Slide rule patent looks like the thing

Slide rules are the actual steam-punk analog computers that engineers used day to day. They are beautiful and can help you visualize and internalize the details of the logarithm in an up-close way. You should want a good slide rule, and I won’t lend you mine. Even really good used ones are not expensive now. To understand the different models, check out the International Slide Rule Museum.

A good puzzle is to figure out what all the scales do, just by looking at the numbers. If you get stuck, an internet search will provide the answer, or you can download a PDF of the manual from the museum.