Hello from Hazard!
Two more correct responses arrived to Item No. 628, which was a fishing trolley (see last week’s paper for a complete explanation). Many thanks to Denny Rose (e-mailers need to remember to include your hometown and state!) and Eddie Pfister of North Royalton, Ohio.
And now for the avalanche of mail we received on Item No. 629! Thank you, thank you to one and all for the promptness with which you identified our gizmo (and I’m sure there’s more coming in the mail for next week!).
Item No. 629 are wire twister pliers or “safety wire pliers” used to work on aircraft. It’s still being used today and is available from many tool dealers.
“Item 629 is a no brainer,” writes Tom Merz of Industry, Pa. “I am willing to bet that nearly every aviation mechanic has one in their toolbox.” (He has three!).
Merz explains the pliers are used to twist soft wire together to safety bolts and nuts and other items on an aircraft.
“When installing the safety wire, you must install it so that if one item loosens, it tightens the other item it is safetied to, thus preventing loss.
“For example, doing bolts. Insert wire into one drilled bolt head and start the twist by hand. Then attach the safety wire pliers on the doubled wire about the distance to the next bolt. Pull the center knob and the twist in the center shaft forces the pliers to rotate, twisting the wire. then insert wire into next bolt and twist again. Cut off at about one-half inch and bend the pigtail back to keep from getting scratched.
“When the handles are closed on the wire, you lock them closed with a lock that is in the center section of the pliers. You can see the hook on the lower handle.”
Like Merz, many other readers have used these pliers – either on the job today, or in the past while in the Armed Forces. (Never knew we had so many aircraft mechanics as subscribers!)
Readers correctly identifying Item No. 629 included: Tim Whitmire and Harold Fischer, both of Pittsburgh; Art Bilek of Norton, Ohio; Walter Braun, Concord, Ohio; Robert Zickefoose, Norton, Ohio; Don Watson, Columbia Station, Ohio; Tony DeFranco, Farmington Township;
Charles McGowan, Prospect, Pa.; Joe McCutcheon, Mogadore, Ohio; Andrew Tumicki, Eighty Four, Pa.; Larry McKay, Boardman, Ohio; Jim Bragg, Clinton, Pa.;
Capt. R.H. Tallmadge, USMC (ret.), Jeromesville, Ohio; Mark Brooks, Sewickley, Pa.; Vic Paul, Crooksville, Ohio; Annette Konkle, Edinburg, Ohio; and Harold Meyer, Youngstown.
From e-mails, we heard from the following readers who were so excited to answer our hazard-ous question that they forgot to include their hometown and state (one reader answered correctly, then forgot to give us his/her name!). Thanks to: Chris Hollis; Charlie Potter; Lee Wise; Bill Murar; Larry Young; and Allan Fox.
This week’s item is a huge pancake flipper. OK, so it just looks like it and we need you to tell us what it was used for. The metal end pictured is about 12 inches long and 73/4 inches wide and is made of sheet iron. It’s on a 4 foot heavy-duty, wood handle.
Tell us what it is: Write: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail: editorial@farmanddairy.com.
And if you’ve got something you think would stump our readers, send us a clear 35mm photograph (color or black and white), along with dimensions and a detailed description as to its use. You can use the address listed above to send in your Hazard a Guess photographs.
Until next week, may all your guesses be good ones.
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