What is it?

[Art K]

My co-worker works for an auction outfit and occasionally brings in the odd item. This is what he had this week.


This was bead blasted and tumbled, cleaned up quite nicely. The end with the pulley spins and has an oiling hole. The threads look like some sort of collet, the other end is spring loaded and looks to have center drilled center. Anybody have a clue?
Art

[10KPete]

Bobbin winder frame from an old sewing machine.

 

Pete

[RayW]

Like Pete says! Probably from a Singer machine or similar. Have a look at this picture:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxP9VXvVl2UfYDpaYb4nkMEsR4BCkt5Zj3ckbut8XToM4IOu6EWw

[Vixen]

Almost certainly a bobbin winder.from a very old, pre-electric, treadle or hand cranked sawing machine.

My wife says she hand cranked her mother's sawing machine for hours on end, when she was a wee small girl.

Mike

[Art K]

Thanks guys I knew someone would recognize it, mystery solved, for now....
Art

[Captain Jerry]

My grandmother's treadle powered machine got a lot of use and I sometimes provide the power but I mostly remember it as my first contact with things mechanical almost 80 years ago.  Not just the treadle and crank, but the flywheel and the dog clutch.  Lots of great stuff to entertain a 4 year old engineer.


Jerry