Measurement history

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Some time back 12/24 months I saw an article about a young engineering student, female I think, spotting an instrument in a skip at a university [Sweden or Norway ??] rescued it and it turned out to be Johansson’s measuring tool/instrument for his gauge blocks.  Whilst searching, unsuccessfully, for this I came upon these two links the second one relating to micrometer origin I had never heard of — but then never looked !

https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/carl-edvard-johansson/

https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/jean-laurent-palmer/

Just thought it mat interest others

John

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

Very interesting. Especially the miniature architect’s classroom and the tool chest. Incidentally, I would suggest that as Jean-Laurent Palmer was French that his name is more properly pronounced as ‘pahl-merre’ rather than the anglicised pronunciation ‘parmer’, but I could be wrong.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Thank you ! very interesting. Noel.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Bill Robertson gets a mention in one of the articles; as well as his web site, he also regularly posts a bit about a measuring instrument on his Facebook page on a Friday

https://www.facebook.com/robertsonminiatures

Bill

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Well later I found the original article I was looking for, anyone interested go to Facebook and the Machinist Museum page then search Johansson Instrument — it come up with the post from Anne-Lie Lindstrom who found the instrument

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Having survived my shopping-trip without encountering ‘Bert’ … I am delighted to see there is some interesting reading/watching to do.

Thanks, JohnF

MichaelG.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Palmer’s antecedents could have been English of course and moved to France.

One word for “crankcase” in French is a “carter” pronounced “carterre”.  Apparently a Mr Carter invented a tin casing to go round a bicycle chain to keep long petticoats from getting caught, and of course it kept grit off the chain too so it lasted longer.  It caught on in France and other casings enclosing bits of mechanism started to be called by the same name.

In Paris once I asked a French colleague over dinner why a nearby metro station was called “Le Plessis Robinson” when Robinson was a very English name.  He challenged me saying no, it was very French.  A quick Google revealed that Robinson Crusoe became a smash hit in France and a bar near Le Plessis, then a village near Paris, was called the “Bar Robinson” to cash in.  When a metro station was built nearby it was then called “Le Plessis Robinson” – so an English word all along.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Fig.7 in this Mitutoyo document shows the device:

https://www.itm.com/files/mitutoyo-literature/mitutoyo-history-of-the-gauge-block.pdf

MichaelG.

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

Again I don’t know but I may check it out the next time I am in Paris but I doubt that Robinson is pronounced as we would say it. The letter ‘R’ is sounded as ‘air’ in French, ‘in’ is sounded as ‘an’ and ‘on’ is sounded as if you have taken the ‘g’ off ‘ong’. The final ‘s’ is never sounded so I think we should probably say something like ‘Leh Plessey Airbanson’. I think that’s about the measure of it!

(Sorry, but I have nothing better to do at this time on a Sunday morning although the workshop beckons!)

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Letter r pronounced as “air” when spelling out a word but not in speech.  The French are famous for their rolled r’s.  So pronounced as in English but “rhobanson(g)”.

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

I love French lessons,  LOL!

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Michael, thanks for the Mitutoyo link, an interesting read.  It’s amazing that such an important historical artefact was almost destroyed !

Whether its an only one or more were produced I don’t know but if its the only one ever made even more so.

John

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