Strange Tool - to tie fishing flies?

I posted this before and someone thought it was to tie fishing flies. I can't find an image of one like this so I'm not sure.

 

I would think that if it was for holding thread spools for tying flies it should be able to easily interchange different colored thread spools - does that blue spool have a way to come off easily?

 

Found this - it's a cable/rope/wire roller device.

 

Looking at the small size and very light construction I'm guessing your device was used for home yarn-spinning or to guide string for something. The item shown has a body about 9" long without screw, and maybe 2" wide, and the axle might be 1/16" dia., good enough for string, yarn, possibly twine, that's all.

 

I guess my question would be - how much string could you wind on this and why would you be winding string?? I suppose for yarn, but it still wouldn't hold that much. You'd have to be winding a lot in order to need an actual tool to do it.

 

You don't wind up anything on an hourglass-profile roller like that, it is to keep a single strand near center of roller. It acts as a guide Pulley only among other system components.

 

Ah. So it's incomplete. It was in with my parents stuff from their second hand store Yes, many years after they passed to their Reward, I'm still opening boxes. I found this several years ago and put it back in a box with other unknowns.

 

Not for fishing flies, maybe part of a curtain assembly of some sort, obviously it screws/clamps onto something, like square metal frame, but doesn't hold much weight, there's no pad on the end of the screwy thingy, made to roll a small rope or string, just a guest/newby guess

 

We ought to have a pinned thread for all the unknown, unidentified mystery objects.

 

I looks more like the spindle/roller rested on a line/rope to glide/roll back and forth - what was attached to/hung from the bottom is beyond my imagination......../............/.......but for some reason clothes pegs come to mind............/................./

 

To me, it looks more like the table clamp pulleys we used for experiments in 7th grade science class!

 

The local art center where I show my work has lately been showing a lot of 3D "found object" art. I'm not enamored of it, but maybe I should make some sort of art project out of it.