What is it? Set 441

[Rob H.]

I need some help with the second last item in this week's set:

http://55tools.blogspot.com/


Rob

[Dennis]

"Rob H." <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote in message
news:jp2es...@news1.newsguy.com...

>I need some help with the second last item in this week's set:
>
> http://55tools.blogspot.com/
>
>

> Rob\



2557. ??????

2558. Paddles for measuring out brew ingredients.

2559. Marking gauge - could be used in multiple industries, probably for
marking wood.

2560. Foreskin stretcher, too big for the Australian market, maybe West
Indies?

2561. ???

2562. Stop or clamp of somesort

[Kevin(Bluey)]

2559 panel marking gauge used by cabinet makers to mark out panels for
furniture.

--
Kevin (Bluey)
"I'm not young enough to know everything."

blu...@west.net.com.au

[Paul K. Dickman]

2557 Could be melting dishes, but their small size leads me to believe that
they are bone ash cupels. These are used by assayers to do fire assay of
precious metal ores.

The samples would be weighed, wrapped in lead (to help disperse the metals)
and placed in one of these cupels. The sample and dish were then heated to
about 1000c in an oxidizing atmosphere for an extended period of time. The
lead and base metals would oxidize and turn into slag which was absorbed by
the bone ash cupel. The precious metals (which don't oxidize readily) would
be left as a bb in the in the dish,
The weight of the bb divided by the weight of the original sample give you
the ratio of the mine assay (usually expressed in troy oz per ton).

Paul K. Dickman

"Rob H." <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote in message
news:jp2es...@news1.newsguy.com...

[Stormin Mormon]

2557, either ceramic checkers, or maybe mortar, from mortar and pestle.
2558, early dairy farmer's butter spreader.
2559, a marking device. Made to mark / strike a line a certain distance from
the edge of a piece of wood.
2560, totally no clue.
2561, be nice to see the inside. The scores on the side appear to be musical
scale. Suggests that the item has some to do with music.
2562, familiar, but can't think of what it is.


Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Rob H." <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote in message
news:jp2es...@news1.newsguy.com...

[Rob H.]

"Paul K. Dickman" <pkdi...@ameritech.net> wrote in message
news:jp2r7...@news1.newsguy.com...

> 2557 Could be melting dishes, but their small size leads me to believe
> that they are bone ash cupels. These are used by assayers to do fire assay
> of precious metal ores.
>
> The samples would be weighed, wrapped in lead (to help disperse the
> metals) and placed in one of these cupels. The sample and dish were then
> heated to about 1000c in an oxidizing atmosphere for an extended period of
> time. The lead and base metals would oxidize and turn into slag which was
> absorbed by the bone ash cupel. The precious metals (which don't oxidize
> readily) would be left as a bb in the in the dish,
> The weight of the bb divided by the weight of the original sample give you
> the ratio of the mine assay (usually expressed in troy oz per ton).
>
> Paul K. Dickman

Good answer, this is correct.




>> http://55tools.blogspot.com/

[Rob H.]

>>> http://55tools.blogspot.com/

>>
>>
> 2559 panel marking gauge used by cabinet makers to mark out panels for
> furniture.

Thanks, I knew it was a marking gauge but didn't know it was for panels.

[mbuck]

2558: an old mash mixing paddle?
2560: a strap tensioner for putting bands around bales of cotton
2561: a prayer wheel
2562: screws to the underside of a stage platform to bolt several sections together to make a large stage

--riverman

[Jim Stewart]

2560 looks like it might be used for stringing
or splicing open-wire telephone or telegraph
wires.

[Ted Schuerzinger]

On Thu, 17 May 2012 08:55:59 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:

> 2558, early dairy farmer's butter spreader.

From a distillery? I'll have some of the butter you're having. :-)

--
Ted S.
fedya at hughes dot net
Now blogging at http://justacineast.blogspot.com

[Gerry]

Last one is a clamp to hold lawnmower blade while loosening the bolt

[Rob H.]

"Gerry" <gmast...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:c7d3fb6e-e237-47fe...@j25g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...

Yes, that's exactly what it is.

[Rob H.]

>> http://55tools.blogspot.com/

> 2558: an old mash mixing paddle?

Nope

> 2561: a prayer wheel

Could be but I couldn't find any similar ones on the web.

[Stormin Mormon]

I've been known to miss a cue, or a clue, or a
thing or two. What can you do? I'm a schmoo......

How do you do?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Ted Schuerzinger" <fe...@hughes.spam> wrote in message
news:w9cf2orui53r$.dlg@justacineast.motzarella.org...

[Stormin Mormon]

More wisdom and experience, is found on this group.

I some how never bought one of these. Maybe I
ought have?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Rob H." <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote in message

news:jp3nr...@news1.newsguy.com...

"Gerry" <gmast...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:c7d3fb6e-e237-47fe...@j25g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...

> http://55tools.blogspot.com/

[Stormin Mormon]

That could be. I did small engine repair, or tried
to. I didn't buy all the tools.

Me, I tend to use my shoe, boot, or block of wood.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Gerry" <gmast...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:c7d3fb6e-e237-47fe...@j25g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...

[mbuck]

Very interesting idea. It could make a Western Union splice without you having to touch the cables. Time for some googling...

[DoN. Nichols]

On 2012-05-17, Rob H. <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote:
> I need some help with the second last item in this week's set:
>
> http://55tools.blogspot.com/

Posting from Rec.crafts.metalworking as always.

2557) Perhaps crucibles for melting precious metals like gold and
silver?

2558) paddles for stirring the "mash" in making whisky?

2559) Scriber to mark a line parallel to an edge of a workpiece and
at a fixed distance therefrom.

Is there a wedge to hold the cross-piece at a fixed distance?

2560) For gripping something -- but I have no idea what it is to
grip.

2561) At a guess, something which hangs from a chain or rope
and makes music as it moves.

Wood, so it is not chimes made from a propane tank ro the like.

Perhaps it is made to hold a substance which when heated
releases an insect repellent.

2562) Looks as though it is made to clamp a horizontal 2x4 to a
vertical one for temporary structures.

Now to post this and find out what others have said.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: <BPdnic...@d-and-d.com> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

[joelj...@aol.com]

> http://55tools.blogspot.com/

2559 - Panel gauge

2561 - String dispenser

[Rob H.]

"Jim Stewart" <jste...@jkmicro.com> wrote in message
news:jp3dm0$kkc$1...@dont-email.me...

> 2560 looks like it might be used for stringing
> or splicing open-wire telephone or telegraph
> wires.

You're on the right track but it's not for telephone or telegraph wires.

Still not sure about the wooden item but the rest of the answers can be seen
here:

http://55tools.blogspot.com/2012/05/set-441.html#answers

[Artemus]

"Rob H." <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote in message

news:jp6bu...@news1.newsguy.com...

>
> "Jim Stewart" <jste...@jkmicro.com> wrote in message
> news:jp3dm0$kkc$1...@dont-email.me...
>> 2560 looks like it might be used for stringing
>> or splicing open-wire telephone or telegraph
>> wires.
>
> You're on the right track but it's not for telephone or telegraph wires.

Arrrrgh! We should have known.
Art

[Steve W.]

2561 - Looks like an early temple block. They were used to keep the
monks attention on chants during prayers. This one is a hanging version
so it may have been used to call the monks to prayer or to call the
attention of the spirits to hear the prayers.

Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist, Confucianism all used similar items.

--
Steve W.

[Rob H.]

>>
>> http://55tools.blogspot.com/2012/05/set-441.html#answers
>
>
> 2561 - Looks like an early temple block. They were used to keep the monks
> attention on chants during prayers. This one is a hanging version so it
> may have been used to call the monks to prayer or to call the attention of
> the spirits to hear the prayers.
>
> Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist, Confucianism all used similar items.
>
> --
> Steve W.

I agree that it's probably something along this line, a couple people have
suggested it's some type of musical instrument. I've done some searching
but didn't see anything like it, hard to say for sure if it's a temple block
or a folk instrument but it does look like it was used for percussion. I
sent the owner of it an email asking them to hit it with a drum stick to see
what kind of sound it makes. Thanks

[Steve W.]

It isn't a musical instrument really. It was a wooden version of a gong.
Made to just kind of thunk when hit with the striker. If you want the
correct note try using a small rubber mallet. The correct clapper would
have been a silk wrapped wooden ball hanging from the hole in the
bottom. There are not a lot of them in the western world and very few
are seen outside of the temples they were made for.

The hollow bass thunk you hear in this video is what they sound like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOdqhWcY3BI&feature=related



--
Steve W.

[mbuck]

I'd be very curious about what estate sale this was found at. As Steve mentions, they usually don't go missing from their temples, often staying in use for hundreds of years until they are in far worse shape than this one. There has been a serious problem of artifacts going missing from temples in Tibet as the Chinese government has been absorbing the culture and society there, but until recently it would have been particularly hard for a westerner to have obtained something like this, unless they happened upon it in a market in China.

If we knew the estate that was selling it, its origins might be traceable. A lot of 'acquired' artifacts are actually looted items that fell into circulation, and many altruistic people have been returning such things. If this is an estate sale because of the death of the owner, it might be a good item to be tapped for return.

[Rob H.]

>"mbuck" <mb...@hkis.edu.hk> wrote in message
>news:079fc427-17bb-4d1e...@googlegroups.com...

>I'd be very curious about what estate sale this was found at. As Steve
>mentions, they usually don't go missing from their temples, often staying
>in use for >hundreds of years until they are in far worse shape than this
>one. There has been a serious problem of artifacts going missing from
>temples in Tibet as the >Chinese government has been absorbing the culture
>and society there, but until recently it would have been particularly hard
>for a westerner to have obtained >something like this, unless they happened
>upon it in a market in China.

>If we knew the estate that was selling it, its origins might be traceable.
>A lot of 'acquired' artifacts are actually looted items that fell into
>circulation, and many >altruistic people have been returning such things.
>If this is an estate sale because of the death of the owner, it might be a
>good item to be tapped for return.

The person who bought it was told it was a fishing float, the new owner then
took it to a nautical museum and was told that description was incorrect.
I'll forward your post to the owner and let them follow up on looking to
find where it came from.

[Curt Welch]

"Rob H." <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote:
> I need some help with the second last item in this week's set:
>
> http://55tools.blogspot.com/
>

> Rob

Rob, is that your blog? I was trying to figure out how to contact you.

I have a what is it for you. Two actually.

Is your email here less the spam, the correct way to contact you?

--
Curt Welch http://CurtWelch.Com/
cu...@kcwc.com http://NewsReader.Com/

[DoN. Nichols]

On 2012-05-20, Rob H. <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote:
>
>>"mbuck" <mb...@hkis.edu.hk> wrote in message
>>news:079fc427-17bb-4d1e...@googlegroups.com...

[ ... ]

>>If we knew the estate that was selling it, its origins might be traceable.
>>A lot of 'acquired' artifacts are actually looted items that fell into
>>circulation, and many >altruistic people have been returning such things.
>>If this is an estate sale because of the death of the owner, it might be a
>>good item to be tapped for return.
>
>
> The person who bought it was told it was a fishing float,

Certainly wrong for a fishing float. For that, the eye would
have to be on the bottom, not the top (though there might be another one
at the top if it were a mooring float instead. But without the bottom
eye, it can't be that.

> the new owner then
> took it to a nautical museum and was told that description was incorrect.
> I'll forward your post to the owner and let them follow up on looking to
> find where it came from.

The strike with a stick test should be done while it is
suspended by the eye, not resting on a surface.

[Robin Halligan]

"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
news:slrnjrjfk2.ld...@Katana.d-and-d.com...

On 2012-05-20, Rob H. <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote:
>
>>"mbuck" <mb...@hkis.edu.hk> wrote in message
>>news:079fc427-17bb-4d1e...@googlegroups.com...

[ ... ]

>>If we knew the estate that was selling it, its origins might be traceable.
>>A lot of 'acquired' artifacts are actually looted items that fell into
>>circulation, and many >altruistic people have been returning such things.
>>If this is an estate sale because of the death of the owner, it might be a
>>good item to be tapped for return.
>
>
> The person who bought it was told it was a fishing float,

Certainly wrong for a fishing float. For that, the eye would
have to be on the bottom, not the top (though there might be another one
at the top if it were a mooring float instead. But without the bottom
eye, it can't be that.

> the new owner
> then
> took it to a nautical museum and was told that description was incorrect.
> I'll forward your post to the owner and let them follow up on looking to
> find where it came from.

The strike with a stick test should be done while it is
suspended by the eye, not resting on a surface.

Enjoy,
DoN.

=================
I wonder though about the Music scale seen on the side it seems (on the bit
we can see) to be a raising and then falling scale what is the significance
of that?
also looking at the music it seems that it is supposed to be seen flat side
down and the post at the top i wondered when i saw it if it had metal rods
inside it and something to run around them like a clapper from a bell that
played the rods like a musicbox.

just thinking.


Robin

[Rob H.]

"Curt Welch" <cu...@kcwc.com> wrote in message
news:20120520230749.083$o...@newsreader.com...

> "Rob H." <rhv...@gmailnospam.com> wrote:
>> I need some help with the second last item in this week's set:
>>
>> http://55tools.blogspot.com/
>>
>> Rob
>
> Rob, is that your blog? I was trying to figure out how to contact you.
>
> I have a what is it for you. Two actually.
>
> Is your email here less the spam, the correct way to contact you?

Yes, remove "nospam" from my email to send me one, I'll be looking to
forward to seeing your photos.

[Rob H.]

> =================
> I wonder though about the Music scale seen on the side it seems (on the
> bit we can see) to be a raising and then falling scale what is the
> significance of that?
> also looking at the music it seems that it is supposed to be seen flat
> side down and the post at the top i wondered when i saw it if it had metal
> rods inside it and something to run around them like a clapper from a bell
> that played the rods like a musicbox.
>
> just thinking.
>
>
> Robin

If it's a music box then the owner doesn't realize it yet, I'll mention your
suggestion the next time I email them.

I went back and looked at the original email that I got about this one, here
is their description of it:

"It is made of wood, has a metal loop at the top and a slit with bone pieces
wedged into it. It is stained or painted red and there are small carvings at
the top around the metal eye and around it's center. It weighs 2lbs. 8 oz.,
is 17" around it's center and tapers to 16" at it's ends. The slit is 3/8"
wide and 1" deep with four 1/4" thick pieces of bone wedged into it. The
underside is not stained/painted and dips 1/2" to the center. There is a
3/4" hole in the center that is 2 1/2" deep."

And here is a photo that I didn't post, it's a close-up of one of the bone
pieces:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%2014/pic2561nda.jpg

[Curt Welch]

I'll take a series of pictures and email you!

[J Burns]

What resembles a music scale looks sinusoidal. Some Chinese calendars
had ten months, like the points on the top. I wonder if it was hung at
eye level to check the direction of sunrise and sunset. The vertical
lines on the "music scale" could represent shadow lengths at noon on a
day when sunup or sundown is in a certain direction.

If it were hung on a rigid hook, the alignment should be pretty
reliable, and you could bring it in out of the weather. Two of the bone
spacers could be to check the alignment against a landmark such as a
tree. The other two might line up with the rising and setting sun at
equinox.

[Robin Halligan]

"J Burns" wrote in message news:jpejqs$v7k$1...@dont-email.me...

======================================

Interesting, looking at the original pics i thought that it looked like it
might be hollow but looks like that is wrong
maybe they are not music notation its an interesting point you make .

[J Burns]

I thought it looked hollow, too, because I could see past a bone spacer
on both sides. The weight confirms it's solid.

The outer diameter is 5.4". The core must be 3.4" A man's pupils seem
to be about 2.8" apart. In that case, if he stood 5 feet away with both
eyes open, the core would just cover the rising or setting sun when he
was lined up. Then he might hold out a plumb bob to see what mark he
was lined up with.

[Rob H.]

>"mbuck" <mb...@hkis.edu.hk> wrote in message
>news:079fc427-17bb-4d1e...@googlegroups.com...

>I'd be very curious about what estate sale this was found at. As Steve
>mentions, they usually don't go missing from their temples, often staying
>in use for >hundreds of years until they are in far worse shape than this
>one. There has been a serious problem of artifacts going missing from
>temples in Tibet as the >Chinese government has been absorbing the culture
>and society there, but until recently it would have been particularly hard
>for a westerner to have obtained >something like this, unless they happened
>upon it in a market in China.

>If we knew the estate that was selling it, its origins might be traceable.
>A lot of 'acquired' artifacts are actually looted items that fell into
>circulation, and many >altruistic people have been returning such things.
>If this is an estate sale because of the death of the owner, it might be a
>good item to be tapped for return.

I heard back from the owner, they sound ethused about doing some research
and returning the item if it is actually a missing temple block.

Here is the result of striking it with a stick:

"It really has no resonance when hit with a stick, just sounds like hitting
a wood stump."

They didn't remember seeing any other artifacts at the estate sale that
would suggest travel to Asian countries. They also said that they would keep
me updated on any other developments.

[J Burns]

On 5/22/12 7:11 AM, Rob H. wrote:
>
>> "mbuck" <mb...@hkis.edu.hk> wrote in message
>> news:079fc427-17bb-4d1e...@googlegroups.com...
>> I'd be very curious about what estate sale this was found at. As Steve
>> mentions, they usually don't go missing from their temples, often
>> staying in use for >hundreds of years until they are in far worse
>> shape than this one. There has been a serious problem of artifacts
>> going missing from temples in Tibet as the >Chinese government has
>> been absorbing the culture and society there, but until recently it
>> would have been particularly hard for a westerner to have obtained
>> >something like this, unless they happened upon it in a market in China.
>
>> If we knew the estate that was selling it, its origins might be
>> traceable. A lot of 'acquired' artifacts are actually looted items
>> that fell into circulation, and many >altruistic people have been
>> returning such things. If this is an estate sale because of the death
>> of the owner, it might be a good item to be tapped for return.
>
>
>

> I heard back from the owner, they sound enthused about doing some

> research and returning the item if it is actually a missing temple block.
>
> Here is the result of striking it with a stick:
>
> "It really has no resonance when hit with a stick, just sounds like
> hitting a wood stump."
>
> They didn't remember seeing any other artifacts at the estate sale that
> would suggest travel to Asian countries. They also said that they would
> keep me updated on any other developments.
>
>

If an English baby was born in February of 1751, the local parish would
list his DOB as 1750. The Julian calendar wasn't synced with the solar
year; so farmers started their year at the spring equinox.

The equinoxes are the simplest ways to check the solar year because they
are the two days of the year when sunrise and sunset are 180 degrees
out. Telling time this way goes back more than 4,000 years. Many
countries did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until the 20th Century.
In those cultures, instruments to find equinoxes may have been common
even 100 years ago.

If you look at a post about 3.5" in diameter with both eyes open, it
should just block the setting sun when you are about 5 feet away. At
that distance, a degree would be about an inch, big enough for accurate
measurements using a plumb bob on pavement.

The brightness of the sun might reduce the accuracy of sighting. Using
a "ball" with a 3/8" slit around a 3.5" core may have made sighting more
accurate. I wonder if the bone spacers were for storage, to prevent
warping so that the slit remained at 3/8" on all sides.

Standing about 5 feet away so the core just blocked the setting sun, you
would hold a plumb bob a couple of feet in front of your face so that
your two eyes would see the string against each side of the ball. You'd
let the point of the plumb bob touch the pavement and read your exact
azimuth according to marks on the pavement. The ball would have to hang
over an exact point but would not have to be aligned like a compass. I
think the marks on the ball were charts, to convert the azimuth to the
day of the solar year.

[mbuck]

Tell us more about the slits with the bone. Is it one big groove all the way around...sort of like a spool, with bone disks jammed in (and how much space is between the central hub and the bones? Or is this more like two separate pieces joined by several bone axles. And are all the bone pieces inset the same distance? Might this be something that had a rope twisted around it and that turned like a top when the rope was pulled? Or I'm starting to think about a counterweight for a bell pull, but I'm not sure of the role of the bones and slit.

[Rob H.]

Interesting theory, not sure how we could prove it one way or the other but
I'll pass it on to the owner.

[Rob H.]

> And here is a photo that I didn't post, it's a close-up of one of the bone
> pieces:
>
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%2014/pic2561nda.jpg

>Tell us more about the slits with the bone. Is it one big groove all the
>way around...sort of like a spool, with bone disks jammed in (and how much
>space is >between the central hub and the bones? Or is this more like two
>separate pieces joined by several bone axles. And are all the bone pieces
>inset the same >distance? Might this be something that had a rope twisted
>around it and that turned like a top when the rope was pulled? Or I'm
>starting to think about a >counterweight for a bell pull, but I'm not sure
>of the role of the bones and slit.

Here is the owner's reply to your questions:

The slit is 3/8" wide and 1" deep, with 1/4" pieces of bone. Yes, it is
like a spool with the bone pieces wedged in. The bone is flush with the
outer edge (except for one that has slipped into the slit) and I believe
they are equidistant from each other. I could see it being a
counterweight... Although the bottom is not 'finished'.

[J Burns]

If it's for sighting sunups and sundowns, I can see how the slit would
be necessary.

Normally, the moments of sunrise and sunset are when the tip is visible
on the horizon. Mathematically, you want the moment that the center is
on the horizon. Due to refraction, when the tip is visible, the sun is
actually 0.75 degrees below astronomical sunup or sundown. The ancients
would have realized the problem when summers were 2 to 4 days longer
than winters. A one-day error could throw the Jewish calendar off by a
month.

The slit would let you see the sun when it was optically at the correct
distance above the horizon. When tiny head movements caused it to wink
on both sides of the core, you would be at the correct azimuth.

Ninety percent of American men have an interpupillary distance between
55 and 70mm. If the user had an IP of 62mm and the core of the mystery
item is 86mm, he would stand 250cm (about 9 feet) away to have the core
just block the sun. At that distance, the slit would be 0.2 degree
high. The center of the slit should be 22mm above the observer's eye level.

Sunlight would be visible in the slit about 4 minutes. When the
observer first saw a glint of light, it would be his 2-minute warning.

Just above eye level and 86cm in front of the observer should be a rod
to suspend a plumb bob on a loop. At that distance a degree would be
29mm. The reason for the 86cm distance in front of the observer is that
at that distance, when the string lines up, it will appear tangent to
one side of the ball and then the other as the observer closes one eye
and then the other.

The slit ball design could be thousands of years old, but steel eye
screw makes me think this item was made after published equinox dates
were available anywhere on earth, regardless of the local civil calendar.

In WWII, the British and the Germans had sun-sighting devices to
calibrate compasses on aircraft on the runway. The ancient Vikings set
their compasses that way. The wooden ball looks more precise than would
be needed to calibrate a compass. I wonder if it was for map making.

In Washington's time, surveys were likely to be very poor because
compass readings aren't reliable. Yet accurate maps were drawn long
before Washington. With a slit ball, an explorer wouldn't even have to
know the time or date to determine north within a fraction of a degree.
Then he could get precise bearings with a transit.

It would take four markers, like the bone spacers. The first would go
below the ball. The second would mark the spot from which sundown was
sighted. The third would mark the spot from which sunrise was sighted.
The transit would then be placed over the first marker. It would
bisect the angle between the other two markers in order to place the
fourth marker due north.

If the map maker wedged the spacers in the slit and wrapped the ball
tightly, the ball and spacers should travel well.

I just don't know where to find a picture of a map maker using a split ball!

[J Burns]

On 5/26/12 3:11 PM, Rob H. wrote:
>

I haven't found documentation about sighting the sun to survey prior to
1836, but this article says the solar compass was a marvel of the 19th
Century. As of 1973, the Bureau of Land Management still recommended it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_compass

The surveyor had to know the latitude, look up the sun's declination,
and know the local time. The solar compass would allow him to get
bearings at several sites during the day.

If he knew his latitude and the date and had a table of sunup/sundown
azimuths, he could use a sighting device such as a split ball to make an
equally precise determination of north, but he would have to do it at
sunup or sundown. Perhaps a surveyor who didn't often need to determine
true north would have done it this way in the 20th Century, rather than
buy an expensive instrument for occasional use.

If the mystery item was invented to sight the sun, perhaps the hole in
the bottom was for a plug from which a plumb bob hung.

[Rob H.]

> I haven't found documentation about sighting the sun to survey prior to
> 1836, but this article says the solar compass was a marvel of the 19th
> Century. As of 1973, the Bureau of Land Management still recommended it.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_compass
>
> The surveyor had to know the latitude, look up the sun's declination, and
> know the local time. The solar compass would allow him to get bearings at
> several sites during the day.
>
> If he knew his latitude and the date and had a table of sunup/sundown
> azimuths, he could use a sighting device such as a split ball to make an
> equally precise determination of north, but he would have to do it at
> sunup or sundown. Perhaps a surveyor who didn't often need to determine
> true north would have done it this way in the 20th Century, rather than
> buy an expensive instrument for occasional use.
>
> If the mystery item was invented to sight the sun, perhaps the hole in the
> bottom was for a plug from which a plumb bob hung.

The owner had said that a couple people had suggested that the wooden item
was originally mounted on a staff at the hole in the bottom and that the top
metal piece was added at a later date. Your compass theory sounds
plausible, hopefully we'll get an answer for it one way or the other but if
I had to bet I'd say it will remain unidentified for a while.