Cast Iron Wheel

[PennsylvaniaPete]

Any ideas?  We purchased at Antique Store in Cape May Courthouse, NJ.  Shop owner says it comes from Cape May and said it was nautical.  Its cast iron, 40 lbs.  Has the words OPEN and the numbers 26 on it.  We don't think it was a ship's wheel with the word OPEN on it.  Its VERY rusty and has remnents of a green (older) and yellow paint job.

A mirror appears to of been attached to the back at a later date.

[hosman321]

Definitely very cool! Not a ship's wheel though. Thinking it went to some sort of pipe shut off valve thing. Can't think of the word I'm trying to blurt out. Maybe to a water or steam pipe? Maybe it came off of a ship engine somehow, and that's where the ship idea came in. Hope someone else can give you more info than I can! Looks to be right around the year 1900.

[waywardangler]

I think it was a stage prop for the show LOST! 

[ironlord1963]

   Sure looks like a hatch Wheel to me, not a steering wheel.

[hosman321]

I LOVE Lost wayward, I have all the seasons and never missed an episode.
I'm a sucker for cast iron, and that thing would look cool with my other stuff.

[KC]

I didnt see it in LOST.  We loved that show and even had a LOST party with all the props!!!!!!

Kinda reminds me of some of the older wheels I would see used on locks/dams!

[fancypants]

I'm with ironlord1963 .

Locking/unlocking wheel from a bulkhead door .

[waywardangler]

Hosman and KC, you are a LOST cause!  I also watched Lost but was deeply disappointed by the ending.  Rather than tie anything together, I think they just made more questions.  The BIG one being...Why did I waste my time watching that show for years only to have an ending like that?!?

But it does resemble a hatch closing wheel...just like they used to spin on subs to lock a watertight door.

[PennsylvaniaPete]

The problem with Lost is they asked questions so puzzling that even the writers could not come up with a good answer.

[cogar]

Thinking it went to some sort of pipe shut off valve thing.

I agree, Hosman, and I'm thinking it was a water "shut-off" valve thingy.

And I'm also thinking that since it was made for a square shaft/stem, that it was not permanently affixed to the valve but was only used when needed. A "tool" one carried with them.

A "tool" like for "turning" a fire hydrant "on" & "off" by only firemen or public employees, and that would be why it has "OPEN" on it cause fire hydrants are always "CLOSEed" or turned "OFF". 

[hosman321]

Like this?
http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/display/5797461c-b3c5-4581-b38f-7e08a78f2d56.jpg

[hosman321]

Or maybe off a horse drawn fire engine.
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/15100/15162/steamfire_15162_lg.gif
Hey, just like that useless iron cap I have!
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6993.15

[PennsylvaniaPete]

The biggest difference between the valve shut on/off things we have seen pictures of, and the one we got is that the one we have has spokes that extend beyond the diameter of the wheel.  You can also tell by the way the iron is cast is that the spokes were certainly part of the original design, not added later like the mirror was.

[waywardangler]

The spokes that extend allow this wheel to be spun easily to allow a faster close to some seal, in my opinion.  I do not think this was a valve shutoff wheel for a firehydrant to be carried around by workmen.  This looks to be too big and heavy to throw in a truck and put on hydrants.  The square shaft could still be used on a permanent valve.  Maybe it is for a very old bank vault.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I agree, the spindles are too far apart to be practical for a ships helm (steering wheel). But it does look like it could have been on a water-tight door of a large ship. The wide spacing between the spindles seems to indicate to me that you would be exerting considerable force on it and really having to muscle it manually.