# What IS this thing I found in my home???



## SkyKing (Feb 28, 2015)

Hi, woodworking people; I just joined to try to figure out what this item is in my house…I found out this is the #1 woodworkers' forum on the 'net.

I'm not a woodworker, I'm a mechanical engineer. My wife and I bought this house about a year and a half ago, and found a former woodworking shop in one room in the basement.

Along one wall were very nicely built racks holding vast, vast amounts of various hardwoods (I could tell they were hardwoods somehow), some cabinetry and many power outlets all over the room. Turns out our new neighbor said, yes, one of the former owners was a serious, big time woodworker.

Well, I know a guy who is also a sometime woodworker and he came and went crazy over all the hardwood boards and trim and blocks, etc. I said it's yours of you take it so I can reclaim this room for firearms maintenance, a cartridge reloading bench, etc.

On one of the benches there was this "fixture", which, given the context of the former use of the shop, must be some kind of wood-working device or fixture. My friend didn't recognize it; neither did family members to whom I sent a pic.

Does anybody here know what this is???

Pic attached…notice a "shadow" on the bench where there might have been a different part at one time, that kept it unworn and clean.










Sorry the pic came in sideways…the keys are in there for scale. The thing is screwed to the bench top.

What is this?

-Kevin in Catonsville, MD


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## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

Not sure.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Remove it from the bench and throw it away.
You gave up a treasure trove of hardwood stock, why place any value on this mystery fixture?


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## dustyoldman (Dec 28, 2014)

looks to me like either a hinge of sorts or was used to hold something in place


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

A lot of woodworkers build strange, specialized fixtures for specific tasks they perform repeatedly and that one could be one of them. It's not any of the normal jigs I'm used to seeing.

Offhand, it could be a depth gauge of sorts. Maybe it's a weird sort of stop for hand-planing boards. Most telling is the pale spot between the two wood blocks on one side of the dowel. It looks like something spent a lot of time in that location which kept the top from aging as badly in that one spot.

Any chance of finding whatever used to sit there?


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## Picklehead (Feb 12, 2013)

> Remove it from the bench and throw it away.
> You gave up a treasure trove of hardwood stock, why place any value on this mystery fixture?
> 
> - poopiekat


Better yet, give the bench away too!


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

It looks like a place to roll the edges of sandpaper for a 1/4 sheet sander. It also looks like the sander sat there between the rails when not in use. I had something similar when I used a 1/4 sheet sander.


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

OMG…..he left one of THEM when he moved. 
I haven't seen one of them in


> ?


????? many years.
Maybe never quite like that ONE.
You might want to give him more money for that house!


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

You probably lost a few month's worth of mortgage payments by giving that wood away. The least you could do is guilt the guy you gave it to and have him make at least one piece of furniture in a style you like, including finishing. I, however, am shameless. I bought ONE board from my neighbor who recently moved. It is oak, 8' long and 22" wide, and I paid $50. If you wanted to make a panel that wide from smaller pieces, it would cost about $300, less labor.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

I'm guessing there was a roll of sandpaper there and the paper fed under the dowel and was cut to length with a knife.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

What are the dimensions of the ghosted area that didn't darken. That will help a lot. Tell your friend he owes you a piece of furniture of your choosing and design.


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## redSLED (Mar 21, 2013)

Um, that is a ring of keys.


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## SirIrb (Jan 12, 2015)

Toilet paper holder for a near empty roll.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

perhaps a place to slip a dead man with a metal hook on your bench.

Edit
Opps I didn't notice it was attached to the top of the bench.


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## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

I think you should find the previous owners new phone number, get ahold of him, and ask so we all can know exactly what it is.


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## kwolfe (Feb 12, 2014)

The fact that there is a light square in the top middle shows that there must have been so thing nested in it for quite some time. Wonder if it help sharpening stones or something


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## fuigb (Apr 21, 2010)

> Remove it from the bench and throw it away.
> You gave up a treasure trove of hardwood stock, why place any value on this mystery fixture?
> 
> - poopiekat


Why not give it away? He had no interest and no use for the material.

Generosity is a good thing. A number of my hand tools have come to me this way, from friends with a windfall in which they had no interest. I got my Stanley 78 and and a handled scraper this way, from a millwright with boundless interest in steel but none at all in wood. Another pal brought me a set of classic turning tools fond at an estate sale. That buddy was grinning when he said " I have no idea what they are but I'm sure they're for wood and they were only 50-cents each."

And I've paid it forward. I once got a brand new set of very high-end illustrator's pens in a box of hand tools for almost nothing on the last day of a garage sale. Worth a couple of hundred I was told, but I gave them to one of the artists at work who was ecstatic and has put them to very good use.

Pass stuff to those who appreciate and will use the cast-offs I say.


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## SkyKing (Feb 28, 2015)

Wow, what a snarky crowd…I gave away the wood because if I kept it, it would just sit there forever, unused.

I place no value in the fixture piece, I just wanted to know what it WAS.


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## daddywoofdawg (Feb 1, 2014)

My guess would be to hold sharpening stones?


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> Wow, what a snarky crowd…I gave away the wood because if I kept it, it would just sit there forever, unused.
> 
> I place no value in the fixture piece, I just wanted to know what it WAS.


In my best attempt to not be 'snarky'.. I just have to ask.. did you join this site *just* to ask what that thing was? I mean, this is a woodworkers forum, with an emphasis on the 'wood' part. Coming in and telling everyone that you gave away a treasure trove of hardwood so you could play with guns and ammo isn't exactly going to get a warm and fuzzy response in this environment!

Cheers,
Brad


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## SkyKing (Feb 28, 2015)

Yeah, actually, I did join just to find that out….I'm a mechanical engineer and so I am quite curious as to what this bit of "tooling" was. Sometimes I design fixtures for machine shops, and other times the guys do it themselves.

Since I don't know a joiner planer from a dado blade I thought I'd ask the experts. My intro story was just about this particular room in my house. Sorry if the wood was so f-ing valuable but I went college so I could afford my toys. So should others if they want to play, and not whine. Nuff said.

I am just really, really curious as to what it was for.

Also, the guy who got the wood is a real stand-up guy and his family has been very important to my wife and I for a long time. Thanks. I didn't just list it on Craigslist as a giveaway. I mean I know nice wood when I see it. Some of it was that kind of briar that pipes are made of, for instance. And some was like a cross section of tree trunk for tables and stools.

To a1Jim: what's a 'dead man'?

To MrRon: I did note that a single sheet of 20-lb bond paper could not be inserted between the bench top and the round part. It had occurred to me that maybe it was for pulling some sheets of stuff through to laminate or something. With the fingers only, the rod could be turned against the bench top using a lot of effort.


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## dustyoldman (Dec 28, 2014)

You know curiosity is always good , and we all need that and if we give something away so be it I can not tell of how much I have given away . to somebody that I knew could or would use it that includes tool . When I retired I gave hundreds of dollars worth of tools that I was planning on never using again . So that I could be more focused on wood working .So my hat is off to you for giving that wood away . I know some of us would have liked being the one receiving it . But I,m sure it will be put to good use . I am giving away pieces that I have made all the time , you just did it before hours of labor and design where put into it .


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## leafherder (Jan 20, 2013)

I do not know what it is and I am sorry that some of the responses offended you, but now that you are here why not take a look around. You will find a lot of mechanical engineers here - working in wood either as a hobby or as a professional choice. We also have artists and architects, builders and dreamers, crafters and construction workers, doctors, lawyers, librarians and yes gunsmiths. Give woodworking a try - install a shelf, design and build a book case, carve a lamp base, you might like it, you might get hooked, or you might not. 
Have a great weekend.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Kevin
A deadman is an attachment that is put on a bench to hold the other end of a board you have clamped length wise in a vise.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/24530


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

Is there any sign of wear on the dowel?


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

I remember long ago in another life I started on a completely different kind of on-line forum and was soon offended by the comments of one - and regretted going there.

Please don't take one remark to represent the general tenor of this place.

Poopiekat is a (self-professed) hoarder (of hand planes), so might be offended just that you gave away a hoard. Actually, in every other post I've read of his, he's seemed like a nice guy, really!

Whoever left the hoard hehind must have died - or he would not have left it. Or perhaps your friend was being overly effusive in praising your gift.


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## ElChe (Sep 28, 2014)

Welcome aboard. Someone devoted a lot of time to the shape of the structure making two sides geometrically interesting and proportional. Could the curves of the two sides have function or were they shaped simply for aesthetics. No clue. I am stumped. I do enjoy trying to figure out mysteries.

P.s. I wish I was your neighbor.


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## dustyoldman (Dec 28, 2014)

I remembered later this morning (and this may make some jealous ) but I have in my shop both Epae ( iron wood ) and paduck that where given to me approximately 50 bd ft of each , and gave a piece ( own design serving tray to the person that gave me the wood . they will be getting two remote controlled boats ( sail and battleship and I know they will be used as they live on a lake . when a person passes on any thing and you know it will be used it makes one feel good that the one recieving what ever will enjoy


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Why you joined this forum is no one's business but your own. People give away things to someone else who can use and appreciate them all the time and it's nobody's business what you did with YOUR wood. A lot of petty people here, try to look past them.


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## SkyKing (Feb 28, 2015)

Yeah, the guy who owned the wood died…I tracked down his widow in a retirement community near here, when a piece of Christmas mail came addressed to her. Turns out he was a Westinghouse engineer, and woodworking was his hobby. The wife didn't know what to do with the wood and the movers didn't take it when they packed up.

No, no wear on the dowel, now that I think of it.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

dhazelton
I agree with you about anyone should join for whatever reason they want and of course give away want.The one thing I have a different opinion about the number of folks that are not friendly or are unkind or "petty" I think the number is very small and most folks are good helpful & friendly members. Sometimes when one or two people keep posting things they shouldn't it seems like there are a lot of negative people, but in reality it's just a very small minority with persistent posts.


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

After my "smart ass" comment earlier, I keep looking at this.
It appears it would hold a metal roller paint tray with Lshaped feet at end (instead of using step ladder) he maybe set his roller tray in this. The rest of the table looks like he did a lot of painting.
"Once again appology for my earlier comment, I was having one of my days"


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## splatman (Jul 27, 2014)

Must have been one of those narrow paint trays. never have seen metal ones, tho. I'm doubting that.
Here's something: It was originally built for a project, but was never used, so it was fastened to the bench as a fixture. Maybe it was going to be the handle of a (never built) toy baby buggy. Since it did not get used for its intended purpose/function, it got fastened to the bench to keep a static object static. Recycled.


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## HornedWoodwork (Jan 28, 2015)

I vote sandpaper unwinder-er.


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## Randy_ATX (Sep 18, 2011)

Are there any score marks in the bench along the dowel area?


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