What is this?..................... Pics added

ticm · Apr 15, 2011

I have found a couple of these things. Do you know what it is? There are no markings and I think it's brass, but no sure.

dozer dan · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

die. as in tap and die. for cutting threads on metal rod or re-threading a bolt

dozer dan · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

couple more pic's. take a close look at it. is the center hole threaded?

on the outside edge, is there a demple for the set screw in the handle to fit into?

Bigcypresshunter · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

Test it with a magnet. If its brass, its not a threading die.

NOLA_Ken · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

Doesn't look like a die, at least to me. I'm thinking it might be a wheel off of an old toy car or something, just missing a bit of the center. do the spoke parts look like they've been broken off?

Bigcypresshunter · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

NOLA_Ken said:
Doesn't look like a die, at least to me. I'm thinking it might be a wheel off of an old toy car or something, just missing a bit of the center. do the spoke parts look like they've been broken off?

Sounds like a winner. He found several and upon close examination (of the pic) the item does appear to be broken in the center.

Daedalus · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

That looks to be a thread chaser die , it was made to reset the threads and to clean out a bad set of threads , not to cut the threads like the die would have .
It does look like it was broken as only one the the tangs look to be formed right . But this is from looking at a photo so I can not see the full detail of the inside of the piece . So I could be wrong , if you get a chance and can with your camera take some close ups of the inside of the piece so we can see more detail , that may help us see what it is. And also the older type did not have the thread size or gap or throw markings on each unit .

ticm · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

A magnet did not stick to it. The spoke like things don't look broke and are not bent and the edges are smooth ( there are no groves for threading ). There are no holes on the sides as pictured above on the threader. Both sides look the same.

Broken knee · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

I think it's a die for a cookie press? HH :icon_thumright:

Broken Knee

Bigcypresshunter · Apr 15, 2011

Re: What is this?

ticm said:
A magnet did not stick to it.... ...( there are no groves for threading ).

That rules out a die or thread chaser.

ticm said:
The spoke like things don't look broke...

Are you sure its not broken? The center looks broken out in your picture. :icon_scratch:

Maybe if you post a pic of all of them we may see something thats different or that you havent noticed. :dontknow:

ticm · Apr 16, 2011

Re: What is this?

bigcypresshunter said:
ticm said:

A magnet did not stick to it.... ...( there are no groves for threading ).

Click to expand...

That rules out a die or thread chaser.

ticm said:

The spoke like things don't look broke...

Click to expand...

Are you sure its not broken? The center looks broken out in your picture. Maybe if you post a pic of all of them we may see something thats different or that you havent noticed.

I looked at that real close under a 10x mag.. It looks more like it was just old and rotted the rest look flat and in good shape. For it's size it is heavy

DirtDigler · Apr 16, 2011

Re: What is this?

Very curious indeed. If they are toy wheels then the action of breaking them from the hub would likely cause some to be shorter. You'd need to put some side load on the wheel to break it. I'd like to see an angled photo so we can get an idea of the thickness. If there are others around out there, someone here will likely figure it out.

ticm · Apr 16, 2011

Re: What is this?

I added a couple pics as requested. I hope this helps

Bigcypresshunter · Apr 16, 2011

Re: What is this? Pics added

I love your avatar ticm. How many did you find? Were they all together?

DirtDigler said:
Very curious indeed. If they are toy wheels then the action of breaking them from the hub would likely cause some to be shorter.

I think they would all break at the weakest point (the same place) but I havent found an exact match.

Dano Sverige · Apr 16, 2011

Re: What is this? Pics added

I keep having one of those "ohh..i know this i know it...wait..erm..." moments!
Can't even hazzard a guess but i think the 4 small holes around the outside of the 4 bigger holes will turn out to be significant.

DirtDigler · Apr 18, 2011

Wow! The plot thickens! They are certainly thick enough to be toy wheels, but at the same time, I'd think the spokes would be bent outward or inward when the break occured. And they'd appear more jagged at the break. I am leaning more toward something besides a wheel because of that. But I am often wrong with such assessments. How many did you find and how far apart?

ticm · Apr 18, 2011

DirtDigler said:
Wow! The plot thickens! They are certainly thick enough to be toy wheels, but at the same time, I'd think the spokes would be bent outward or inward when the break occured. And they'd appear more jagged at the break. I am leaning more toward something besides a wheel because of that. But I am often wrong with such assessments. How many did you find and how far apart?

I found another one like it in a different place a long way from where I found this one. Both areas were old house sites

Sheldon J · Apr 18, 2011

Re: What is this?

bigcypresshunter said:
Test it with a magnet. If its brass, its not a threading die.

could be one for wooden dowells.... but I lean toward the broken toy wheel....

Deftone · Apr 18, 2011

They look like small sliding door rollers. I'll look around for a few.

Here is a pic to give you an idea. These are a bit bigger with an extra hole.

Bigcypresshunter · Apr 18, 2011

ticm said:
DirtDigler said:

How many did you find and how far apart?

Click to expand...

I found another one like it in a different place a long way from where I found this one. Both areas were old house sites

Not likely to be from the same toy

but the items are usually IDable when more than one are found in more than one different area. I think it could help if you would be kind enough to post a picture of the 2 wheels found, side by side in the same pic.. thanks