Nice day to spend outdoors

[tamrock]

Yesterday was pretty nice and I spent most of it exploring the many trails around home on my bicycle. I went to a lake south of me and along Coal Creek. I stopped by a site which at best I can tell, was a coal mine site maybe named the Storrs Mine which operated from 1901 to 1904, as it's only listed on a detailed survey map as there were many coal mines in the past in this area that are no longer. Most the old mine site's have been bulldozed over, most likely in the 1980's during all the super fund cleanup era, but every now and then I'll find an artifact related to those times. I found one object, which I recognized right away what it once was. Can any of you correctly I.D. this strange looking object in my hand ? Other things I saw were the Blue Heron's have returned to their rookery tree and are getting on with the main mission of making more Blue Heron's. I got close to this Red Tail Hawk and could tell it really didn't want me around, but there was really something very important going on in it's eye and only wished my annoying human ass would just move along. I looked below and there on the ground was a cottontail nibbling away at the fresh shoots coming up without a care in the world. Seeing that I took a shot and I move further away, so not to bother Mr or Mrs Hawk ? and sure enough that Hawk launched from the top of the tree and nailed that little rabbit. I was still within distance to hear the final screams of little Peter Cottontail as the Hawk drove his sharp talons into it to shut it up. The Hawk then left with the bunny looking very pleased for a successful hunt.

 

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[old digger]

Hi There! I have seen your object of curiosity, but just can't place it. The wire on the top would rotate on the knobs to adjust the inside.

 

[tamrock]

oh man OD, I thought you'd recognize what it was. Here's a really easy hint. It says Justrite on it.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Fantastic photos!

 

[Chadeaux]

Tamrock, looks like some sort of reel for fly fishing.

 

[tamrock]

Tamrock, looks like some sort of reel for fly fishing.

nope, check the tip post

 

[Tpmetal]

looks like the adjustment for a carbide lamp, and seeing your from Colorado I would say miners lamp

Edit: after actually reading post and seeing you were at a old mine, I say for sure miners lamp lol

 

[tamrock]

You got it. Not sure it dates to when the mine I found it was operational, as I think this lamp was made at a later time when that mine closed, but there were others that ran longer right next to it, so it may have come from one of those? After an explosion was attributed to a methane ignition in 1932 at a coal mine in Illinois by these carbide lamps, that pretty much ended the use of these open flame Caplamps in coal mines. They were still used in the non gaseous hard rock mines even into the 1970s and probably still used in some undeveloped countries where safety and budgets are not much a factor. I remember they were very popular with Coon hunter long ago. We've sold over 5000 in the last 7 or 8 years of the cordless rechargeable modern LED caplamps they use these days. They run 15 hours on a single charge.

 

[Tpmetal]

You got it. Not sure it dates to when the mine I found it was operational, as I think this lamp was made at a later time when that mine closed, but there were others that ran longer right next to it, so it may have come from one of those?

before it clicked my brain was going "thats a weird adjustable spark plug from an engine I've never seen before" and starting racking my brain from airplanes to some of the first motorcycles before I realized what I was looking at lol

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Beautiful photos...I sure like the photo of the creek!