Does anyone under 40 years of age know what this is?

[tongueriver]

I think I know, now; good hints. If I am correct, I have made and used one.

[orvet]

It is called a valve board.
Back in the days when mechanics rebuilt engines in the shop instead of replacing them with a new rebuilt engine or a rebuilt head, a shop was equipped with a machine to grind valves and then usually the valves were lapped by hand to get them to seat into the head properly. It was critical to make sure that the intake valve and the exhaust valve of each cylinder went back into the cylinders that they came out of.
Each valve stem and the valve guide it went through became paired by the wear on each of them. It has necessary to get the valve back in the same hole it came out of so it wasn't too tight or too loose.

The valve board helped the mechanic keep track which of which valve belonged in which which cylinder.


This valve board has 16 holes because there are 16 valves in an 8-cylinder engine.

[Mumbleypeg]

And the fact it was a yardstick had nothing to do with its function as a valve board. The yardsticks with holes were an advertising gimmick, given away by auto parts suppliers.

Ken

[zzyzzogeton]

My Uncle Bennie didn't like the wood ruler concept as it couldn't be cleaned easily when it got greasy.

He made his own in his metal shop out of steel.

[royal0014]

Never would have guessed that.
We always used a cardboard box . . . .

[Phaeton]

Spent many years in an engine repair environment. Ground many sets of valves but never used a stick with holes. Where would the stick be mounted? And what to do with the grit that would stick to the stick?
A fresh cardboard box each time kept everything clean and the box would hold itself upright. Labels were written fresh with a pencil, no left to right mix ups.
I mostly worked with aircraft, car mechanics build different habits I would assume.

[terryl308]

dale, I know what it is, I have seen many of them in the repair shops doing overhauls on irrigation motors. Terry but then I'm older than dirt!

[stockman]

Just seen this and I have used them. It worked for me. See them in junk stores.

Harold