🔎 UNIDENTIFIED No idea what this is, anyone help?

[wdparsons]

Found this item in a church yard about 6" down. Very heavy, weights 2lbs 3 oz, non ferrous. No idea what it could be. Any suggestions? It says "National Patented" on the side that is not curved.

 

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[CreakyDigger]

Hello and welcome to TNet from upstate NY. A very interesting find, congrats. I do not know what it is, but someone else probably will. The heft of it makes me wonder if is was part of a pew heating system....is the church quite old? Mid 19th century and back very few were heated, and individual pew boxes had their own heat set ups, sometimes they were items heated at home and transported, inserted. Just a guess that it could be a foot warmer.

 

[wdparsons]

Hello and welcome to TNet from upstate NY. A very interesting find, congrats. I do not know what it is, but someone else probably will. The heft of it makes me wonder if is was part of a pew heating system....is the church quite old? Mid 19th century and back very few were heated, and individual pew boxes had their own heat set ups, sometimes they were items heated at home and transported, inserted. Just a guess that it could be a foot warmer.

The church was built in 1902 so the property was vacant prior to the church being built. The item has a 1/8" diameter hole drilled in the curved part of the top and although it is heavy it is hollow because I can hear some rattling indicating something inside when I shake it (possibly dirt). The bottom of it has two square pegs indicating that it may have been mounted on something yet it also has two arms which look like they connected to something round, allowing it to pivot. Very puzzling. The curved part also has me puzzled.

 

[wdparsons]

The church was built in 1902 so the property was vacant prior to the church being built. The item has a 1/8" diameter hole drilled in the curved part of the top and although it is heavy it is hollow because I can hear some rattling indicating something inside when I shake it (possibly dirt). The bottom of it has two square pegs indicating that it may have been mounted on something yet it also has two arms which look like they connected to something round, allowing it to pivot. Very puzzling. The curved part also has me puzzled.

Another puzzling thing is that it is not brass and not silver yet is non ferrous. Non magnetic stainless steel didn't come into common use until the 1930's and this item looks older. Could possibly be nickel.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Bronze? First thing that came to mind was something to do with a shoeshine stand or barber chair.Probably wrong but just a suggestion to jog someones memory.

 

[wdparsons]

Bronze? First thing that came to mind was something to do with a shoeshine stand or barber chair.Probably wrong but just a suggestion to jog someones memory.

Can bronze be silver colored? I "polished" part of it and its silver colored.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Can bronze be silver colored? I "polished" part of it and its silver colored.

I don,t really know wd.Isn,t bronze brass and tin,or brass and zinc?If so I reckon it could look silvery when polished.I,m guessing on all this,just to get the thinking going.

 

[wdparsons]

I don,t really know wd.Isn,t bronze brass and tin,or brass and zinc?If so I reckon it could look silvery when polished.I,m guessing on all this,just to get the thinking going.

one person suggested it may be an old foot pedal/throttle from an old car or sewing machine. However, the two square pegs on the bottom make me think it was mounted on something.

 

[crashbandicoot]

one person suggested it may be an old foot pedal/throttle from an old car or sewing machine. However, the two square pegs on the bottom make me think it was mounted on something.

I believe you,re on the right track,I had the same thought on the pegs,but I hit a blank after that.if RedCoat sees this he may very well have an idea,he regularly IDs the hard stuff.I,ll keep thinking and if any thing evolves I,ll get back.Now I,m curious.

 

[CreakyDigger]

The church being that new my idea of a foot warmer is likely false.

 

[crashbandicoot]

one person suggested it may be an old foot pedal/throttle from an old car or sewing machine. However, the two square pegs on the bottom make me think it was mounted on something.

I did some searches with 12 or 15 combinations of words and I can,t find any thing like that.I,ll give my eyes a rest and look some more.This things got me wanting to find out what it is.

 

[GoldieLocks]

I am pretty sure, 1920-1950 adult leg/foot brace bottom. The side protrusions are bracketed with leather or metal upwards to likely the knees.

 

[crashbandicoot]

I am pretty sure, 1920-1950 adult leg/foot brace bottom. The side protrusions are bracketed with leather or metal upwards to likely the knees.

You got it GoldieLocks,that,s what those side protrusions are,to hold the braces that run up the leg!!Thank you,This has been driving me nuts for some reason.Sorry to hijack your reply wdparsons,was excited.

 

[wdparsons]

A foot brace/bottom is an interesting hypothesis! The weight would certainly aid in movement of a leg or foot. Possibly the two square pegs at the back fit into the rear of a foot support. Great suggestion!

 

[wdparsons]

Since I don't think it has any real value I'm going to use my bandsaw on it this weekend and open it up. I'll let you know what's inside.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I would check out value before I cut it up. Old prosthesis can bring a little money.

 

[HuntinDog]

I'd say not for a leg prosthetic part.
Strap a 2+lb weight to your good leg and try to walk around for awhile.
But sorry I don't have a better suggestion.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Not sure about the side connectors, but it reminds me of a tooth
from an excavator bucket.

 

[Red-Coat]

...if RedCoat sees this he may very well have an idea...

I have no idea what this might be!

Assuming that it’s covered by a US patent and not from another country, I ran a check for American patents held by companies called “National” or which have the word as part of their name. Nothing promising came up. There were 234 tool/machinery-related possibilities of which a few had foot-operated pedal controls (lathe or steam-engine related and such) but nothing in the drawings which matched this as potentially being a small part of something larger.

Other possibilities remain, such as the patent having been filed by someone who licensed it to a company called “National”, or it being filed in another country.

I’m guessing it won’t be readily identified unless someone has seen one before.

 

[wdparsons]

I have no idea what this might be!

Assuming that it’s covered by a US patent and not from another country, I ran a check for American patents held by companies called “National” or which have the word as part of their name. Nothing promising came up. There were 234 tool/machinery-related possibilities of which a few had foot-operated pedal controls (lathe or steam-engine related and such) but nothing in the drawings which matched this as potentially being a small part of something larger.

Other possibilities remain, such as the patent having been filed by someone who licensed it to a company called “National”, or it being filed in another country.

I’m guessing it won’t be readily identified unless someone has seen one before.

Wow, excellent analysis and research Red-Coat. I appreciate it very much. Its just not an item that looks like it would comfortably attach to someone's foot or leg although the one side is curved. I'm not even sure what kind of material it is. Could be nickel, could be zinc. It does LOOK like a tooth from an excavator however the top part that is tapered is 1" wide, not pointed as you would expect if it were from any type of digging tool. The fading on the lettering implies it's pretty old. Still contemplating cutting it open.