Thread: Mystery Project. What is this???

It's material out of your junk bin.

Strange piece of kit, what did it do before it got butchered????
Kryn

Lived in his junk bin.

Lid of a key safe

Originally Posted by Michael G

Lid of a key safe

Ka-ching!!! You win the prize - a hand full of scrap Alloy:

IMG_4143.jpg IMG_4144.jpg IMG_4145.jpg IMG_4146.jpg

Got a batch of things at an auction and got no idea what this one was originally for, so open to ideas.

looks to be an old 'mixer' but for what?

body is made of brass/bronze and has oxidised to green and the three arms I assume fit over a bucket/container

has two set of arms below that turn in opposite directions - side of one missing.

IMG_2187a.JPG IMG_2187b.JPG

I would guess that is a paint can mixer

In years gone by, prior to the early50's, I believe, the "paint" that was used was Kalsomine, and what you have is a mixer for it, IIRC. Going by the oxidisation of the brass, makes me think this anyway.
My father was a painter, and I can remember scraping it off the walls on older houses, as a kid, prior to painting with modern paints.

Kalsomine

A thin whitewash composed primarily of Paris white and water. It was sometimes used instead of the more expensive paint to cover walls and fences, and was said to prevent mites when painted on the inside of chicken houses.
1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn’t Know by W.R. Runyan Copyright © 2011 by W.R. Runyan

Kryn

top bearing point is worn and has had a lot of use.

no paint on the thing what so ever, but if you think thats what it is, i'll take your word for it.

thanks

Kalsomine was a powder mixed with water to become a paint that was applied to anything that needed to be white. Have seen where hessian was painted to become a divider making one room into two, presumably boys and girls as they got older. Several coats applied, it becomes reasonably thick enough not to see through it.
Kryn

If you need to open any more locks, have a look at the LockPickingLawyer on youtube. He's opened a MASTER Lock one of those, it didn't take long.

JohnQ

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Kalsomine was a powder mixed with water to become a paint that was applied to anything that needed to be white. Have seen where hessian was painted to become a divider making one room into two, presumably boys and girls as they got older. Several coats applied, it becomes reasonably thick enough not to see through it.
Kryn

Hi Kryn,

We are definitely showing our age now ! Both of us.

I can remember painting the cellar walls white with similar stuff. Early 50's.

Found a 40ish mm round chunk in the scrap pile,
threw it in the lathe, turned a step, flipped ends,
drilled a hole, then turned a taper,

Then angle grind a chunk out:
IMG_4669.jpg IMG_4671.jpg

and then clean it up in the mill.
IMG_4672.jpg
(poor photo - sorry)


What on earth is this for???

Off/ on knob for a magnetic indicator base.

Michael

...was a chunk of steel, so wouldn't work well in a mag base.




Was an adapter for a valve spring remover:
IMG_4673.jpg


The red anodised tool is American, meant for big V8 heads.
This engine is a 2L Hyundai. Tiny springs and valve caps, and not much space between them and the head casting walls (overhead cam, small lever cam followers)