Tool, Mechanical Finger, Skylab

The tool is made of a tube of flexible corded metal; it contains flat springs, which extend from the end of the tube to form claw-like fingers for grasping. At its upper end, the tube is connected with a rod. A round plate is attached at each end of the rod. The plate at the upper end of the rod is meant to be pressed by a person's thumb; the bottom plate is grasped between the fingers during use. The upper plate is engraved with the manufacturer's name on the exterior side. In between the two plates a coil spring is fixed over the rod, activating the movement of the fingers when compressed, in and out of the tube. During use, sufficient thumb pressure will extend fingers from the tube and allow grasping of objects; when then the pressure is released, the fingers retract into the tube as far as the dimension of the object allow2. On this tool, part of the tube is flexible, to allow movements in areas hard to access. The "fingers" are two plates of metal of a concave shape, bent nearly at a right angle, and carved at their edge as to form a diamond-shaped whole when in contact. [Exceprt from Condition Report dated 4-15-2014]