Poles for signal wire?

[rob love]

Thanks for the answers.

I am going to attach some photos of some of the other stuff we grabbed out there today. I had already put a bunch of it out in the shed, but thought maybe some photos might get some answers as to what some of it is. Besides, not everyone has access to surplus stores like these anymore, so you can live vicariously through what we found. Derk (who once claimed, on this very site, to be cured of the miliaria OCD) was out a bit earlier than I was and already had a small mountain of stuff before I got there. He passed on some items to me, and I passed an occasional item to him in retribution. Having two addicts in the same place does not make any measure of self control.

Anyway, here are the first batch of photos. I'll go into some detail of some of the curiosities in the next post, but for now I'll ask about the cleaning rod set shown on the fender. They are US made, but I am not sure what gun they are for. I have two sets of these.....just need the gun now.

[rob love]

In this group of photos are:
1: Some kind of goofy plier/adjustable wrench combination tool with a US marking. I can just imagine turning a nut with the adjustable wrench part and having the jaws of the plier close in on the meat of the thumb muscle.

2: Next photo is an iler/brush combination. You fill the handle with oil, and it leaks into the brush when you are cleaning metal. I saw the red/blue artillery marking on the one, so I grabbed them. The handle of one mentions "fountain oiler".

3:2 sizes of Bren track adjusters. I have to sandblast these and see what the part numbers are. I can certainly understand why they went to the smaller one. Derk found these, along with a few more and was nice enough to pass me a pair.

4: Some vintage 1940s US military goggles. They are made by foster grant, and the FG are also on the cases. They are one ugle little goggle. I grabbed 4 boxes of them, since the building they are in is well into it's collapse and demise.

5:

[rob love]

More:
1: Next are these army green telephone boxes. The photo inside shows the full setup. The candlesticks are missing as are the hand-cranks for the ringers, so the quest for those begins. But I did get to hear those bells dingeling all the way home, even after putting paper in between the clangers and the bells.

2&3: I grabbed one of the rangefinder telescopes. It is missing one eyepiece along with the instrument stand, so the search for those will begin.

4: There was a box of live ammunition, which was mostly shotgun shells. The owner does not want live ammunition in his sheds, as the storage laws for this kind of stuff has increased over the years, and as well he is worried about fire when 70 year old ammo goes off. There were 3 larger caliber bullets (20/40 marked) which appear to be live, with dark blue heads. (edited: a google search shows this to be likely Lahti 20mm ammunition).

5:An exterior photo of the phone boxes. In the background you can also see a couple of string-vests, and a bunch of the maple leaves (old style and new style) for the general's plates. I found an original generals plate, but the owner did not want to sell me that. I don't get nuthin......

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by rob love

More:
1: Next are these army green telephone boxes. The photo inside shows the full setup. The candlesticks are missing as are the hand-cranks for the ringers, so the quest for those begins. But I did get to hear those bells dingeling all the way home, even after putting paper in between the clangers and the bells.

2&3: I grabbed one of the rangefinder telescopes. It is missing one eyepiece along with the instrument stand, so the search for those will begin.

4: There was a box of live ammunition, which was mostly shotgun shells. The owner does not want live ammunition in his sheds, as the storage laws for this kind of stuff has increased over the years, and as well he is worried about fire when 70 year old ammo goes off. There were 3 larger caliber bullets (20/40 marked) which appear to be live, with dark blue heads. (edited: a google search shows this to be likely Lahti 20mm ammunition).

1) The candlestick telephones are sought after and will definitely not be cheap, I suspect.

2,3) very nice, I hope you can complete it.

4) Are those for (as Dean A. Grennell memorably described it) "the Lahti 20mm anti-tank cannon of formidable puissance"? I have seen the beast in question: snowboard-mounted, and with a muzzle brake like a giant harmonica. There is something very worrying about a "rifle" that you can insert your (cotton-gloved) thumb (it was in the Enfield Pattern Room) into the end of the muzzle brake without touching the sides.

Best regards,
Chris.

[rob love]

Re #4. Yes, it will be that Lahti. I have seen a few of them around, and they are nice rifles, however there was also a Solothurn around here for a while. I was there the day it blew up. Now that WAS a nice rifle. It has since moved to a new owner who I believe was going to try to rebuild it, however recent government prohibitions here in Canada have banned the use of guns like these. As such, the cartridges I obtained will likely end up with a cartridge collector.



Re the candlestick telephone, I'll keep my eyes out (where else) at my favorite surplus store. They are bound to be out there somewhere.

Rob

[Barry J. Cox]

Cleaning rods on the fender seem to fit the 40mm Bofors. Also commonly used on the 37mm U.S. anti-tank gun, tho probably not correct. Maybe the CC is for Chrysler Corp, who made the 40, but have never seen any official info on that.

Always thought the brushes with the fluid container and valve might be for stenciling.

And the Lahti is not so bad to shoot, especially if one mounts it on a tripod, or better yet, a stand behind mount. But the Solothurn is the one to use with that ammo; a true work of art, and way too pretty, and heavy, to take into combat.

[Kirk Armitage]

The center Brush in the pic is identical to the one I have, it was full of blue ink . It came with a paper stencil cutting machine I got from Crane Printers in Ottawa , when they closed .
K Armitage