A couple of mystery objects

[hickory n Steel]

I've had these two little objects for years, they came from my dad who got them as a kid in the few cigar boxes full of parts he was given by a retired watch repairman.
I believe he also worked on clocks which these could certainly pertain to being too large to be any sort of watch part.




As you can see the larger one is marked with an 8 and the smaller with a 6, they're both 7/8" long.


It's probably a long shot but I would certainly love to find out just what the heck the things could be.

[hickory n Steel]

Maybe I'll never identify these two things.

[m_fumich]

As a very vague guess, they could be some kind of spindle but what kind and what for is beyond me. If you think they might have something to do with clocks, check with a clocksmith.


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[m_fumich]

As a very vague guess, they could be some kind of spindle but what kind and what for is beyond me. If you think they might have something to do with clocks, check with a clocksmith.


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[m_fumich]

Could they be weights? The numbers could refer to their weight. While the numbers might not equate directly to grams, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 6 and 8 were proportional to a set division between each number in a series. Those groves near the ends would be were they slid into a retainer. The hole in one end would be the result of removing material to make each one weigh precisely what it should.


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[hickory n Steel]

Interesting theory.

My thoughts are maybe they get loaded into some kind of machine used in clock or watch repair to counterbalance something, I just can't imagine what role they might serve as a component to a mechanism such as a clock.

They almost look like a spindle a belt would run on, but I'd think something like this would be a simple cylinder and nothing nothing like a capsule as these are.

[m_fumich]

I agree it’s more likely part of a tool, possibly to calibrate something and not as a permanent fixture.


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[hickory n Steel]

I agree it’s more likely part of a tool, possibly to calibrate something and not as a permanent fixture.


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And possibly something no longer in common use, I know the neighbor my dad received all this from retired back in the early 70's.

[m_fumich]

But if it is something related to clock work, a clocksmith would probably recognize parts of an old school tool.


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[hickory n Steel]

But if it is something related to clock work, a clocksmith would probably recognize parts of an old school tool.


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Certainly.
I know Reddit is full of people with any kind of hoppy you can think of and I might get answers there, but I just don't like the Atmosphere of those giant forums.

[m_fumich]

I was thinking something more along the lines of just walking into a long established clock shop and asking them.


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[hickory n Steel]

I was thinking something more along the lines of just walking into a long established clock shop and asking them.


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That would certainly be the best place to ask, but I have no clue where any are and with my location it would not be worth the gas money just to ask a question like this.about a couple things I've already found my own use for anyways.

[m_fumich]

I’ll use the pictures to see what I can find out.


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[hickory n Steel]

I’ll use the pictures to see what I can find out.


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Thank you.

[m_fumich]

My dad was a metrologist for thirty years. I’m not counting on him knowing since his area of expertise was electronics but you never know.


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[m_fumich]

My dad said they’re scale weights. The groves on the outside are strictly decorative.

Have you weighed them?

[m_fumich]

I called a clock repair shop to see what a scale or scale weights might be used for in clock repair and he said “Nothing that I can think of.” So if those are indeed scale weights, they weren’t related to clock repair. However, someone that does clock repair, may also be trained to do some types of calibration. That could be why your dad’s neighbor had them. But that’s purely speculation.

I would be really interested in knowing why they weight though.


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[hickory n Steel]

I called a clock repair shop to see what a scale or scale weights might be used for in clock repair and he said “Nothing that I can think of.” So if those are indeed scale weights, they weren’t related to clock repair. However, someone that does clock repair, may also be trained to do some types of calibration. That could be why your dad’s neighbor had them. But that’s purely speculation.

I would be really interested in knowing why they weight though.


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Thanks for the info.
All I have is a countertop food scale which deals in ounces so I had to rig something up and my unscientific tells me that they should officially weigh in at 6 and 8 grams.
That would be the weight stamped into each of them I guess.

[hickory n Steel]

I find it interesting that they're hollow like this.
The only reason I can think of is so they can be much larger for their weight.
6 and 8 gram weights would normally be pretty small.

[m_fumich]

Yeah, making them as small as possible and weighing 6 and 8 grams would make them REAL small.


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[m_fumich]

You can stamp this mystery SOLVED.


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[hickory n Steel]

You can stamp this mystery SOLVED.


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Pretty much, and all credit goes to you.

Oh BTW here's the use I have found for the little one.

It stores a miniature top I made from some 1/8" brass rod.
This one is the least precise I've made ( spinning in a drill against a file and belt grinder )  so it only spins for about 35 seconds, the longest and most precise one I made spins for 60 seconds with the best spin I can manage.

[hickory n Steel]

My dad told me Jay was a jeweler + watch and clock repair, if I had known that before maybe this mystery would have been solved sooner.

Knowing he was also a jeweler I wonder if it's possible that he had machined these himself for some specific type of measurement he often took.

[m_fumich]

They come apart?


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[hickory n Steel]

They come apart?


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You didn't catch that in my original pictures ?
I guess I should have actually stated that they come apart.

[m_fumich]

I should have. I couldn’t figure out why you had one of each then two of each. That is puzzling. If they’re weights, why would they come apart? (rhetorical question)


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