What is this rusty thing?
December 15, 2009 5:31 PM Subscribe
While running errands today I found a rusty metal thing on the sidewalk. Naturally I took it home with me. But I don't know what it is. Do you? It's very heavy.
I vote for another picture, side and bottom views.
My thoughts tend toward some sort of gas torch/burner, or a huge electrical radio tube with the vacuum glass casing broken away. Any signs of heat or burning ?
(it's a door stop now !)
posted by Agamenticus at 5:51 PM on December 15, 2009
My thoughts tend toward some sort of gas torch/burner, or a huge electrical radio tube with the vacuum glass casing broken away. Any signs of heat or burning ?
(it's a door stop now !)
posted by Agamenticus at 5:51 PM on December 15, 2009
Best answer: Yep some one was screwing around with a welder. The bottom is a brake drum. Above that is a ring gear and a clutch disk. Above that the thing with the groove is a pulley, probably a crank pulley from the dish. On top of that I don't recognize anything but the tallest rods which are push rods from an overhead valve engine.
posted by Mitheral at 5:52 PM on December 15, 2009
posted by Mitheral at 5:52 PM on December 15, 2009
Response by poster: other (sometimes still blurry) views—but I suspect y'all are right and it's just the result of some guy's dicking around. Which is too bad, but I still find it pretty cool.
posted by kenko at 6:07 PM on December 15, 2009
posted by kenko at 6:07 PM on December 15, 2009
too bad? you found a piece of art, got it for free, and enjoy it! i say that's a super win!
posted by nadawi at 6:19 PM on December 15, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 6:19 PM on December 15, 2009 [3 favorites]
It looks like someone tried to make a lamp.
posted by oinopaponton at 6:24 PM on December 15, 2009
posted by oinopaponton at 6:24 PM on December 15, 2009
Response by poster: Too bad that it's not something in particular. Absolutely not too bad that I found something cool.
posted by kenko at 6:33 PM on December 15, 2009
posted by kenko at 6:33 PM on December 15, 2009
Seems to me that if you bored a hole up the bottom of a cut Christmas tree, it might fit securely onto your newly found gadget, which would then stabilize it just nicely.
posted by flabdablet at 7:01 PM on December 15, 2009
posted by flabdablet at 7:01 PM on December 15, 2009
For some reason it warms my heart that based on an understanding of mechanics, logic and humanity, one can deduce from a photograph that a fundamental characteristic of an object is 'result of dicking around'.
posted by Anything at 7:26 PM on December 15, 2009 [10 favorites]
posted by Anything at 7:26 PM on December 15, 2009 [10 favorites]
Yeah, I was going to suggest a botched Christmas tree holder attempt that someone abandoned.
posted by rokusan at 8:11 PM on December 15, 2009
posted by rokusan at 8:11 PM on December 15, 2009
Mitheral: "Yep some one was screwing around with a welder. The bottom is a brake drum. Above that is a ring gear and a clutch disk. Above that the thing with the groove is a pulley, probably a crank pulley from the dish. On top of that I don't recognize anything but the tallest rods which are push rods from an overhead valve engine."
Whilst this is the correct answer, my friends and I would call that a gonkulator. I think it is a term we took from an episode of Hogan's Heroes they used to convince Klink they had some super secret device (made up) that the allies were going to use to win the war or something like that.
Yep, that's a gonkulator alright.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:26 PM on December 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
Whilst this is the correct answer, my friends and I would call that a gonkulator. I think it is a term we took from an episode of Hogan's Heroes they used to convince Klink they had some super secret device (made up) that the allies were going to use to win the war or something like that.
Yep, that's a gonkulator alright.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:26 PM on December 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
It's a robot wedding cake!
posted by Sallyfur at 3:38 AM on December 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Sallyfur at 3:38 AM on December 16, 2009 [1 favorite]
I saw a wedding cake, too!
posted by kiwi-epitome at 6:30 AM on December 16, 2009
posted by kiwi-epitome at 6:30 AM on December 16, 2009
While it is a bunch of random parts I wonder if it wasn't intended to be a trophy of some sorts. It has a sort of junkyard wars esthetic and it's just the kind of thing my friends and I might whip up as the prize for some goofy contest. Something like the Geller Cup.
posted by Mitheral at 6:53 AM on December 16, 2009
posted by Mitheral at 6:53 AM on December 16, 2009
At first glance, it looks to me like a paraffin lamp. Basically it's an oil lamp large enough to heat a room, in theory.
A lot of houses in the UK did not have central heating in the early 1980s, and in the winter you could often see your breath indoors. My family lived in rented accommodation and had one which, when lit, made the living room colder.
Stunk the place up, too.
posted by tel3path at 8:06 AM on December 16, 2009
A lot of houses in the UK did not have central heating in the early 1980s, and in the winter you could often see your breath indoors. My family lived in rented accommodation and had one which, when lit, made the living room colder.
Stunk the place up, too.
posted by tel3path at 8:06 AM on December 16, 2009
It is totally cool. Do not ever get rid of it, unless you get a very good price for it.
posted by Xoebe at 9:41 AM on December 16, 2009
posted by Xoebe at 9:41 AM on December 16, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cosmicbandito at 5:40 PM on December 15, 2009