Another what-is-it ?

[Cat Whisperer]

Obviously brass, has a level, looks like usefull for setting eleveation and numbers on it that likely relate to charge/elevation/bullet-weight etc.
Purchased a few years back in New England.
Stan can answer your questions directly.

[Cat Whisperer]

More pix:

[seacoastartillery]

     It appears to be an artilleryman's combination tool.  The scale on the brass staff has graduations along a beveled surface used to eliminate parallax.  The rounded screw on the staff's end  would be placed inside the edge of the bore on the right side and the size of the bore read directly from the beveled surface scale on the left edge of the bore.  For elevation of any size tube, the brass staff would be inserted into the bore with the protractor staying just outside the muzzle.  The staff would be pressed to the top dead center of the bore with the left hand and the protractor scale rotated with the right hand until the protractor's bubble is in the center of the glass vial.  Then the elevation would be read directly off the protractor opposite the zero point graduation line on the brass staff.  We never have found one of these before, but it's not too hard to figure out it's use.

Mike and Tracy

[Cat Whisperer]

Thanks Mike/Tracy!

Any clue to nation of origin or for which 'irons it was used?

[seacoastartillery]

     Tim,   the national origin of this tool, we believe, is British.  Important to note is the lack of identifying marks, so we can't say for sure.  The two features that lead us in this direction is the use of "decimal inch" designations on the 'end of staff matrix'  denoting the weight and sizes associated with the  GUN, the CALIBER and the SHOT.  This ain't French or German, so that pretty much eliminates them as the source.  The 9 Pdr. indicates British or French, we believe and it's not French.  Colonial forces very rarely had instruments of this complexity or quality unless they were battlefield pick-ups, which perhaps it was.  While not an expert opinion, we are never timid about giving information to be considered as educated conjecture.  We also think it could have been used on any caliber cannon or mortar, a universal tool.

That's what we think,

Mike and Tracy

[lance]

 Tim, how about bringing it over here sometime before the month is up............ we can see how well it works on mortars playing BINGO

[Cat Whisperer]

Tim, how about bringing it over here sometime before the month is up............ we can see how well it works on mortars playing BINGO

MEASURE something related to shooting?  That's a thought! 

Stan has this back in Iowa - I'll just have to ask him to BRING it.

Could we put the center of the bingo 'card' around a woodchuck hole?  Just in case we get lucky.

[sscheiding]

Tim,
 
Thank you for putting my request to figure out what this device is on the Black Powder and Mortar site. I looked at the link and the information is insightful.  Thank you to all who have responded.

I took the tool in trade for helping a man move estate items out of a home in Dover-Foxcroft ME in 1991. 
 
I'd be happy to send it to you or your Cannon and Mortar associates to look at in person, just let me know.  If additional photos would help, that too can be arranged.
 
If it could be traded or parlayed into something useful, I'd be up for that too.
 
Stan

[cannonmn]

That's an unusual form of gunner's quadrant.  I agree with British as the nationality.  Looking at the calibers of guns engraved on it, the period would be early to mid-19th C.  It still lists the 3 pounder which I think left British service around 1860?, so that's the latest it could be.  It is also set up only for smoothbore ordnance, which means in England, that's about pre-1860.

The table on the end of the stick is I think just that, it does not appear to be set up accurately as to the graduations vs. length, so you need to measure either shot or bore with calipers, then look up the number on the engraved table.

Pretty much all Crown property was marked with a broad arrow, so this could well be British East India Company.  They had their own mark, but you don't see it on all of their items.

I do collect quadrants among other things so if you have some particular need of artillery stuff, let me know.

[Double D]

I agree with Cannonman about it not being former crown property---no broad arrow--and probably British East India Company being the most likely origin.

Take any further discussion about sale or trade off line please.

[Cat Whisperer]

Stan  -

WELCOME to the board!
You see a taste of the knowledgeable folks here -

Tim

[cannonmn]

>Take any further discussion about sale or trade off line please.

Uh oh! Sorry, broke another rule. 

You may find this hard to believe, but I honest to gosh thought we were supposed to trade stuff on this board.  I saw the "trade count" and thought it was how many trades you had made here!  I didn't run across an explanation of the trade count in my casual reading here, so I better look closer or maybe there's a quick explanation of it.

I get the Double-DUH!! award today!!!!!!

[lance]

Tim, how about bringing it over here sometime before the month is up............ we can see how well it works on mortars playing BINGO

MEASURE something related to shooting?  That's a thought! 

Stan has this back in Iowa - I'll just have to ask him to BRING it.

Could we put the center of the bingo 'card' around a woodchuck hole?  Just in case we get lucky.

Tim, the only woodchuck " groundhog" holes i allow here are in the tree line along the fences, they don't work too good with horses running around in the field. But, if that's where you want the target area, ya know i aim to please ya ............. Stan, if ya are reading this,WELCOME TO THE BOARD.

[Terry C.]

Hmmm. If you bank the balls off the fence into the holes... MORTAR BILLIARDS!!!

Nah, on second thought let's stick to one game at a time.

[lance]

Hmmm. If you bank the balls off the fence into the holes... MORTAR BILLIARDS!!!

Nah, on second thought let's stick to one game at a time.

Terry C., me and Tim gotta do something! you won't let us use horse apples in your mortar game

[Double D]

>Take any further discussion about sale or trade off line please.

Uh oh! Sorry, broke another rule. 

You may find this hard to believe, but I honest to gosh thought we were supposed to trade stuff on this board.  I saw the "trade count" and thought it was how many trades you had made here!  I didn't run across an explanation of the trade count in my casual reading here, so I better look closer or maybe there's a quick explanation of it.

I get the Double-DUH!! award today!!!!!!

Yes indeed you can trade stuff but only on the classified boards not on the discussion board.  This is a discussion board. The Classified board is a here BP Mortar and Cannon Classifieds.

Be sure and read the rules for the classified board before posting.