Description:
- Object ID: ALSA 2007.28.03
- Made by: Stanley, Great Turnstile, Holborn, London
- Model: Unknown.
- Serial Number: Unknown.
- Date Made: Unknown.
- Approximate size: Unknown.
- Accessories: leather-covered wooden case.
- Condition: Unknown.
Commentary:
Metal Planimeter in a leather-covered wooden case which also contains a metal counter-weight. “Stanley, Great Turnstile, Holborn, London” is engraved on the planimeter.
The maker of the planimeter shown above, W.F. Stanley and Company Limited, was a drawing instrument maker that traded at Great Turnstile from the 1900s to 1914. To use it, the operator sets the anchor arm, either by pressing the needle point of the anchor arm into the drawing surface or anchoring it on a small circular weight. The user then sets the tracing arm to the graduation that is usually provided with the planimeter for the scale of the plan, zeros the recording wheels, then with the pointer, traces the boundary clockwise all around the parcel. The area can be determined by applying a conversion factor obtained from a scale chart to the reading on the planimeter. Some planimeters allow settings which enable the area to be read directly on the dial. A simple method of using a planimeter to calculate an area is to trace the pointer around a known area, which can be a simple square drawn to the same scale as the plan. A conversion factor can then be determined which can be applied to a reading obtained by tracing around the parcel for which an area is required.
Source of Object: Donated by C.H. Weir, ALS#164.
Notes: The Society has only one in their collection.
References: Visit article A Dying Art – Drafting becomes Impersonal for additional information.
Description by: Entered by Ed Titanich on December 23, 2024.