Hello from Hazard!
We received several responses from readers who say Item No. 1079 is a clapboard gauge (thanks, Dean Straffin, of Cranberry, Pennsylvania, and Eli Miller, of Mesopotamia, Ohio). However Chris and Diane Klingemier write that, while, it’s usually identified as a clapboard gauge, it’s also identified as a floor board gauge.
Gailey Henderson, of Williamstown, West Virginia, who submitted it to us eons ago, wrote that it was simply a cabinet maker’s scribe.
We did an online image search, and found an identical tool identified as a floor board gauge, as the Klingemiers indicated. The website adds, “they were used for marking boards so they could be cut to various, but standard, widths using all of the board width possible from each slab. Sometimes these are incorrectly marked as clapboard gauges.”
To be honest, it’s hard to know the level of expertise for this website owner, who is listed simply as “Rob H.” with no further background or bio. But in looking for online images, most of the vintage clapboard gauges look very different from our photo, so we’re inclined to agree with the Klingemiers and Rob H.
Our thanks to everyone who weighed in on Item No. 1079.
This week, Mike Amstutz, of Huron, Ohio, sent us this mystery, our Item No. 1080.
“While tiling a field, we unearthed this object 3 feet from the fence line. It was buried about 12 inches into the soil. It stands 22 inches tall and weighs about 8-9 pounds. There is a threaded portion near one end. Any clue what this white metal object might be?”
Well, Mike, we’re putting it out there for the world to see, so if anyone knows its use, it will be our Hazard-ous readers!
Email your responses to editorial@farmanddairy.com; or respond by mail to: Hazard a Guess, c/o Farm and Dairy, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460.
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