Monday, June 08, 2026

Celebration day haul, with a mystery

 

There was a small second-hand stall at the open day, and of course, it liberated a fiver from my pocket towards club funds. 

The Hobby's model light set is a fascinating bit of vintage. I suspect it's not that old, as Hobby's (not Hobbies) tend to keep stuff in the range for a very long while. This has incandescent bulbs and holders, none of your LED stuff, and I dream it will be used in a vintage boat project. 

Memory Wire used to be very fashionable in the more serious end of the model railway hobby, but you hardly hear of it now. Has it all been replaced by servos?  For those new to this product, it's wire that gains in length when you pass a current through it. Use a spring to pull it back when the current is removed, and you have a useful(?) device to move signals and points. Or at least that was the idea. I've never played with it, so for a quid, I'll satisfy my curiosity. 

Tongue depressors - I stick people to lolly sticks or chip forks for painting, and I've run out. These will be perfect, and I don't need to stuff my face to acquire some tools. 

And finally, a mystery. 


I've no idea what this clamp is for, but it's so well made, and so useless to anyone other than an idiot like me, I had to buy it. 

7.5cm long and 2cm wide, it splits into two parts, which are accurately aligned with four pegs and a pair of brass corners. 

 

Inside, there is a V shape, but that's not helping me work out what this rather well-made device is for. I am stumped, and so is everyone else I know. The clamp arrived in an estate clearance, so we can't ask the maker. 

Any ideas?  

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