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Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
What am I?
I took this photo today of a chunk of wood about the size of a footstool, but not a footstool. It has a very specific use. Unlike many of my “What am I?” quizzes, the image Exif data will likely be of no use for this one. What is it?
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Molds for something? Jeff, “Footstool” is one word.
It’s a set of moulds used for beating copper into a specific type of dish or bowl.
I’m thinking it might be jig/former for hammering sheet metal into bowl shapes.
A pure guess, but something round, or spherical needs to be steadied whilst it’s being worked on, or maybe carved?
So my guess is a carver’s ball steadier 😉
Hmmm …
Someone needs a special support to beat sheet metal into hollow shapes, possibly drinking vessels? (No idea how that process is properly called in either English or Japanese …)
Looks like a dapping block that jewelry makers use to shap metal discs into domed shapes.
I keep comming back to this one trying to figure out what it is. My guess would be a fixture used by an artisan for holding different size round objects (posibility pottery) while they are being worked on. 🙂
Certainly not correct, but this could be used as a tool for grinding primitive lenses. Did it belong to Galileo?
Writing from Texas but have a daughter arriving in Japan with the JET Programme this summer.
Holy cow, I posted the answer (here) almost a month ago, but forgot to push the various guesses live until now. Sorry!