Mirror, Mirror on the box

Hi,

Pointless question but it's bugging me.

Are engineers very vain?

Are they afraid they might miss something?

Basically why, is there always a mirror in the lid of engineers toolboxes. Especially the wooden ones. And while I'm asking why is it always on diagonally?

Like I say pointless but it is the weekend so put me out of my misery please

I think it comes from the 'good old days' when workmen provided their own toolboxes and tools. The mirror is so that when they got something in their eye they could see it and try to remove it.

Andrew

What remove their eye or the tool I wondered if was so they could see the boss coming while they were having a crafty fag...

The removing the eye theory is ok. But why still do it. It would save money nowadays not putting them in. As the only thing any decent employee would be doing is ringing his lawyer to see how much compensation he'd get. Chip pies don't have them and they always get stuff in their eyes.

In one of his recent TV programs, Guy Martin said that as a commercial vehicle mechanic, he is expected to provide and maintain all his own tools. Sounds as if that is the norm in that line of work. Don't expect many apprentices these days could afford to do this.

Murray

I thought it was for vanity; combing ones Brylcreamed or hair tonic'ed hair before popping down the local for a game of darts and a swift half of Watney's Pale.

I agree if you can find an apprentice nowadays. But what has maintaining tool got to do with a mirror?

Apart from most people don't remember brylcreamed hair or tonic other the stuff in gin. Let alone watneys pale ale. But while this trip down memory lane, may be true. Especially if it was a lunchtime half and they were married and wanting to try chatting the barmaid up.but why still? And why diagonally? Do engineers have weird shaped heads?

IIRC it was there to use as an inspection mirror to see behind objects that were difficult to get at from the front.. & as I used to do on rim & face alignment to see the dti reading when it was turned to the bottom of the coupling, also used to tram mill heads when using a dti on the 'Y' axis to see the reading at the back... Oh & to check if I had any smudges or grime on my face when doing a particularly dirty job..

George.

Posted by mechman48 on 30/01/2015 20:47:32:

IIRC it was there to use as an inspection mirror to see behind objects that were difficult to get at from the front.. & as I used to do on rim & face alignment to see the dti reading when it was turned to the bottom of the coupling, also used to tram mill heads when using a dti on the 'Y' axis to see the reading at the back... Oh & to check if I had any smudges or grime on my face when doing a particularly dirty job..

George.

As a devotee of wood most of that is double Dutch with a Glaswegian accent. But the last bit sounds about right.

So apart from the above excellent but unintelligible, to me, answer above we still have the question why diagonally

Old timer told me if was for keeping an eye on the Forman,

I was close then when I said it was for when you were having a crafty fag.

But still why diagonally? Even a daft theory will do or I'm sticking with the idea engineers have weird shaped heads...

Google images took a while to find one with a mirror, not least because most do not have a top opening lid. But one found did have it diagonally.
I suggest it is just an attempt to get a larger dimension horizontally. As with widecreen TVs the human eye/brain prefers to see a wide horizon so is fooled into thinking the wider diagonal dimension in the horizontal makes it a bigger mirror than it is.

New 'toolboxes' have mirrors for an entirely different reason.

So why do new toolboxes have mirrors then. And are you just saying in a round about way people with diagonally placed mirrors in their toolbox are big heads...

Any try typing wooden toolbox with drawers then you'll see more

The diagonal mirror was orignially a feature of Gerstner wooden toolboxes. The reason for the mirror given by the Gerstner Company here is:

The mirror was first installed in the early 1900’s on some of the very earliest Gerstner chest designs. In those days, very few manufacturing and/or tool & die companies had indoor plumbing. In other words, there were few companies with lavatories (with wash basins and mirrors) for toolmakers and other factory workers to use to clean up at the end of the day.
The “mirror” mounted inside a Gerstner tool chest provided the wherewithal for the chest owner to check his appearance and comb his hair before heading home (or, perhaps, going in to ask the boss for a raise). At various times over the years, we have introduced a few tool chests without including a mirror. Interestingly enough, the feedback from customers has been, “Without a mirror, the chest doesn’t look like a Gerstner.” So . . .you may notice that virtually all new model Gerstners feature a“mirror” inside the tip lid.

They don't mention why the mirror was placed diagonally, but I recall reading somewhere that it was more as a trademark feature of the Gerstner brand rather than for any practical purposes, a feature now copied by other manufactures, particularly those in the Far East.

I think that for many engineers, a genuine Gerstner is somewhat of a status symbol, so a Gerstner without the trademark mirror would be a bit like a Rolls Royce without the "Flying Lady" on the bonnet.

I don't recall where I originally heard about the reason for the mirror, but to confirm it, I searched the Gerstner site by Googling for "site:www.gerstnerusa.com mirror" (without the quotes). One of the first results was to **LINK** containing the text I posted above with the link, although the actual link was probably not that obvious in the prior posting.

Clive

Also a good place to stash a tenner if you wanted to have a few with the lads on Friday, and payday wasn't until Monday

Regards,

Bob