What Is It?

Where is Solar Eagle?

He must be in one of those porta-potties.

Thats a chalk line snapper.....er,,,a,,,,got any paper to spare?

Depends which way you are leaning. :)

Could it be a machine for making/copying old keys?

My second guess is a primitive circumcision machine.

Ohhh goodness that must hurt like the Dickens if you do it yourself!

Is there a Jewish Doctor in the house?????? LOL

"Is there a Jewish Doctor in the house?????? LOL"

Surely you mean a Mohel? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohel

Possibly in a Temple, but not in a hospital as that requires a doctor's license doesn't it?

I'm not Jewish, and certainly not a doctor of medicine, so I don't no what the individual state laws allow when and how, etc.

I guess my "funny" didn't fly.....

"I guess my "funny" didn't fly....."

There's a pill for that. :)

Ya all can smoke something too for the same same effect....and it ain't tobacci either! LOL

This is the correct answer everyone

Its a ...damn...too late...
Del
_{(I was going to say it's Kris' mandraulic sqirreldraulic custard pump....)}

That has just got to be a wind-up.

No

top left of photo i think is a rechargable light , see the wire going into its base ?

based on the high gear ratio i thunk it is possibly a knife sharpener but we really need a photo of the other side to reach an accurate confusement.

Hand crank for a sailboat sail???

I think passingtongreen probably has it. But I have seen people in the past using a hand drill to make twisted pair wiring, and, they invariably stuck a mortice lock key in the chuck to attach the wires.

I used to just clamp the wires in the chuck.

And to add - could be our popcorn popper for our fire-pit..makes some good stuff..don't even need the butter...

I used to use this for grinding mowing machine bar sections. By changing the wheel (missing in photo) it would work as a grinder. Normally it would be clamped to a bench or to fence and you would crank it till you got tired. Worked well and you were not limited to where you had electricity to sharpen tools or sections.

i agreed, its grinding mowing machine and good handy thing must have in kitchen.

Do you have grass in your kitchen?

And is it under a fluorescent light.

Skeleton key grinder. [?]

What? Am I the only one that can see the paddle stirrer on the bottom? It for sure is a hand operated drink stirrer.

I have seen similrt devices that were designed to lap valves on a cylender head when done grinding them. I have also seen hand drills that looked like this. But I thought the gears were exposed on both of them.

Based on, that two wires leave it in the left upper quadrant, it is an old hand cranked charging generator or similar for a Megger. In any case I would not leave my hand as shown, because either of them kicks like a mule !!

The rest of the ford T is missing!

Excellent reply, I agree with all. The keys at the lower right may mean that this grinder has some specialized stones for key making.

Thank you! I have more than just theoretical knowledge of these things. At flea markets around here, I can regularly expect to see 2 - 3 for sale; they're still fairly common. Here are two that I have, plus a brand-new sickle-bar grinding stone for reference.

I suspect that the keys are sort of incidental background, unrelated to the grinder. If I were modifying keys, I'd use a file and a vise to have MUCH better control of the work - and that goes double if I have to hold the work with my left hand while cranking with my right! Even with a helper to crank, or using a big enough wheel to let it coast and use the momentum, control would be poor. Big wheels aren't likely prospects for doing fine work on keys, either.

It looks very much like a hand grinder my father had.

why would you grind your hand ?

corns ?

callouses ?

;)

I have never seen one before, this is the famous Hand Crank Thing-a-Ma-jig!

Looks like one of these,, only older...