What’s this for?

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

Hopefully 3 images should appear with this post. Its something that I can remember seeing in my fathers toolbox 35+ years ago, its now in my workshop. It's a top hat shaped bit of metal with a rubber sucker in the middle.

I've googled "Dagplate" and "Buck and Hickman" and when I've been able looked at their catalogues and found nothing. I've even asked B&H reps if they know what it is.

So, its over to you to satisfy my curiosity.

John

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I think it's for holding a glass blank during some sort of optical process like polishing. DAG might stand for 'Diamond Abrasive Grinding'

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Except you wouldn't use diamond to polish glass.

[MikeParticipant @mike89748]

….and it's clearly meant to be used as in the last picture, otherwise the Buck & Hickman plate would be upside-down.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 14/10/2017 18:58:05:

Except you wouldn't use diamond to polish glass.

Or would you…

[WatfordParticipant @watford]

Does the rubber insert remove, and does it reveal anything interesting – like a thread?

What, approximately is the major diameter?

Mike

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Dag is used in some circles as short for Daguerreotype the early photographic technique. It is quite possible it was a device (or part of) to hold photographic plates for polishing. As pointed out by Mike it must have been used that way up. I suggest if the rubber is slightly proud of the surface it would grip a plate placed on it while the top surface of said plate was being polished.

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

Sorry, should of given some indication of size. The two diameters are 100mm and 75mm, height is 30mm.

The small rubber sucker gives very little holding force. When "sucked" down on to my glass surface plate the device moves around quite easily but stays in contact with the plate.

Removing the rubber sucker reveals nothing more than a cavity to accommodate it.

John

[Roger Provins 2Participant @rogerprovins2]

There's no mention of it in the 1958 B&H catalogue.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

Looks like something off a metallurgical sample lapping machine,you dont say the size of it??

[WatfordParticipant @watford]

A Google on "patent dagplate" produced a possible answer.

A Daguerreotype or Dag plate was a silver coated copper plate used in early photography to capture the image. The plate needed to be very flat and smooth..

The Dag Plate holder was used (in several forms, some of wood) to hold the plate whilst it was buffed and polished.

I suspect that John's Dagplate, marketed by Buck and Hickman, was such an example and is probably a very rare beast.

 

 

Mike

Edited By Watford on 15/10/2017 10:59:55

[WatfordParticipant @watford]

The daguerreotype was the first successful commercial photographic process, and was well within the timescale for Buck and Hickman to be producing such kit.

 

Daguerrotypes were current from 1839 to around 1860. B&H started around 1830.>>

 

Mike>>

Edited By Watford on 15/10/2017 11:17:06

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

It says patent applied for, is it possible to search for that sort of thing on line?

Ian S C

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

It says patent applied for, is it possible to search for that sort of thing on line?

Ian S C

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

I just dont think this thing is any older than the 1960s ,1950`s possibly , so daguerreotype is doubtful.

Also they didnt open any branches until 1901.

Edited By mark smith 20 on 15/10/2017 11:49:10

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

Many thanks for the replies. I think the daguerreotype connection unlikely, the process was more or less forgotten about by the mid 19th century.

The "hammerite" paint finish would probably date it to the early 1960's.

John

[BizibilderParticipant @bizibilder]

Could it be the top of some kind of test tube shaker? It does look a bit too "heavy" for that but who knows? The idea of the shaker is that you put the base of the test tube in the "sucker" and an eccentric causes the whole metal lump to vibrate thus stirring the contents of the tube.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

the patent i can find is for some sort of pressure instrument but cant see the full patent.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by John MC on 15/10/2017 12:14:17:

Many thanks for the replies. I think the daguerreotype connection unlikely, the process was more or less forgotten about by the mid 19th century.

The "hammerite" paint finish would probably date it to the early 1960's.

John

I thought the same

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Buck and Hickman very clever ladies. Also known as Bing & Grondahl in the US. Produced to save space in the shop the customer simply soaks the item in water overnight to get one of these:

**LINK**

Honest !!!!!

Rik

[egaParticipant @ega]

Posted by Roger Provins 2 on 15/10/2017 09:24:00:

There's no mention of it in the 1958 B&H catalogue.

Nor (according to the index) in the 1964 catalogue.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

May not be be popping up in catalogues because the item was usually included with a machine; it's not a hand tool.

As I said earlier, I think it supports something like an optical blank. In use, (I guess), the blank is placed on the plate and loosely held by the suction pad. Then the plate plus blank is inserted in something like a lens grinding machine and the door closed on it. After a few hour of carefully guided mechanical grinding the plate plus new lens is removed from the machine. Possibly the lens is turned over on the plate to grind the other side, or put through a sequence of machines whilst still on the same carrier. No sticky fingers allowed on the glass.

Did Buck & Hickman ever sell optical grinders, precision grinding or lapping equipment?. If so, the plates may have come with one of them, and wasn't sold as separate item.

Dave

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 15/10/2017 15:03:57:

In use, (I guess), the blank is placed on the plate and loosely held by the suction pad. Then the plate plus blank is inserted in something like a lens grinding machine and the door closed on it. .

Dave

But surely the plate would need to be securely and accurately located, and all its potential 'locating' faces are hammerited.

Neil

[SandgrounderParticipant @sandgrounder]

Posted by ega on 15/10/2017 14:20:57:

Posted by Roger Provins 2 on 15/10/2017 09:24:00:

There's no mention of it in the 1958 B&H catalogue.

Nor (according to the index) in the 1964 catalogue.

Or the 1971-72

John

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