Weird Gizmo!

[mahking51]

Hi All,

This is my first post and I must confess that spinning/Crochet is not really my thing , I'm more a nuts and bolts kind of guy

 

However I thought that this must be the place to find out what exactly this weird item is that I picked up at a boot sale recently:

 

It is finely made of boxwood and is about 8 1/2 " long and 1 1/2" at its widest; the dowel moves against a metal spring inside and pressure lifts it out of the groove.

Any thought are most welcome please.

Best Regards,

Martin ( in rainy Dorset UK)

[Shell]

*wonders if the UK patent office is online and if you can look up the patent number? hmm..*

 

Looks odd to me lol but cool. I probably would have bought it too!

[mahking51]

Hi,

Thought about the patent office but quite expensive, even if it is a UK patent..

Regards,

martin

[birdlady1]

A drop spindle?

[mahking51]

A Drop Spindle...

Which is..??

Pardon my total ignorance of these things.

Regards,

Martin

[Yaviiniia Loenla Enath]

A drop spindle is a hand-held thing for spinning yarn. (by the way, I have never seen one in person, so that's really all I know about it)

[kimmiep621]

i have no clue, but i did us search for us patent #'s ,doesn't tell you what it is just says date, but no clue if it really is us. good luck finding what it is

 

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=0018214.PN.&OS=PN/0018214&RS=PN/0018214

[Paralee]

This is a stretch, but it looks a little like a pin vise to me, which has nothing whatsoever to do with spinning, weaving, or yarn. A pin vise is a wooden vise used by jewelers to hold small pieces of metal while filing or polishing them. Silver and gold, being good conductors, tend to get really hot while they are being worked, and having a wooden handle on them makes it much easier to work on them. Also, the wood will not mar soft metals like a metal vise would. Anyway, the pin vises I am familiar with look somewhat different from that, but work in pretty much the same fashion. Just an idea.

[sonnets_and_stitches]

I think Susan's guess is better than any fiber-related guesses. I've only known one person who used a drop spindle, and it looked nothing like this. Also I can't get my head around the shape to make it act like a drop spindle.

 

The drop spindle my acquaintance had looked like a weighted top. She held the raw fiber in her hands, fed part of it onto the spindle, and then started spinning the spindle around in a tight circle by her feet. The spindle spun so tightly that it almost didn't seem as though it was moving. She would walk around and chat with people while spinning. The action of it reminded me of the yo-yo trick "Walk the Dog," although her spindle never touched the ground.

 

I think the piece of yarn which is holding the two handles together (probably for storage purposes) is throwing everyone off. If there's a spring on the inside, the yarn is probably just a tie to keep the handles together.

 

I hope some of that helps, Martin! Thanks for sharing such an interesting object with us!

 

~ Joy

[LizaKaye]

My DH took a look at it and thinks it has something to do with carpet or rug making-weaving and such. He says his aunt had one similar to it.

[Cherri]

You totally intrigued me! I've searched and searched. It's not a US patent. That number is for a box improvement using potassium or something. The design patent for that number is a comb. I've looked through every antique thing I can think of and can't find a thing.

Could it be some kind of a clamp or pressing thing? It could almost be an old time curling iron (just kidding). I'm totally baffled.

Please let us know what it is when you find out. It's driving me nuts.

[mahking51]

Hi All,

Have sent some pics to a pal who thinks he might be able to shed some light and will let you all know what happens.

Many thanks for all your ideas.

Reards,

Martin

[Daisy]

If you bought it at a boot sale, maybe it is a gizmo for stretching the leather on boots when they are made? Just a thought

[sonnets_and_stitches]

If you bought it at a boot sale, maybe it is a gizmo for stretching the leather on boots when they are made? Just a thought

 

 

Daisy,

 

The original poster Martin is in the UK. In the UK, the "boot" of a car is the same as the US "trunk" of a car. A "boot sale" is when someone is selling out of the boot of their car, similar to a yard or garage sale in the US.

 

So there aren't any actual boots that go over feet involved in this case!

[JCB]

This is a stretch, but it looks a little like a pin vise to me, which has nothing whatsoever to do with spinning, weaving, or yarn. A pin vise is a wooden vise used by jewelers to hold small pieces of metal while filing or polishing them. Silver and gold, being good conductors, tend to get really hot while they are being worked, and having a wooden handle on them makes it much easier to work on them. Also, the wood will not mar soft metals like a metal vise would. Anyway, the pin vises I am familiar with look somewhat different from that, but work in pretty much the same fashion. Just an idea.

That was my first reaction also. I know it as a ring vise. I have one of those but the difference is that when you insert the loose piece, it causes the other end to close down on the object you inserted into it. The picture does not look like it does that. Otherwise... I have no clue.

 

Joan

[Daisy]

Thanks Sonnets, the mystery goes on. Shows how much I know about the languages of different countries, lol. The next time someone says boot to me, I will be thinking computers