Scott NC Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Flea Market Friday. I got this as a "to boot" with a sawmill blade and sledge hammer. The knob and shaft/plate turn 1/4 of a revolution. A jabberbox while I was buying it said a broom holder. The guy selling it said he had no idea and he's been taking it there for a year. I get a 5$ discount next time if I can tell him what it's purpose is. Its about a foot tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHC Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 I have seen broom holders similar to that, but never so large and heavily built. The ones I’ve seen, If you stand them on the end as you have, they’d be a couple inches tall. You would mount them to the wall via those holes at the base. Stick the broom handle into the slot from below, and the weight of that ball would hold it in place with that wedge shape. To remove, you’d lift the ball to release the broom handle. It seems to me that one so large and heavy duty would surely get in the way when doing the housekeeping. I would guess it’s for holding some sort of tool in the same way, maybe in a shop instead of a cramped broom closet? If that’s the case, and I think it is, something looks a little “off” about it. Like maybe it’s been disassembled and put back together wrong. Do you think that knob and handle are original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Any. patent number? Looks like something that a long slow trawl through the 100+ year old sears roebuck catalog might turn up. Mop over broom if it's that kind of thing as you would want to offset the wet mop from the wall and let it drip into a bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 Idk, it would be a pretty thin mop handle even half open. I googled the only number on it. Much mumbo jumbo. I like the flower embellishment up top. I want that 5$ discount! I have a re-print of sears & roebuck. I might pull it off the shelf tonight. Too bad you get side tracked reading the details of the latest wood burning stove. I never get anywhere reading that thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 5 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: long slow trawl through the 100+ year old sears roebuck catalog Now Debi really thinks I'm nuts, just spent the last 3 hours going through the 1902 Sears Roebuck catalog # 112 (all 1198 pages) and didn't see anything that remotely resembled it. I'm thinking some sort of rope brake (dog) for clinching a bitter end of say a block & tackle (just a guess though). The catalog is available as a pdf free download. I tried to upload it but the forum won't take an upload that large. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/66829-old-catalogs-related-to-blacksmithing/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 I have hardcopy, reprints, of 4? of them 1898 + a couple in the first decade of the 1900's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seldom (dick renker) Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Wonder if it a rig to hold brooms while they are being tied Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHC Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 If that’s the case, based on what I’ve seen with actual broom holders of similar design, I think it would allow too much side to side action to really be beneficial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 (edited) 19 hours ago, SHC said: Do you think that knob and handle are original? I went out this morning and looked at it and it looks original. I also saw a crack in the arched section on top. I suppose I will save it for a sculpture or put it in the oddity collection. Maybe I'll ask him for a $5 "defective merchandise" discount next week.... Still be nice to identify it. Edited February 26, 2022 by Nodebt Fix a thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 (edited) 13 hours ago, seldom (dick renker) said: Wonder if it a rig to hold brooms while they are being tied That's kinda what I think it is. I'm pretty sure it's for holding the broom while you trim the straw. There was a man who made brooms in my town when I was little and he used something very similar in conjunction with a shear to trim up the brooms after he wrapped them on a foot powered machine. The only difference I can see with this and the device he used is that his had a foot pedal instead of a weighted ball. Pnut Edited February 26, 2022 by pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 Pnut, I don't think that ball weights much. It's probably more for grabbing onto. Maybe it's a sausage crimper. Clamp down and then twist your link off. That guy had it for a year on his tables and nobody knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 It's much smaller than I thought it was as well. I missed the picture with the measurements yesterday. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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