Wooden Whatzit

[talesofthesevenseas]

My friend with the Victorian sent me home with a couple of goodies today, including this wooden whatzit. Anyone have an idea what it is or what it was used for? It is six inches tall and six inches in diameter:

Here is the "before" pick of the whatzit and a blue enamel basin sitting on my stump:



Here is the whatzit after cleaning, disenfecting and oiling with mineral oil, love the lights/darks in this wood!



Top view- there seems to be some kind of hardened putty in the bottom of it, maybe a later addition to make it watertight?



Bottom view:



I don't know what it used to be, but it has a new job holding wooden spoons on the meat safe:



Any guesses as to what the wooden whatzit's original purpose was? Maybe some kind of industrial yarn spool? Whatever was on this was soft, there are no marks or marrs in the wood. Maybe some kind of wooden belt pulley?

[Oceans64]

You took my guesses...  I was thinking they owned a store (right?) so maybe something by the yard that could be stored on a spool. Doesn't seem deep enough tho... and why the ridges...  Hmmmm

[talesofthesevenseas]

I agree that it doesn't seem to have enough depth for any kind of storage like a spool, which is what got me thinking about pullies and belts etc. It looks like the three holes in the bottom maybe fit it onto some kind of machine? the positions look like you could fit it onto some kind of a three-pronged device and and screw it down to keep it from coming off when it spins. But this is all guessing on my part. I suspect the ridges, which I've never seen before, are to keep whatever runs around the whatzit from slipping.

Yes that's right, the people who owned the Victorian ran a grocery store. I am checking with my friend to see if this came from them or from some other source.

[fancypants]

I'm gonna guess that it may have been part of a winch , or from a hub of a wood-wheeled item ....
looks like it's doin' a fine job , just as it sits .

[talesofthesevenseas]

My friend just confirmed that the spool and the enamel basin are original to the house and were in it when they bought it. So the spool could be something from the store, something from the carriage house out back, off some kind of machinery... no idea.

By the way, going off topic a bit, but here's how that basin cleaned up. It's in great shape, just a few little spots of enamel loss, which I cleaned the rust off, then oiled with olive oil. Found a good spot to hang it below all the cobalt blue stuff. Most of the glassware was in the dishwasher when I took the photo, but you get the idea.

[sapphire]

Maybe I've lived too close to the sea for too long     I'm picturing attached to the 'railing' of a fishing boat with the rope to a trawling net wrapped around it............you know where you see them hauling the lines in, the 'spool' the line is wrapped around to give them leverage? Or for the line that ties them to a dock?

Guess not close enough to the sea.....or I'd know what the heck I was talking about  


Don't know if you can see it well enough.....best example I could come up with at the moment

[sapphire]

Tales, your cobalt collection makes me drool every time I see it!   

[talesofthesevenseas]

Thanks Sapphire! 

It could be a boat winch I suppose, since you only need to wrap around it a couple of times. Although with the hollow center I bet Fancypants may be right, that it is part of some kind of a land-use winch, a piece of a larger machine.

Here's a homemade winch that looks very similar:

[hosman321]

I'm drooling over your glass, too! I LOVE the enamel bowl. It would match my enamel kitchen table perfectly. Maybe with some fruit in it. I think I'll ask for one for Christmas now.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Thanks Hosman, almost everything was in the dishwasher after Thanksgiving, it looks pretty baren in this photo! 

My hubby and I both remember enamel basins like this being used to soak your feet in, with hot water and epsom salts LOL! I've never been much of a fan of the spatterware stuff, but I really like this basin. Show some pictures if you end up getting one at Christmas!

[waywardangler]

If there is no wear to the spool, I would think it was not part of any winch or belt running device.  Those flanges on the center part are what throws me.

[cogar]

It looks like the three holes in the bottom maybe fit it onto some kind of machine?

Those "flanges" or ribs on the center part look to me like they were glued on there.

And me thinks the 3 holes in the bottom were for attaching it to a plate to hold it in the lathe when it was being "turned" out.

[waywardangler]

I thought the three holes were also for turning it, cogar, but those flanges could not be turned on a lathe.  But if they were glued on after turning that would explain it.  I would have thought Tales would have mentioned the flanges were add-ons but maybe not.  I was thinking along the lines of a wooden grease bucket but those flanges make no sense for that use.  Maybe it's original use was to hold wooden utensils and now it has come full circle. 

[talesofthesevenseas]

Could those flanges have been used to hold a rubber "tire" and keep it from slipping? There seems to be little wear if any. Could just be age. I'll look closer at how the flanges are attached, I'm pretty sure they are glued since they could not have been turned on a lathe like the rest of it, and are not attached from the inside.

[waywardangler]

I think there would be too much pressure on the (glued on?) flanges for a rubber tire.  If those flanges are glued on and given the age of the piece, anything running on those flanges would exert too much pressure and pop the flanges loose or off.  The glue in those days was not the best for situations like withstanding pressure.