It's Another ... What Is It?

I don't think it has any transistors or nanodots

Two questions:

1. What does the hand crank actuate?
2. Is the bowl removable, spin able, attached to any part?

Looking at the second last pic, I don't think the bowl spins separately.
I thought it is some sort of shot weighing device for the DIY shotgun owners, but I was shot down on this one.
Other than agreeing that I could not see a transistor (or a valve), I just do not know.

I personally have not touched/sighted the unit .... just sent the pics.

Then going just by the pictures and the information that this is from a post office, my WAG is that this is a postal scale to see if a package is below a critical weight limit. The crank is turned to set the bowl level. If the package weight exceeds a tipping point amount for fourth class postage the bowl literally tips over. Extra postage is then required.

I think the handle drives an internal cam of some sort, seen from the end.

It's a trebuchet for mice.

That's how they get on the counter to get the cheese.

I wonder if it is some sort of gold assaying device.

that was my initial thought too

It looks like it might be used to measure bra cup size.....

Seems more likely to weigh the contents of the bra

It is far better to do a taste comparison instead of a weight comparison.

Bad boy Solar

Early air-mail launcher, possibly incomplete - it's lacking the official APO catcher's mitt.

adjustable scrotum adjuster,

Hahaha, you're almost there to complete the course.

Morse key?

I think we have a winner.

Yup, that's it.

Initially, I thought it was a mechanism for a lazy gold panner.

The next question is...what is it doing in a post office in the Australian outback?

regards,

Vulcan

The district is a wheat grain growing area ... maybe some bright person was offering a testing service as to the suitability or otherwise of a farmer's paddock for deep plowing to plant a crop etc .... before getting back to sorting the mail.

It seems the test was for soil compaction. Suitability for building houses.

When they get too old to make the earth move like they used to they can have more sedentary life as a desk tidy. That would be more in keeping with being in a rural Post Office but how it got there is anyone's guess.

Thanks for that! I burned up 40 minutes looking for the answer.

A little more info for inquiring minds. Found this when I was looking up the history:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atterberg_limits

Its made for testing the cooked state of green peas

it shoots the cooked pea at the wall , if it sticks its cooked just right.

Post Office? That's just to check if you're brave enough to go in the local bar.

I think Johnbots is on the money. Many thanks!
10/10 for CR4 and its many contributors ....
you can all take a jellybean from the jar at the front of the class. It must be Christmas!

It is mini hand grinding machine.

This is an instrument used in Soil Mechanics a branch of Civil Engineering, developed by K.Terzaghi a Russian Engineer living in America in the 1930's and this device is used to measure the Liquid Limit of clay soils as part of the determination of the Plasticity Index leading to determination of optimum moisture content for compaction to Maximum Dry Density and thus a calculation of the load bearing capacity which can be critical in Australian Black Soil country. If further details are required about how to operate this instrument email me at awbushell gmail

Winding the handle fast causes the bowl to shake rapidly, thus removing surplus water from red herrings.

Well, here is a YouTube link to the Casagrande test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbzLpGzjv3g

Apparently the number of rotations determines the plastic nature of the sample.
It's a tough day when you don't learn something.

I thought it was a placemat.

8 months on ...... a newer version of this particular 'What Is It?'