Mini Bomb?

[Garabaldi]

Should I push it down?
Not sure if this is some kind of knob? Any guesses?

 

[TiredIron]

Johnnyi.....I wish you lived closer to Denver...I like donuts. If your sure what it isn't....tell us what you think it is. I'm not arguing...just discussing. I've learned a thing or two from your ID's over the years. But I think if Garabaldi had two of these matching balls and sent them to me...I could build a fine working fly ball governor and send it back. One thing I wanted to ask Garabaldi is....when cleaned up...is this ball made of copper or brass Its hard to tell but it looks like copper peaking through?

http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/thurston/1878/f29p115.gif

Point M doesn't have to "just" be an attachment point between C & B. Point M can also be a pivot point where it attaches to that arm. This concept drawing doesn't show the arm between point C & B as being clearly ridged.

In this second example I believe this steam engine is a non-running static display and the flyball gov is stuck in the high RPM position. They have no place to go except down where the would be in 0 or low RPM, unless its actually running in the pic.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/3664610901_b3fb2a0f5e.jpg

 

[SkyPirate]

Cufflink.

 

[johnnyi]

Johnnyi.....I wish you lived closer to Denver...I like donuts. If your sure what it isn't....tell us what you think it is. I'm not arguing...just discussing. I've learned a thing or two from your ID's over the years. But I think if Garabaldi had two of these matching balls and sent them to me...I could build a fine working fly ball governor and send it back. One thing I wanted to ask Garabaldi is....when cleaned up...is this ball made of copper or brass Its hard to tell but it looks like copper peaking through?

http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/thurston/1878/f29p115.gif

Point M doesn't have to "just" be an attachment point between C & B. Point M can also be a pivot point where it attaches to that arm. This concept drawing doesn't show the arm between point C & B as being clearly ridged.

In this second example I believe this steam engine is a non-running static display and the flyball gov is stuck in the high RPM position. They have no place to go except down where the would be in 0 or low RPM, unless its actually running in the pic.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/3664610901_b3fb2a0f5e.jpg

Tirediron, no, I'm just discussing too. I just had too much turkey so I'm ornderier than usual I never said I was sure what it was and I don't know, but I don't believe it is a governor weight. I might be wrong, and I will provide doughnuts on general principles. (actually I was supposed to offer the $20 against your doughnut so I'm getting off cheap ) I agree with you though, a governor could be made out of this object, but in all honesty the simplist kind of centifical governor can be made out of a length of iron with a hole in it to serve the same purpose as one of the two necessary swinging weights. Like you, I love old iron, and even have seven foot coke bottle steam engine outside with flyball governor, half a dozen hit or miss engines with various trip centifical governors, a couple models I've machined which use governors, and all of these are either trip mechanisms or push rod mechanisms to limit flow. They all require fingers. This isn't saying that ALL governors require fingers or pulling linkage, but the vast majority do.

Again, here's what I see being wrong with this being a governor weight: There are no remains af any trip mechansim (the tee joint looks clean). It would be either part of the hinge in the form of fingers, or it would be part of the rod (to pull rather than push). The second smaller "problem" is that this was apparently a hollow ball rather than a cast ball. That complicated nature of manufacture doesn't seem to make sense for a weight of this size. If it is a governor weight, then it has to be the very simplist kind which slowed a movement but did nothing at all to relieve strain on what caused the movement (no trip/no relief rod). I've been searching hard, but I can't seem to fnd anything which would have required such a mechanism. Can you think of any?? Maybe an old style crank phonograph? Large older music box??

 

[Tnmountains]

I have never seen a fly ball that was not solid built. It did not have what seemed to be a swivel in the ball as this "what is it" item does. Of course as shown in the picture I posted I have onlyt seen ones on steam engines.
Lol ,,,,,looks morelike a type of wheel or coaster to me not fly ball.

 

[TiredIron]

Ahhhhhhhh.....well if this thing is hollow that does change everything. I thought Garabaldi said it was very heavy and solid. I guess I missed that. Now from your comments I can see them also used as keeping something smoothly in motion,
possibly like you mentioned a phonograph or something. Like in a flywheel effect.

http://www.collectorsworldwest.com/guide_detail.php?image_id=22
http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/talkingmachines/motor.html

hmmmm....this sets my mind in maybe other directions. Now I'd like to know what it weighs and what its made of.
I think I'm getting close to liquidating my stationary engine collection. I have an un-cataloged 8hp Z Fairbanks Morse on a nice modified cement mixer cart...other
Z's...all three of the John Deere's..etc. Just can't find to play with them much anymore.

We have Lemar's and Krispy Kreme here.....

 

[Tony in SC]

Ahhhhhhhh.....well if this thing is hollow that does change everything. I thought Garabaldi said it was very heavy and solid. I guess I missed that. Now from your comments I can see them also used as keeping something smoothly in motion,
possibly like you mentioned a phonograph or something.
this sets my mind in maybe other directions. Now I'd like to know what it weighs and what its made of.
I think I'm getting close to liquidating my stationary engine collection. I have an un-cataloged 8hp Z Fairbanks Morse on a nice modified cement mixer cart...other
Z's...all three of the John Deere's..etc. Just can't find to play with them much anymore.

We have Lemar's and Krispy Kreme here.....
[/quote]
Flyball or flyweight governors were not just used on steam, stationary, hit&miss engines or tractors. They are still in use today. There are many different designs. They were lately used in automotive transmissions for passing gear, some clocks and other devicest that need regulated speed. PS Tired Iron, If you have old engines for sale send me a PM. Tony

 

[johnnyi]

Tony, I think garibaldi did say it was heavy, however with that bent out top piece it might be filled with dirt for all we know. The lip shows it to be thin formed copper, whatever the weight. Sounds like you've got some nice engines. I can't afford the J.D's, except for a JD 40T tractor which is sitting. Aside from the Utica steam engine, my biggest hit miss is a 5 hp galloway. Everything else is 2hp or under. Hey, don't sell. someday you'll miss those wheels going round and round!!

 

[Garabaldi]

Johnnyi, I didn't realize you were a motor head also. You two, Johhnyi and Tirediron, should start a talk show or radio show like Click and Clack in Cambridge MA on car talk. You two could call it "flyball governor engine talk. Ok I have new pictures. I believe it to be solid because of the wieght. I was messing with the shaft and accidently snapped it off. I cleaned the dirt out of the handle part and discovered the top part is hollow. The handle is connected to a circular disk that seems to have been pressed into the ball mechanism(this tech talk is wearing off on me, I'm sounding like you guys). Purhaps the shaft was stationary and the ball would have moved. Not sure of the material, but it seems to be silver plated. I am still a bit nervous that it may be a home made bomb devise. I thought it could be a device that worked like the spring loaded knob on a pinball machine. Maybe the shaft part hooked on to something. You pull the ball back to cause tork(sorry about my spelling). Maybe to spring load a fireing device to a gun or cannon. Totally speculation. I really have no idea what i'm talking about. I found it in a place with artifacts ranging from early 1600's to present. Hope this helps.

 

[TiredIron]

I love listening to "Car Talk" with those guys, they crack me up. Their show "is" alot like this forum when I think about it. I only seem to get them on the radio when I'm in the desert traveling somewhere in N.M. or AZ. We're certainly as good as they are for getting off topic... Its a lot harder to inflict humor on the keyboard than listening to their wise cracks and MA accents.
Thanks Garabaldi for the additional pics and information. You continue to come up with a steady inventory of strange What Is It's..

TiredIron

 

[Garabaldi]

I agree with coming up with strange items. I am sure some get tired of me posting so many things, but I am new at this and a wide learning curve. I also tend to post everything I am not sure of. When I think something has no historicle value or believe it to be junk metal, I find out here that its something significant. One in particular was the Ramrod clip for a Musket. I nearly tossed it in the junk metal pile. Also the Lead seals were in the junk pile until I found out what they were. Thanks for all your patients.

 

[sniffer]

it could still be a governor for a grandfather clock, it looks like from the broken part that the shaft is copper and the ball
is steel