Dog Tag Machine Photos

During our travels, we chanced upon the Coast Guard Barracks Museum. In their front office was an old US Military dog tag maker.
















They said that the machine had been found in a warehouse and they plugged it in. The keyboard mechanism reminded me of old typewriters my Mother's Mother had, and the keyboard typeface reminded me of my Dad's old typewriter.









The machine was turned off and sat quietly behind the front desk. For a small fee, the docents would create dog tags for you right then and there.

The staff were very nice about me sticking my camera practically into the guts of the machine.








I was fascinated, and I almost had dog tags made just so I could watch the machine work. I imagine electromagnets deep in the machine would throb the keyboard and perfume the room with ozone and machine oil. I imagine the ratcheting sound and the dull thuds of typeface slamming into aluminum blanks.

But Mark assured me that he didn't want dog tags, and I figured they'd only wind up lost somewhere, so with a slight pang of regret, we left the museum without any.