Hazard A Guess: Week of Jan. 10, 2002

Hello from Hazard!

Have you dug out from the holiday leftovers, bills and snow? It’s January!

Think way back before Christmas to our last viewing of Hazard a Guess … remember what Item No. 634 looked like? It was a three-armed tool of some sort.

Well, we received a couple of way-out-there guesses, but Ted Krejsa of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and John Skerbetz of New Cumberland, W.Va., both agree on one use, so we’ll go with their “quorum.”

Both say Item No. 634 was an old tool for removing old automobile wheel rims. John Skerbetz adds that it appears to be a tire rim compressor for early 17- to 21-inch tires on 1930 and earlier auto models. The rims are split, so when the clamp is set on the rim flange with the three ends (one is adjustable), the fourth is pulled over to compress the rim at the split and remove it from the tire.

Thanks to all the readers who ventured a guess.

New item. This week’s item comes from the Columbiana County Historical Society’s Items of Yesteryear building at the Columbiana County Fairgrounds (it’s worth a visit during the annual county fair). You can get an idea of the dimensions by the notebook it is resting upon.

If you know what it’s used for, send in your guess to: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail to: editorial@farmanddairy.com.

You can check out recent Hazard a Guess columns on our Web site, www.farmanddairy.com (click on the Hazard a Guess link along the left hand side). Every Thursday, just like the paper, Hazard brings you a new guess online.

If you’ve got an old tool or gizmo you would like to feature in Hazard a Guess, send a clear 35mm photograph (no Polaroid photos, please), along with detailed dimensions and description of the item’s use, to the address listed above. I have to tell you our photo cupboard is almost bare, so it would be a good winter project for some of you!