A wierd streamlined thingy that might stump you.

Amen!!!
In the Navy one of the things I maintained were all the overhead and bulkhead mounted piping systems on the ships. Everything from hot and cold water to fire fighting water systems. All were covered in asbestos.
Every time a naval rifle (gun) was fired the vibration and shock caused dust to rain down from the overhead.
Later I was a full time welder/fabricator and had asbestos blankets to protect areas from damage. Sometimes i had them over me!
I'm fine. All my hair though I never ever wear hats so...

 

Ok you asbestos super humans who probably should be dead but aren't here's the deal. Being exposed doesn't guarantee you will get asbestosis (cancer) it simply means the possibility becomes higher the more exposure. Some get lucky some don't. My ol' man had it for forty years and still lived until 93 although he only had it in the lung lining not the lung itself. Anyway this stuff in the thingy is as fine as talcum powder and prone to float around in the air so I'm not going to be careless with it. There's also and ethics problem.
If I get run over by a health food truck whilst walking to the shops to buy a pack of cigarettes then it will go back into an estate sale. The next person to play with it could be a ten year old kid who dies thirty years later because of me. So it's up to me to make it a little safer and maybe with a warning sticker underneath.
Cheers
Stephen

 

I don't think either of us stated that we don't care about it...

 

Fair enough
Cheers
Stephen

 

Yep, dad was a GP, he brought the mercury home from the broken thermometers for us to play with.
I forgot about all the furniture I stripped in the 70s. That stuff was nasty! ! !

Hey greg, my arms shrank too. Maybe that was from all the second hand smoke our parents blew at us!

 

Whoops didn't see all the in between posts before I posted.

I agree with King, it's not that we don't care. Just that this world is paranoia prone. I mean we used to play in the rain. But OMG - We don't have rain anymore - everything is a storm!
I never see kids out in the rain trying to splash each other with mud puddles. Big news is when there is a puddle and the newscaster dips their toe in to show how deep it is - an inch! ! !

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Coast-rivals-overreaction-5-8-earthquake.html
Never forget!

 

Well it looks like I have stumped everyone so off to the curio cabinet it goes and when I drop dead the next inquisitive owner can try again.
Cheers
Stephen

 

I'm going to classify it as a gizmo for a G-dammit and leave it at that.

 

I saw the thread pop up and could have sworn I'd seen that thing before. Then I looked at the posting date of the earlier messages .. duh. I could swear I saw something like this on American Pickers at some point, just don't ask me which episode. It's something Mike and Frank would jump on even if they didn't know what it was. One of their buddies whose name is going right out of my head (silver hair, screaming hot ) would know the answer. Dave something....

 

Do you think it could be the base of an antique or very vintage table fan? (Sorry if that was already mentioned, I didn't read every post on all three pages.)

 

My thoughts so far...

1/ It has a single ended tube inside it that has a layer of insulating asbestos wrapped around it that has a resistance wire heater wrapped around that.

2/ Some thing like a rod of metal fits inside the tube and is kept warm but not hot as most of the heating is insulated from the tube by the asbestos.

3/ Most of the heat radiates to and is absorbed by the outer streamlined shell which is streamlined to allow airflow over it to dissipate the excess heat.

4/ I'm inclined to think it has something to do with engines moving at speed.

5/ Given the need to keep some thing warm at speed and the need for streamlining I'm inclined towards early aircraft but there were a lot of strange motor engines around as well.

It's a curious little beast!!
Cheers
Stephen

 

Found the name - Dave Ohrt. For what it's worth.

 

Must be cold there....

 

That too, and I like guys who are into antique technology.

 

Well, I think you've come to the right place.

 

Those of us who are of a certain age think men of a certain age are hot.

 

As in above ground, self-propelled, and breathing without mechanical assistance? Yep. Pretty much.