Whazzit?

[george m.]

Dear All,

 

I recently picked up this grinder at an auction.  I have absolutely no idea how it was used.  It is heavy enough (11 lbs.) that you can't really use it as a hand held device.  There is a sort of peg or tab on the bottom of the frame, just behind the grinding wheel which might have gone into a slot on some sort of support but it looks a little fragile for something made of cast iron.

 

There are remains of black paint and it originally had nice 19th century looking gold pin striping on the frame.

 

There is no info regarding the manufacturer but there is a plate regarding patent information (May 18, 1885) and other countries in which it is patented.

 

If nothing else, it has a cool gadget factor.

 

Thanks,

George M.

[jeremy k]

Looks like an old cordless hand grinder to me. Hold it in your left hand and crank with your right, and the stone wants to crawl away from you so you can control it with your left hand to keep it on the area you want to grind. Like I said - looks like an old cordless hand grinder to me.

[DSW]

You sure it's not an antique circus unicycle? Hold the one handle doing a hand stand and crank the 2nd with your other hand to propel you around the ring... With the stone wheel maybe it's from the Flintstones! :P

[jkmas]

keep it away from the front of your pants.

[ForgeMan32]

Man that thing makes you appreciate the old dewalt angle grinder in a whole new fashion . It would have to be soft metal to grind and you would have arms of steel after working that modified cake mixer all day long

[ausfire]

Seems to me with gearing like that, the wheel would be fair whistling. And held in the left hand and turned with the right it would seem to want to travel towards you. Looks like an unpredictable beast to me.

[jeremy k]

I got it wrong. It must be for left handed ppl  :) After a closer look the spark guard proves what hand to hold it in.

[LEGION66]

Nice one, try to make hand crank blower out of this, whats gear ratio?

[Stash]

Kinda looks like what would be used to grind down RR track welds. How big is the beast?

 

Steve

[george m.]

In response to the queries:  It is 19 3/4 inches long.  The stone is 6 inches in diameter.  There are 3 sets of 30 tooth and 15 tooth wheels.

 

If I recall how to calculate gear ratios that is only 16 to 1.  That doesn't seem like much to me for that much weight and machinery.

 

Of course it is reversible depending on which way you turn the handle.

 

I agree that RR rail welds could be ground with this except that they weren't welding rails in 1885.  It does seem to lend itself to grinding things on the ground.  I wonder if it might have been used in either boiler making of ship building.

 

How it ended up on a farm in NE Colorado is as big a mystery as the tool itself.

 

Curiously,

George M.