These weights would have been used with a Beam Balance. Forceps were to be used when moving weights from the box.Set of 17 weights in a hinged timber box.On Lid "Box No. 8. Check the weights before & after using them. Always use the forceps to handle the weights."weights, scientific instruments, grams, milligrams, beam balance weights

The basic balance scale has been around for thousands of years and its accuracy has improved dramatically over the last several centuries, the principle behind this tool remains unchanged. Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, a pan at the end of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and a flat platform at the other for the counter-balancing weights. Balance scales that require equal weights on each side of the fulcrum have been used by everyone from apothecaries and assayers to jewellers and postal workers. Known as an unequal arm balance scale, this variety builds the counterweight into the device. Counter scales used in dry-goods stores and domestic kitchens often featured Japanned or (blackened) cast iron with bronze trims. Made by companies such as Howe and Fairbanks, the footed tin pans of these scales were often oblong, some encircled at one end so bulk items could be easily poured into a bag. Seamless pans were typically stamped from brass and given style names like Snuff (the smallest) and Birmingham (the largest). Some counter scales were designed for measuring spices, others for weighing slices of cake. In the 18th century, spring scales began to appear and would use the resistance of spring to calculate weights, which are read automatically on the scale’s face. The ease of use of spring scales over balance scales. One of the most common types of spring scales was the kitchen scale also known as a family or dial scale. Designed for horizontal surfaces, these vintage kitchen scales used the weight of goods in a pan at the top of the scale to force the spring down rather than the balance system. Such scales were common in early 20th century households and were sold by many companies. Many had flat weighing surfaces but some were topped by shallow pans. Companies such as Salters, Chatillon, and Fairbanks were the most popular brands used. These scales are significant as they identify one of the basic preparation items for the weighing of foodstuff in the family kitchen to prepare everyday meals. This item is significant as it gives a snapshot into domestic life within the average home in Australia around the turn of the twentieth century and is, therefore, an item with social relevance. Black cast iron, medium weighing scales, with a fulcrum which the beam that balances on, there is as scoop at one end for the material to be weighted and a flat circular disc at the other end that holds the weights. Around the cast iron base is an embossed leaf pattern. All the weights have their weight embossed within the casting.There are 5 weights, marked 2 oz, 4 oz,8 oz,1 lb,2 lb, This scale does not have any visual markings on the arms to identify a maker or true balance. It is therefore assumed that these scales were made for domestic use only.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, spring scale, scale

These scales would have been used for weighing small items (e.g. letters and packages) in a home or business. These scales have no known local provenance but are retained for display purposes.1 The beam balance scales have a brown wooden rectangular base with four metal screws and indents for weights. The scale mechanism has a round metal dish for weights and a rectangular metal dish to hold the object to be weighed. .2 A circular metal weight 8 oz. .3 A circular metal weight 4 oz. .4 A circular metal weight 2 oz. .5 A circular metal weight 1 oz. .6 A circular metal weight ½ oz. .7 A circular metal weight with a smaller top for ease of holding ½ oz. .8 A circular metal weight 4 drams .2 8 oz. .3 4 oz .4 2 oz. .5 1 oz. .6 ½ oz. .7 ½ oz. .8 4 drams weights and measures, history of warrnambool

John Warren Glover was a significant operator of cyanide re-processing works in the goldfields from around 1900. He lived at 123 Webster Street for many years, and operated quite a substantial three roomed private laboratory on the grounds for assays associated with his operations. This balance was used at that laboratory. The Webster Street property is believed to be the first brick fronted house in Ballarat and the bricks were ballast from a Scottish Ship. The property remained in the Glover Family until it was sold in 1955. John Warren had car or licence registration no 12. A German made beam balance that would have been an extremely sensitive, and top of the line for its time (probably 1910 – 20’s). It has a long beam and a complex system of jewel knife edges and bearings. Plaque on front with C. Staudinger & Co. Machf, Gisssen (Gibben)mining, goldfields, beam balance, german, c. standinger & co., jw glover, john glover, warren glover, john warren glover, john w. glover, weights and measures, c. staudinger and co, carl staudinger, scientific equiment

Thaddeus Fairbanks (1796 –1886) was an American inventor. of heating and cook stoves, cast iron ploughs, and other items. His greatest success was the invention and manufacture of the platform scale, which allowed the weighing of large objects accurately. Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1796, the son of Joseph Fairbanks (1763–1846) and Phebe (Paddock) Fairbanks (1760–1853). His uncle was Ephraim Paddock, the brother of Phebe Paddock. In 1815 he moved to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and set up a wheelwright's shop above his father's gristmill. In 1820 he married Lucy Peck Barker and In 1824 he built an iron foundry. his brother Erastus joined him to establish E. and T. Fairbanks, a partnership to manufacture heating stoves, cast iron ploughs a design for which he patented in 1826. In 1830 Fairbanks and Erastus became interested in the raising and processing of hemp. Fairbanks went on to patent a hemp and flax dressing machine and became the manager of the St. Johnsbury Hemp Company. He also built a set of scales that would measure large loads of hemp accurately, as there were no reliable scales at the time. Upon the success of building these scales, his brothers recommended that he make and sell these for general use.  Fairbanks' most famous invention then became the platform scale for weighing heavy objects. These are commonly known as the Fairbanks Scales, for which he patented his original design in 1830.  Before this time, accurate weighing of objects required hanging them from a balancing beam as a result, particularly heavy or ungainly objects could not be weighed accurately. A platform scale, if large enough, could weigh an entire wagon. By placing a full wagon on the scale, unloading it, and then placing it on the scale when empty, it became possible to easily and accurately calculate the weight and value of farm produce and other loads. In 1834 Fairbanks and his brother formed "E. and T. Fairbanks and Company" to manufacture and sell these platform scales. These scales were well known in the United States and around the world resulting in the company doubling in volume every three years from 1842 to 1857. There was a temporary slow down during the American Civil War, however, the business took off again after the war. Their partnership was incorporated in 1874 into a firm known as "Fairbanks Scale Company". These platform scales revolutionized weighing methods of large loads and have been in use ever since. Portable platform scales are found in almost every hardware store, physician's office, and manufacturing factory throughout the United States and the world. The first railway track platform scale patent was granted to Fairbanks on January 13, 1857, as Patent No. 16,381. In 1916 the company was purchased by ”Fairbanks, Morse and Company”. Ownership of the company has since changed several times, but Fairbanks Scales continue to be made in St. Johnsbury Vermont to this day. Fairbanks had received 43 patents in his lifetime with the last one at the age of 91. He died on April 12, 1886, and is buried at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery. An early example of the first type of platform scale that revolutionised the weighing of goods throughout the world made in the USA around the turn of the 19th century. Commercially built platform scale on wheels. Cast iron base supports iron weighing platform with wooden floor. At back, square hollow wooden post supports a hooded rod which bears the weight of the platform and which hooks onto a brass balancing arm, marked in pounds up to 50. There is a cylindrical sliding weight and on the end a loop for a metal weight holder. The holder is designed for three circular pieces of metal with a slit to the centre. The weights used are 50, 100 and 200 lbs.Embossed to base Fairbanks Patent No 11 1/2, flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, platform scales

A pair of scales or dishes in which objects to be weighed and the weights / masses against which to weigh them are placed is an "Apparatus for weighing. The pan, or each of the pans, of a balance." These common kitchen / dairy scales would be used by the householder to weigh flour, sugar, cereal, vegetables, fruit, meats, butter, cheese etc. prior to cooking or storing . Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, two pans at the ends of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and counter-balancing weights.Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, two pans at the ends of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and counter-balancing weights.. A set of steel weighing scales with a balance beam that holds 2 brass dishes in which are 7 brass weights. The object/ substance to be weighed is placed in 1 dish and the weights are added to the other dish until the two dishes balance equally on the beam. The base is engraved with '4 lbs' thus indicating that this set will balance up to that weight.scales 4 lbs ( 4 Pounds ) each weight is marked with its weight in Imperial Measure 1 0z = 1 ounce to 4lbmarket gardeners, early settlers, fruit vegetables, farmers, cooking, recipes, scales, weights, measures, brass, balance beam, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh, kitchen scales, dairy products, cereals, wheat flour

A pair of scales or dishes in which objects to be weighed and the weights / masses against which to weigh them are placed is an "Apparatus for weighing. The pan, or each of the pans, of a balance." These common kitchen / dairy scales would be used by the householder to weigh flour, sugar, cereal, vegetables, fruit, meats, butter, cheese etc. prior to cooking or storing . c1900 A set of steel weighing scales with a balance beam that holds 1 large metal dish for the item to be weighed and a smaller tray holding the weights. The object/ substance to be weighed is placed in 1 dish and the weights are added to the other dish until the two dishes balance equally on the beam. The base , balance beam and tray are decorated with a floral pattern Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, two pans at the ends of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and counter-balancing weights.Each weight is engraved with Imperial Measure = 2lb, 1lb, 6ozmarket gardeners, early settlers, fruit vegetables, farmers, cooking, recipes, scales, weights, measures, brass, balance beam, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh, kitchen scales, dairy products, cereals, wheat flour, .

This 'Dayton Scale' was used in a grocery shop in Moorabbin Shire in 20thC to measure grain, sugar, fruit, vegetables, lollies, etc as required by the shopkeeper for the purchase by customers. The Dayton Scale Company, originally known as the Computing Scale Company, built and marketed the first computing scale in 1891. It was part of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company formed in 1911, and became an IBM division in 1933. The Dayton Scale Division was eventually sold to the Hobart Manufacturing Company when IBM decided to stop marketing scales to retail stores. The Computing Scale Company of Dayton was operated from 1891-1914 by two businessmen from Dayton, Ohio who purchased patents on the recently invented computing scale. It was merged with other companies to become the forerunner company for IBM. On July 20 1897 Mr CC Hobart & Herbert L. Johnson formed the Hobart Electrical Manufacturing Company in Troy, Ohio USA. 1915 Hobart continues its growth into the World market, opening a sales office in Australia. Dayton grocery scales, capacity 2 pounds, Imperial Measure. It is made from white painted steel with a large metal scoop that sits on 2 steel rods attached to a balance beam connected to a recording mechanism that displays the ‘weight’ in a glass framed gauge. In window of glass framed gauge ; DAYTON SCALE CO. / OHIO USA ; Computed from 0 – 2LB in 1oz sections weights, measures, shops, scales. balances, grocery stores, early settlers, moorabbin, bentleigh, cheltenham, dayton scales company, ibm pty ltd., hobarrt electrical manufacturing company, hobart c.c., johnson herbert l, computing scale company ohio

A pair of scales or dishes in which objects to be weighed and the weights / masses against which to weigh them are placed is an "Apparatus for weighing. The pan, or each of the pans, of a balance." Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, two pans at the ends of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and counter-balancing weights. Gottingen made fine precision scientific scales for use by assayers, jewellers, chemists, gold buyers rtc. A 2 pan analytical, scientific or pharmaceutical beam balance scale made in Gottingen Germany c 1880. These scales are encased in a mahogany framed glass cabinet and Graded 0 -9 9-0D.R.PATENT / GOTTINGER PRAZISIONSWAGENFABRIK G.m.b.H. / GOTTINGEN On upright V over GPW scales, balance, precision measures, gold, pharmacy, precious metals, jewellery, gottingen germany, sartorious f, moorabin, bentleigh, cheltenham, early settlers, gold miners, pioneers, market gardeners, ballarat, bendigo, imperial measure, troy weight

Fairway Company Melbourne manufactured this pair of domestic scales with a dish / pan in which objects to be weighed and the weights / masses against which to weigh them are placed. These common kitchen / dairy scales would be used by the householder to weigh flour, sugar, cereal, vegetables, fruit, meats, butter, cheese etc. prior to cooking or storing . Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, two pans at the ends of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and counter-balancing weights. A set of domestic scales made by ‘Fairway’ Melbourne c1930. Painted cream steel with 1 metal bowl / pan and Imperial measure weights 2LB, 1LB, 4OZ, 2OZ, 1OZScales ; MADE BY / DOMESTIC SCALES / FAIRWAY / MELBOURNE AUST. Weights ; 2LB, 1LB, 4OZ, 2OZ, 1OZ market gardeners, early settlers, fruit vegetables, farmers, cooking, recipes, scales, weights, measures, brass, balance beam, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh, kitchen scales, dairy products, cereals, wheat flour

In the 18th century, spring scales appeared. To produce these scales, a manufacturer would use the resistance of a spring to calculate weights, which could be read automatically on the scale’s face. The ease of use of spring scales over balance scales is what led most post offices to outfit their clerks with spring postal scales. One of the most common types of spring scales was the kitchen scale—also known as a family or dial scale. Designed for horizontal surfaces, these scales used the weight of goods in a pan at the top of the scale to force the spring down. Such scales were common in early-20th-century households and were sold by Sears and Montgomery Ward. Many had flat weighing surfaces but some were topped by shallow pans. Companies such as Salters, Chatillon, and Fairbanks made both. SALTER HOUSEWARES began in the late 1760 in the village of Bilston, England. At this time Richard Salter, a spring maker, began making 'pocket steelyards', a scale similar to the fisherman's scale of today. By 1825 his nephew George had taken over the company, which became known as George Salter & Co. and later established a large, well equipped manufacturing site in the town of West Bromwich. The business thrived throughout the 1900s, and in 1972 the company was purchased by Staveley Industries Plc. In 2002, the management team at Salter Housewares Ltd, backed by Barclays Private Equity, bought the company out from the group, to concentrate on its consumer businesses. In 2004 was sold to the US-based HoMedics company, and in 2006, Salter Housewares USA and Taylor Precision Products Inc (also owned by HoMedics) merged. Salter Brand No. 44 Household Spring Balance Kitchen Scales made of green painted metal with a large clock face dial marked in 1oz graduations and with a shallow metal bowl placed on the flat top connected to the mechanism. An adjustable screw tightened or loosened the spring to bring the pointer to zero, prior to adding the material to be weighed.. A common piece of kitchen equipment as most families used this type of scale when measuring goods for cooking or storing.On Clock face ; NO. 44 / HOUSEHOLD SCALE / TO WEIGH 14LB X 1OZ / Pro. Pat. No. 30819 / 32 / MADE IN ENGLAND / SALTER / S in trademark rope with arrow market gardeners, early settlers, fruit, vegetables, farmers, cooking, recipes, scales, weights, measures, brass, balance beam, moorabbin, cheltenham, bentleigh, kitchen scales, dairy products, cereals, wheat flour, salter housewares pty ltd, west bromwich england

This set of scales would have been used to check the acuracy of Weights and Measures.Where it was used is unknown, but it may have always been part of the Shire.The maker was J.D.Potter,Poultry,London Middlesex,U.K. One of several sets of scales of various sizes in collection of Learmonth And District Historical Society Inc.To measure precise weights,the instruments used were a set of precise balanced scales. Set on a wooden box,( which would have contained the weights).It is made of brass and has a brass beam balance,steel pointer with index and twin pans. Date 25/1/1865.Various hallmarks similar to "jewellers".tools, and, scales, weights, measures, potter london, measuring devices

These scales were possibly used by the former Shire of Ballarat to weigh letters and other small items.A means by which articles of the day were weighed.Medium size set of scales,Brass weighing pans on a beam balance with pointer.The base is wood with inserts to hold weights.niltools.scales.measuring device. weights and measures

A Large Rare mid 19th Century Balance Scale (also called a Beam Scale) Made in England by W&T Avery a British manufacturer of weighing machines. The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818. The undocumented origin of the company goes back to 1730 when James Ford established the business in the town of Digbeth. On Joseph Balden the then company’s owner’s death in 1813 William and Thomas Avery took over his scale making business and in 1818 renamed it W & T Avery. The business rapidly expanded and in 1885 they owned three factories: the Atlas Works in West Bromwich, the Mill Lane Works in Birmingham and the Moat Lane Works in Digbeth. In 1891 the business became a limited company with a board of directors and in 1894 the shares were quoted on the London Stock Exchange. In 1895 the company bought the legendary Soho Foundry in Smethwick, a former steam engine factory owned by James Watt & Co. In 1897 the move was complete and the steam engine business was gradually converted to pure manufacture of weighing machines. The turn of the century was marked by managing director William Hipkins who was determined to broadening the renown of the Avery brand and transforming the business into a specialist manufacture of weighing machines. By 1914 the company occupied an area of 32,000m² and had some 3000 employees. In the inter-war period the growth continued with the addition of specialized shops for cast parts, enamel paints and weighbridge assembly and the product range diversified into counting machines, testing machines, automatic packing machines and petrol pumps. During the second world war the company also produced various types of heavy guns. At that time the site underwent severe damage from parachute mines and incendiary bombs.Then from 1931 to 1973 the company occupied the 18th-century Middlesex Sessions House in Clerkenwell as its headquarters. Changes in weighing machine technology after World War II led to the closure of the foundry, the introduction of electronic weighing with the simultaneous gradual disappearance of purely mechanical devices. The continued expansion was partly achieved through a series of acquisitions of other companies. After almost a century of national and international expansion the company was taken over by GEC in 1979. Keith Hodgkinson, managing director at the time, completed the turn-around from mechanical to electronic weighing with a complete overhaul of the product range of retail scales and industrial platform scales. In 1993 GEC took over the Dutch-based company Berkel and the Avery-Berkel name was introduced. In 2000 the business was in turn acquired by the US-American company Weigh-Tronix, who already owned Salter, and is today operating as Avery Weigh-Tronix. Item made and used possibly around the 1850s by Victorian colonial government to check weights of goods being sold by early shop keepers on the gold fields item is very rare.James McEwan & Co were the retailers of W & T Avery scales in Victoria from 1852. A very rare item used probably to check weights used by merchants during colonial times by government inspectors in Victoria. A similar example exist in a NSW museum, the item is believed to have been made before W & T Avery expansion to the Soho foundry in Birmingham in 1885 and after 1818.Beam balance scale suspended from a wooden tripod, with metal trays suspended by three chain lengths. embossed on the balance beam W T Avery, Birmingham,flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, scale, avery

The disc-shaped design of these 1LB and 2 LB metal weights enables them to be stacked one on top of the other. The weights are used with a balance scale to accurately weigh the mass of items such as grain, sugar, meat or potatoes. They could have been used in retail or wholesale businesses like a general store or a grain merchant’s premises. The user would place either one or both of these weights on one side of a balance scale. Goods would then be placed onto the other side of the scale until the beam between both sides of the scale was level, showing that the weight of the goods was as heavy as the weight or weights on the other side. These two weights are marked in Imperial units. An Imperial Standard 1LB is equal to 453.592grams. The British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 defined official standards for weights and measurements. This ensured that uniform measurements would be used for trade throughout the Empire. Towns and districts would have an official set of Imperial Standard Weights and Measures. Inspectors periodically used this official set to check the accuracy of traders’ own weights and measures. There would be penalties such as fines or imprisonment for people who broke these laws. The State of Victoria had its own Weight and Measures Act in 1862 and a decade later the inspectors in local councils used their local set of weights and measures to test the local businesses measuring equipment. In the nineteenth century the Victorian Customs Department carried out this role but this was handed over to the Melbourne Observatory at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Measures Branch then followed on with this task from the 1940s until 1995. Australia began converting to the metric system in the 1960s, beginning with its money. The conversion from imperial to metric units of measurement in Australia took place from 1970 and was completed in 1988 when metric units became the only legal unit of measurement. Imperial Standard weights; set of two disc-shaped weights designed to stack one upon the other. Inscriptions are marked in relief. "IMPERIAL STANDARD 1LB" [weight 1], "IMPERIAL STANDARD 2LB" [weight 2]warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, wieght, weights and measures, imperial standard weight

The disc-shaped design of this 2 LB metal weight enables it to be stacked on top of another similarly shaped weight. The weight is used with a balance scale to accurately weigh the mass of items such as grain, sugar, meat or potatoes. It could have been used in retail or wholesale businesses like a general store or a grain merchant’s premises. The user would place the weight on one side of a balance scale. Goods would then be placed onto the other side of the scale until the beam between both sides of the scale was level, showing that the weight of the goods was as heavy as the weight on the other side. This weight is marked in Imperial units. An Imperial Standard 1LB, or one pound, is equal to 453.592grams. The British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 defined official standards for weights and measurements. This ensured that uniform measurements would be used for trade throughout the Empire. Towns and districts would have an official set of Imperial Standard Weights and Measures. Inspectors periodically used this official set to check the accuracy of traders’ own weights and measures. There would be penalties such as fines or imprisonment for people who broke these laws. The State of Victoria had its own Weight and Measures Act in 1862 and a decade later the inspectors in local councils used their local set of weights and measures to test the local businesses measuring equipment. In the nineteenth century the Victorian Customs Department carried out this role but this was handed over to the Melbourne Observatory at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Measures Branch then followed on with this task from the 1940s until 1995. Australia began converting to the metric system in the 1960s, beginning with its money. The conversion from imperial to metric units of measurement in Australia took place from 1970 and was completed in 1988 when metric units became the only legal unit of measurement.Weight; 2 lbs. Metal disc designed for stacking. Inscription marked in relief. Imperial Standard weight, 2 pounds weight."IMPERIAL STANDARD", "2lbs"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, standard measure, imperial standard, weight, 2lb weight, imperial standard weight

The Crane foundry opened some time before 1827 and was known as Atherton’s Foundry, run by James Atherton and Henry Crane. Initially it was a brass foundry, but by 1827 iron castings were also produced on the site. The main products were castings for the building industry, ironmongery and brassware. In the 1830s castings for the hand tool and lock industries were added to the product range and by 1836 Henry Crane had taken control of the business. The company became known as the Crane Foundry in 1847 with its own registered trademark. By the 1850s iron weights were produced, and a design was registered in 1872 with roundels decorating the edge. Brass weights were also produced, mainly after the regulation of 1890 that required weights of 2oz. or less to be made of brass. In the early 1900s the foundry began to produce castings for electric motors and continued to do so throughout its life. The Crane family continued to control the company until 1917 when William Cyril Parkes of lock makers Josiah Parkes & Sons Limited, Willenhall became a majority shareholder. Things were going well until the company’s liabilities spiraled out of control with the rise in electricity and gas prices along with the loss of two of the company’s largest customers. The factory went into liquidation and then closed in 2006 an end to one of Wolverhampton’s oldest companies.An item made by one of England's foundry’s based in Wolverhampton that exported items all over the world for many years. The scale gives a snapshot into the commercial life not only of England by Australian colonial life before Federation.Beam scale with three weights (4lb, 2lb, 1lb), metal tray, corrodedMarked on 2lb weight "Wolverhampton Crane Foundry" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, scale, beam scale, pounds and ounces, imperial weight, grocers scale, domestic scale, henry crane, crane foundry

Scale for babies with cane basket and sliding metal weights for lbs and ozs on two separate scale. Scale is worked on a beam balance principle.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, scale for babies

The basic balance scale has been around for thousands of years and its accuracy has improved dramatically over the last several centuries, the principle behind this tool remains unchanged. Its parts include a fulcrum, a beam that balances on it, a pan at the end of the beam to hold the materials to be weighed, and a flat platform at the other for the counter-balancing weights. Balance scales that require equal weights on each side of the fulcrum have been used by everyone from apothecaries and assayers to jewellers and postal workers. Known as an unequal arm balance scale, this variety builds the counterweight into the device. Counter scales used in dry-goods stores and domestic kitchens often featured Japanned or (blackened) cast iron with bronze trims. Made by companies such as Howe and Fairbanks, the footed tin pans of these scales were often oblong, some encircled at one end so bulk items could be easily poured into a bag. Seamless pans were typically stamped from brass and given style names like Snuff (the smallest) and Birmingham (the largest). Some counter scales were designed for measuring spices, others for weighing slices of cake. In the 18th century, spring scales began to appear and would use the resistance of spring to calculate weights, which are read automatically on the scale’s face. The ease of use of spring scales over balance scales. These scales are significant as they identify one of the basic preparation items for the weighing of foodstuff in the family kitchen to prepare everyday meals. This item is significant as it gives a snapshot into domestic life within the average home in Australia around the turn of the twentieth century and is, therefore, an item with social relevance. Black cast iron, medium weighing scales, with a fulcrum which the beam that balances on, there is a scoop or large bowl at one end for the material to be weighted and a flat platform at the other end that holds the weights. Around the cast iron base is an embossed strip weight and bowl missing.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

Fredk Quiney & Sons established their company in 1890, council records show that Quiney began working at 4 Ranelagh Place in Leytonstone and from 1908 to 1926 he was at 268 High Road, Leytonstone. The name occurs on brass weights and balance scales dating from the early twentieth 20th century.A balance scale vintage giving a snapshot into mercantile life during the late 19th and early 20th centuriesBeam scale with stand, platform for weights and holding device for metal dish.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

Thaddeus Fairbanks (1796 –1886) was an American inventor. of heating and cook stoves, cast iron ploughs, and other items. His greatest success was the invention and manufacture of the platform scale, which allowed the weighing of large objects accurately. Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1796, the son of Joseph Fairbanks (1763–1846) and Phebe (Paddock) Fairbanks (1760–1853). His uncle was Ephraim Paddock, the brother of Phebe Paddock. In 1815 he moved to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and set up a wheelwright's shop above his father's gristmill. In 1820 he married Lucy Peck Barker and In 1824 he built an iron foundry. his brother Erastus joined him to establish E. and T. Fairbanks, a partnership to manufacture heating stoves, cast iron ploughs a design for which he patented in 1826. In 1830 Fairbanks and Erastus became interested in the raising and processing of hemp. Fairbanks went on to patent a hemp and flax dressing machine and became the manager of the St. Johnsbury Hemp Company. He also built a set of scales that would measure large loads of hemp accurately, as there were no reliable scales at the time. Upon the success of building these scales, his brothers recommended that he make and sell these for general use.  Fairbanks' most famous invention then became the platform scale for weighing heavy objects. These are commonly known as the Fairbanks Scales, for which he patented his original design in 1830.  Before this time, accurate weighing of objects required hanging them from a balancing beam as a result, particularly heavy or ungainly objects could not be weighed accurately. A platform scale, if large enough, could weigh an entire wagon. By placing a full wagon on the scale, unloading it, and then placing it on the scale when empty, it became possible to easily and accurately calculate the weight and value of farm produce and other loads. In 1834 Fairbanks and his brother formed "E. and T. Fairbanks and Company" to manufacture and sell these platform scales. These scales were well known in the United States and around the world resulting in the company doubling in volume every three years from 1842 to 1857. There was a temporary slow down during the American Civil War, however, the business took off again after the war. Their partnership was incorporated in 1874 into a firm known as "Fairbanks Scale Company". These platform scales revolutionized weighing methods of large loads and have been in use ever since. Portable platform scales are found in almost every hardware store, physician's office, and manufacturing factory throughout the United States and the world. The first railway track platform scale patent was granted to Fairbanks on January 13, 1857, as Patent No. 16,381. In 1916 the company was purchased by ”Fairbanks, Morse and Company”. Ownership of the company has since changed several times, but Fairbanks Scales continue to be made in St. Johnsbury Vermont to this day. Fairbanks had received 43 patents in his lifetime with the last one at the age of 91. He died on April 12, 1886, and is buried at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery. An early example circa 1900 of the first type of platform scales used in a grocery store. This design for accurately measuring goods that were sold over the counter revolutionised the weighing of goods throughout the world. Platform scale metal black with removable tray & pan. Has horizontal brass arm with a brass slide weight black removable weight hook and 2 x 2 lb. weights. Fairbanksflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

Steelyard Scales, also called Beam Scales. A balanced type scale used for general purpose weighing. Imprinted "300, Pilkinton warranted". 1 little weight with balance.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, steelyard scales, beam scales

This balance was used at the Ballarat School of Mines. A two-pan beam balance, mounted on a wood base board. Housed in a timber-framed glass-sided cabinet. Aluminium pans. No balance weights. 25.5 beam length.33439 on back of beam support. Small plate on top of door: Townen and Mercer, Sydenybalance, scientific instrument, oertling

Set of weights to be used with a beam balance9 weights from 1 to 50 gram plus 8 fractional pieces 0.5 down. Tweezers with bone tips. Box lined with purple velvetweights, gram, tweezers, beam balance

Oak box containing a complete set of weights and tweezers for the Beam Balance (refer 11811.36) removable oak container for weights & tweezers Box contains: 19 weights 10 minor metal weights 1 steel weight 8 brass weights (slight corrosion)nil

Wooden box with numerous weights.beam balances, weights

This type of balance scales allows precise measurements to be achieved by ensuring that the balance's fulcrum is essentially friction-free by attaching a pointer to the beam which amplifies any deviation from a balance position; and finally by using the lever principle, which allows fractional masses to be applied by movement of a small mass along the measuring arm of the beam. The standardization of the weights used – and ensuring traders used the correct weights – was a considerable preoccupation of governments throughout this time and inspections were held regularly. When the Weights and Measures Act was passed in Victoria in 1862 local inspectors were established throughout the colony to ensure accuracy particularly in the weighing of gold. By the 1870's each local council had a set of standards that were used to test the scales, weights and measures of local merchants and businesses.Set of small scales possibly from a travelling boxed set due to their small size, similar to those used in an apothecary and weighing gold. Scales have two round brass pans with a cross bar and chains and pointer central on the lever arm. At top of lever arm above pointer is a small leather tag from which to hold up the scales. city of greater bendigo commerce, making a nation exhibition, city of greater bendigo mining

An original Kerr-Grant Microbalance, modified by E.J.Hartung This balance was invented in the chemistry department by Bertram Dillon Steele, later first Professor of Chemistry at the University of Queensland 1910-1930, in collaboration with Professor Kerr Grant, Physics. The design was widely used by other chemists, including Masson's mentor, Professor Ramsay, working in London on newly discovered rare gases (especially Radon), and Professor Hartung in Melbourne, investigating the chemistry of the decomposition of silver salts in photographic processes. The principle of the microbalance was to measure the change in density of a gas by the shift in the balancing beam due to a change in pressure of the gas in the balance case. The quartz balancing beam was made by Bertram Steele who was particularly skilled in glassblowing. A quartz beam is the beam of the Aston microbalance based on the Steele/Grant instrument, and described by F.W. Aston, the inventor of the mass spectrometer. The bulb at one end of the beam contained a fixed amount of air, so that a change in the pressure of gas in the balance case changed the buoyancy of the beam, yielding a displacement in the beam which could be measured. By this means, differences in weight of about 10 nanogram could be measured, in amounts of up to 0.1 gram. Such differences are significant the increase in weight of a metal sample due to surface oxidation (Steele's interest) in the weight loss due to radioactive decay of Radium (Ramsay's work), and in the estimates of density change due to the isotopic distribution of Neon (Aston). Ernst Johannes Hartung was a chemist and astronomer. Educated at the University of Melbourne (BSc 1913, DSc 1919), he became lecturer in 1919, associate professor in 1924, and succeeded Rivett as chair of chemistry in 1928, remaining in this position until 1953. Hartung?s lecturing style surged with enthusiasm and he employed the use of screen projections to demonstrate chemical phenomena to large undergraduate classes. In 1935 he recorded Brownian movement in colloidal solutions on 35 mm cinefilm, which was later copied onto 16 mm film for the Eastman Kodak Co. World Science Library. This can be viewed in the Chemistry laboratory. He researched the photo decomposition of silver halides, and was awarded the David Syme Prize in 1926. He devoted time to the design and construction of a large, new chemistry building for the School of Chemistry (built 1938?1939). During World War II he was approached by Professor Thomas Laby, chairman of the Optical Munitions Panel, to chair the advisory committee on optical materials, to produce high quality optical glass in Australia. This was successful, with large-scale production achieved within ten months at a reasonable cost. Hartung served three terms as general President of the (Royal) Australian Chemical Institute, was an ex-officio councillor of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and a Trustee of the Museum of Applied Science (now part of Museum Victoria).An original Kerr-Grant Microbalance, modified by E.J. Hartung.