Any idea what this is or was used for?

Found this in one of Mum's old button boxes.

Red & black plastic with brass centre portion so suspect electrical, but no real idea. The ends of the caps are not pierced.

Any clues?

Push button part of a switched lightbulb socket.

Regards Ian.

Strage what Mum's used to hold onto. I bet Ian is spot on the money. Probably found it on the carpet and thought it was something special, so put it in a 'special' place. I found an old crystal set diode in my Mum's collection along with her school badge and all sorts of metal hosiery clips!!
BobH

Yes indeedy! Takes me back 40 years or more to playing with abandoned bits form my dads shop. Two sprung contacts and this between them. Press in red and the contacts sit in the groove in the plastic, press in black and the contacts are shorted lighting the bulb. Similar thing usually part of a table lamp bayonet socket.

Possibly came out of Mom's sewing lamp and ended up in her sewing box.

Unless she thought because of the groove around the middle it was a toggle like those wooden ones they had on the old black duffel coats back in the day (if you had them there?)

Edited By Hopper on 25/10/2017 05:50:47

Looks like part of an old insulated terminal to me

I think the lamp switch takes the honours.

Until Neil mentioned it, I had not registered the significance of the groove (detent?) in the red plastic part.

A pint will be supplied on demand to the winner (Circlip) in the Castle, Wem between 1930 and 1932 on the 30th April next year.

Thought that the (s)witching hour was midnight, not 19:30!

Howard

I remember most lamp switches were white plastic and square sectioned, but then Norfolk does that to you.