No clue what to call this thing...!

[GreenhornGirl]

Anyone know what this might be?  The mark says "General Cement" with a "GC" logo and "Rockford, Ill. USA".  It is 7.5" long.  It is sort of soft and I can't honestly tell if it is leather, cardboard, wood, or what the heck it is!

[fancypants]

You've got an old "main" fuse-puller , GG .

Used in households in the dark , often .

Sometimes these were made from masonite , bakelite & fiberboard of dubious origins .

Below are images of a modern fuse-puller (same basic design) & some cylindrical A.C. voltage fuses .

[GreenhornGirl]

WOW.  Thanks!!  So I googled "general cement" and "fuse puller" both in quotes and there was only 1 result!  And it was a PDF file where someone was listing their tools collection and said they have a "N.S.N. 5120-00-554-3372 - GC Electronics (General Cement) fiber cartridge- fuse puller."  LOL @ "dubious origins"--that was the best phrase of the day for me!!

Does this look 1930s-1940s, do you think?  That was my guess.  Now that you said it I think it probably is fiberboard (possibly confirmed by the above listing from someone's tool collection...)

[GreenhornGirl]

Oh and considering I know nothing about fusing or pulling them...would this still work today?  Or would it be just a collectable?  Or garbage?   

[fancypants]

Well , last question first ... there are still homes (alot in the Mid-West) that have fuseblocks in-line with the house current , so , since these units are considered non-conductive (not true when they'd get set in a puddle) , they could still function for the designed purpose .

The 'dubious' part of it is that these commonly contained amosite fibers (one of three types of asbestos) , which people nowadays are not so fond of .
Not to be used as a 'play' pliers by the youngin's !

Yours looks 1960's  (or even 70's) construction to me , esp due to the rivets holding the thing together .

[GreenhornGirl]

THANK YOU fancypants!!  Oh my gosh, now the "dubious" comment isn't so funny anymore!     I don't want asbestos in the house and since I don't know what these things are made of I shouldn't sell them because I don't want to get sued for selling asbestos!  Um, so...anyone want these before I get them as far away from my living space as possible?

[GreenhornGirl]

[runs off to seal these in a ziploc bag]

[fancypants]

Not too sure anyone would jump @ the chance , GG !

 

The main deal about asbestos dangers are ones when the material becomes friable (loose/powdered/etc ) ... you could give the thing a TOTAL dip in "Future" brand floor-finish , let it fully dry & legally (in the U.S.) be able to say that the asbestos in this item is "encapsulated" (not that you'd want to) .... that's sorta still the state of laws in the good ole U.S. .

It's a good thing to know/keep-an-eye-out-for ,  esp about old wiring/plumbing/auto/siding & any non-metalic item made by 'cement' companies .

Used to be considered a 'wonder mineral' , in a good way .
I think it's one of many great examples of what was thought of as old-timey 'consumer safe' items .

[GreenhornGirl]

Oh I didn't mean to sell it...I will ship it for free if anyone on this board wants it, if not I will throw it away.  God bless you fancypants for giving me this important information!!

[GreenhornGirl]

Do I need to worry about anything it may have touched?  I didn't know I was buying it, it came in the bottom of a box lot with some other items on top that I did want...good thing I didn't sniff it to see if it smelled like leather!  (At least, I don't think I did...[scary music]).  Thank again so much for this information--would never have crossed my mind but I definitely won't forget it in the future!

[fancypants]

I wouldn't call the medics just yet , GG ... just hose-off with soap & H2O where you've touched it & ditch the box (plastic garb bag) .

Welcome to the club of those that know !

[GreenhornGirl]

Done and done!!  I may have a tendency to overreact a bit...   Thanks for welcoming me to the "club"...I think the scare I just got was about as good an initiation ceremony as any!  I wish we all could've seen the expression on my face when I read the "a" word.  I'm sure I looked like the couch had just grown legs and started break dancing in my living room.  Yet another one of the hundreds of reasons why I love this board (and all of you)!

[rockandrollrods]

I've done a lot of work with old cars, and have accidentally breathe in asbestos more than once. It's the long term exposure that really does the damage that you hear about. Nice find though. Old tools are pretty cool like that.

[wendy177]

Thanks fancy learned somthin new!!! 

[cogar]

Me thinks too many people are becoming 100% dependent upon the Government telling them how to live and are thus now …… afraid of living and scared of dying.

For those afflicted with the above, here are two (2) short articles that will really get yu shaking in your bootiess, to wit:

Region 9: Naturally Occurring Asbestos in California
 http://www.epa.gov/Region9/toxic/noa/

Airborne asbestos levels in non-occupational environments
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2744826