Can anyone tell me what this might be?

Can anyone tell me what the item below might be? It has a cast iron body which fastens to a 25mm bar. It also has a fitting for a flexible pipe (hydraulic or pneumatic?) with a spindle? on the other end. Unfortunately there are no maker's names, though I understand it came from a deceased model engineer near Newark.

Photos below:

And before anyone says it, I'm almost sure it isn't Buck Rogers' ray gun.

Mike

Edited By Mike Donnerstag on 24/07/2020 15:55:39

What does the chrome lever do? What happens when you blow down the pipe ? does the rod on the opposite side of the pipe do anything?

My guess is a pneumatic plunger for a machine operation or lock. Probably a return spring inside so be carefu when taking it apart. ANd how come you haven't already taken it apart? I wouldn't be able to resist that temptation.

It may have started out life as a pneumatic upper clamp for a tire hot-patch machine from the 1930's. We had one with a similar head in my grandfather's garage. The machine was like a drill press with a fixed lower anvil like the table of the drill press and your bit sliding up and down the column to enable fitting it over various size tires and tubes. hot patch was a tin of flammable stuff placed on the patch over the leak, and lit with a match. After it had burned the clamp was pressurized and clamped the heated patch to the heated tire or tube to bond it. The machine and the hot patch method had fallen out of use by the 1960's I think and the press didn't fit most modern tires by that time. Cold patches and cold core plugs for patching tires were very good very fast and commonly in use by the mid 1960's when I started hanging out at the garage as a kid, and most tires on cars were tubeless by then in North America. I do remember my grandfather using the old press and hot patch kits a few times on old car tires and still remember the smell of the huge cloud of smoke the tin of hot patch stuff made- a cross between burnt rubber and fireworks.

Pre-war tyre tubes were made from natural rubber made from tree sap. One process in manufacture was 'vulcanisation' - the rubber was heated with added sulfur, and this stiffened the rubber and avoided stickiness. Patches could be used to mend holes and tears, and were attached using heat and sulfur - hence the smoke and the smell of fireworks.

Post-war rubber holds air better but does not work so well with old-style natural patches - they were replaced by a solvent method.

Cheers, Tim

PS two of those involved in working out the vulcanisation processes were Mackintosh and Goodyear - names that still resonate in the minds of the public.

Jeff and Tim: That's really interesting about the early tyre patching machine.

Bazyle: I haven't dismantled it as yet. I've been busy changing the bed on my Super 7, though having cleaned all the bits and bobs I'm now waiting for a replacement wick, so curiosity may lead me to give it a go.

Speedy Builder 5: The chrome lever just clamps the split casting onto a 1" bar. I attempted to blow into it, but I couldn't get any air to enter.

Mike

Blow harder. . . . . . .with about 40+ psi.

Think I might rupture something, or just produce a loud raspberry which may offend the neighbours.

I have a compressor, so I'll try with that instead.

I believe there is a strong collectors market for vintage garage equipment