, but I'm still inclined to think there's an MV connection to this - so the next thing I post will probably turn out to be a telephone!

Edited by Sean N
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I take your point Chris, and yes, the broad arrow is government property generally, but I'm still inclined to think there's an MV connection to this - so the next thing I post will probably turn out to be a telephone!

 

Go for it! Telephones (UK ones, anyway) I can probably identify.:D

 

Chris.

(Had a good, but fairly expensive, day at Beltring-on-Sea today. Piggy Bank not happy.)

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Ok, let's try another one. Not sure where I acquired this, so no clues, I'm afraid, except that it looks to me like a potentiometer and possibly not MV related at all. Unfortunately the box didn't have a label.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Sean,

From the picture of it in the box, it looks like a FV type fuel gauge sender, other side is puzzling though.

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Have I got you all stumped? I wondered whether it was some sort of gear stick gaiter, though you'd have to cut a hole in the top to fit it.

 

OK, how about this then? My assumption from the colour etc. is that it's an internal fitting from something armoured. I did wonder about a map case but why the felt in the lid?

 

IMG_4336.jpg

 

IMG_4337.jpg

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The box is an AFV document holder. They seem to be used in everything British from the 50s until well into the 80s or later. Certainly standard in the Saracen and the Ferret. The Saracen one is mounted on the inside of the rear door.

 

I don't know why they're felt padded, but just about all of the storage boxes in the Saracen are.

 

Cheers,

Terry

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