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OT: What is this called?

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loco_engr
loco_engr Posts: 5,765
in EggHead Forum
This was in my father's personal items (he was an aviator in WWII in the Philippines) and would like to what it is called
and how it was used.  Thank You

aka marysvilleksegghead
Lrg 2008
mini 2009
XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
Henny Youngman:
I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
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  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
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    It is an architectural drafting compass but I’m sure it’s called by other names in different applications.
    Some, like this one, you can swap tips from metal points to pencil tip.
    You can adjust width to measure distance scales to then pivot this distance on your travel route to approximate distance. You can also use the pencil tip to draw circle areas of distance or arches.

    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,889
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    Just as @HeavyG and Darian have said it is a drafting compass and a well made one at that! Many years ago many of the best ones were crafted in Germany and were so stamped. I have a few compasses of varying quality and even the cheapest ones work well for uses in my wood working shop. If you have grandchildren who might appreciate something from "Great Grand Pa" I'd say give it to them. Value-wise it isn't worth much in today's world.
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    It is definitely a compass. It is also the most universally recognized Masonic symbol the world over and one of the Blue Lodge working tools. 


    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,889
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    SGH said:
    It is definitely a compass. It is also the most universally recognized Masonic symbol the world over and one of the Blue Lodge working tools. 


    Scottie...for a working man you don't seem to have ANY calluses! Just wear gloves 100% my man? Even this old bean counter has calluses! LOL
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • Gulfcoastguy
    Gulfcoastguy Posts: 6,296
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    I would say that he used it in navigation if he was a bomber navigator. You could set a distance on it and trace on a map all of the places that you could reach with the available fuel. A bit hairy if that circle didn’t include the base that you took off from. 
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    RRP said:
    Scottie...for a working man you don't seem to have ANY calluses! 
    Ron I get paid for my mental capabilities. Not my physical abilities. Maybe that is why I am broke 🤣

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,761
    edited July 2020
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    Scribe/ comopass and in mapping aviation for plotting latitude and longitude ...totally guessimg
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • SaltySam
    SaltySam Posts: 887
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    Air Force navigator school graduate here.  We called those dividers.  The descriptions above are all pretty accurate.  Primarily, they were used to aid in distance calculation and to plot circles when dead reckoning.  

    As of 2002-2003, they were still issued to new Nav students, along with E-6B dead reckoning computers, also known as “whiz wheels.” Not sure if that’s still true. 

    When issued, they came with plastic covers for the ends.  On takeoff, they tend to slide off your desk and land in your lap.  Despite being warned, some students learned the hard way. 

    https://timeandnavigation.si.edu/multimedia-asset/dividers-and-compass

    LBGE since June 2012

    Omaha, NE

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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,348
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    SaltySam said:
    Air Force navigator school graduate here.  We called those dividers.  The descriptions above are all pretty accurate.  Primarily, they were used to aid in distance calculation and to plot circles when dead reckoning.  

    As of 2002-2003, they were still issued to new Nav students, along with E-6B dead reckoning computers, also known as “whiz wheels.” Not sure if that’s still true. 

    When issued, they came with plastic covers for the ends.  On takeoff, they tend to slide off your desk and land in your lap.  Despite being warned, some students learned the hard way. 

    https://timeandnavigation.si.edu/multimedia-asset/dividers-and-compass
    I've always known dividers as the type that has no adjusting wheel and threaded rod.
    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,754
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    still use mine and a 100 year old drafting table. nothing worse than computer pics given to a metal fabricator drawn on a computer by an engineer that never learned drafting skills
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,471
    edited July 2020
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    SaltySam said:
    As of 2002-2003, they were still issued to new Nav students, along with E-6B dead reckoning computers, also known as “whiz wheels.” Not sure if that’s still true. 

    "Navigator" isn't even a job in the Air Force anymore; there's an app for that.   ;)  
     
    I still have my drafting tools from college, and after Mom's funeral I got my Dad's old drafting board.  I also still have my rather expensive slide rule, doubt that I could use it anymore.  
    _____________

    Remember when teachers used to say 'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go'?  Well, we showed them.


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  • Gulfcoastguy
    Gulfcoastguy Posts: 6,296
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    @Botch, I am only 6 months younger than you and I never used a slide rule. I did actually use my drafting tools at work for the first few years though. There are things that you can do with graph paper and a flex curve that it took a decade for computers to approximate.
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,471
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    @Gulfcoastguy, I was still using my circular slide rule in high school when calculators finally came down in price, finally had to buy one when I started getting docked for not going out to the fourth decimal place!  
    My freshman year at Iowa State, the bookstore blew out their remaining slide rules, and I bought a precision, German-made rule for less than $10 (was $150, iirc).  When I was running Engineering at the Missile Maintenance Group ten years ago, I brought it into work and showed the younger guys how it worked, a lot of stunned looks; the college intern we had didn't even own a calculator, everything is done in Excel now.  
    _____________

    Remember when teachers used to say 'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go'?  Well, we showed them.


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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,754
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    Botch said:
    @Gulfcoastguy, I was still using my circular slide rule in high school when calculators finally came down in price, finally had to buy one when I started getting docked for not going out to the fourth decimal place!  
    My freshman year at Iowa State, the bookstore blew out their remaining slide rules, and I bought a precision, German-made rule for less than $10 (was $150, iirc).  When I was running Engineering at the Missile Maintenance Group ten years ago, I brought it into work and showed the younger guys how it worked, a lot of stunned looks; the college intern we had didn't even own a calculator, everything is done in Excel now.  

    best purchase, its been on my desk heavily used since 1985. afraid to fold it  or wash it. dont want to relearn a newer model. its still has the original battery. it even does fractions




    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Gulfcoastguy
    Gulfcoastguy Posts: 6,296
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    I had a surveying instructor Rothie Significant Figures Burts who would ding you for giving answers in more decimal points than the information warranted. In college the hot thing was a HP 42 programmable calculator. HP Reverse Polish notation could shave time off of working every problem. The best that I could afford was a HP 10. That sucker was built like a tank. Once at work it fell out of my shirt pocket and into a cement truck. I just had them spin it back out, rinsed it off and used it another five years.
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  • SaltySam
    SaltySam Posts: 887
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    HeavyG said:
    SaltySam said:
    Air Force navigator school graduate here.  We called those dividers.  The descriptions above are all pretty accurate.  Primarily, they were used to aid in distance calculation and to plot circles when dead reckoning.  

    As of 2002-2003, they were still issued to new Nav students, along with E-6B dead reckoning computers, also known as “whiz wheels.” Not sure if that’s still true. 

    When issued, they came with plastic covers for the ends.  On takeoff, they tend to slide off your desk and land in your lap.  Despite being warned, some students learned the hard way. 

    https://timeandnavigation.si.edu/multimedia-asset/dividers-and-compass
    I've always known dividers as the type that has no adjusting wheel and threaded rod.
    You’re right! And I wasn’t paying close enough attention.  I blame my vision (despite being 20/15).  That’s why I went to nav school instead of pilot training! 

    My bad! 

    LBGE since June 2012

    Omaha, NE

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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,889
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    Gulfcoastguy said:
    I had a surveying instructor Rothie Significant Figures Burts who would ding you for giving answers in more decimal points than the information warranted. In college the hot thing was a HP 42 programmable calculator. HP Reverse Polish notation could shave time off of working every problem. The best that I could afford was a HP 10. That sucker was built like a tank. Once at work it fell out of my shirt pocket and into a cement truck. I just had them spin it back out, rinsed it off and used it another five years.
    Back in my early days of banking I used an HP-80. That sucker cost like $800 at the time. I had it for years until a night janitor stole it - after being caught for other thefts he told the police he threw my HP-80 in the trash! :o

    I am such a fan of reverse Polish notation and hate conventional calculators! Now for years I have owned and use daily a HP-12c. Nice - very capable calculator!
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,471
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    HP-34C which I wore out, followed by an HP 48SX with an Engineering Equations card.  
    _____________

    Remember when teachers used to say 'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go'?  Well, we showed them.


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  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,765
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    update:  found a name on the box: VEMCO, made in the USA
    their website was no help, emailed them to find out years of production
    and was it a military issue?
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
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