Share your favorites on Show & Tell

antique leather flat belt and cast iron pulley

In Tools and Hardware > Show & Tell.
Tools and Hardware646 of 9815Can you identify these old tools?  French Bulldog Paperweight
7
Love it
0
Like it

racer4fourracer4four loves this.
vetraio50vetraio50 loves this.
BenBen loves this.
Alfie21Alfie21 loves this.
fortapachefortapache loves this.
Irishcollector.Irishcollector. loves this.
dav2no1dav2no1 loves this.
See 5 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 3 years ago

    AnythingOb…
    (1778 items)

    I'll call this pair a genuine antique without much hesitation, even now in late 2021 would put us there, and the 1920's are an easily acceptable time frame for the pulley (at least) given its original duty history, which I happen to know. :-) Its exact original date and location are lost to time forever, but the pulley first served on the 'back end' of a very large electrical motor otherwise powering a pipe organ blower machine, to also operate a low voltage DC generator at the same time. It was actually a very commonplace sort of installation at least through the 1920's, even in city locations but especially rural ones, at least until rudimentary DC power rectifier units became practical alternatives in the 30's-40's.

    There's a tape measure for size reference, the iron pulley is about 6" across and doesn't have any foundry or maker's marks on it, just two setscrews, a keyway, and slight side drilling for balance. (1175 RPM would have been its speed, most likely) The belt doesn't have marks either, its seam is barely visible in the last two pics -- it is a lap-joint several inches long where the ends of the leather strip were cut to half thickness and glued back together -- really and truly "nearly seamlessly".

    I doubt the motor it was fixed to exists any more, this pair were found in a locker full of old organ parts where they'd been kept from someplace, sometime...us 'old organ guys' tend to hold onto odd stuff like that... <LOL> It'll probably get displayed around here literally hanging around amongst the rest of my mechanical curiosities...? :-)

    logo
    Tools and Hardware
    See all
    17
    17" Valley Pro AMERICAN HICKORY Woo...
    $32
    9pcs Keys BIG Large Antique Vintage old Brass Skeleton Lot for DIY Making Lock
    9pcs Keys BIG Large Antique Vintage...
    $8
    Carbon Steel Axe Forged Hatchet Axe Hand forged Bearded Axe Camping Axe Hunting
    Carbon Steel Axe Forged Hatchet Axe...
    $49
    9pcs Keys BIG Large Antique Vintage old Brass Skeleton Lot for DIY Making Lock
    9pcs Keys BIG Large Antique Vintage...
    $7
    logo
    17
    17" Valley Pro AMERICAN HICKORY Woo...
    $32
    See all

    Comments

    1. racer4four racer4four, 3 years ago
      cool. i love old machinery shops with remnants of these pulley systems.

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.