Do You Know What This Is And It's Use ?

[donny48]

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=14mt8co&s=9#.WvggyiAh06Q
Can anyone recognise this object ? You can judge its size by the Tesco carrier bag, I have not got the object just the photo at present.

[murraymints]

the curly top bit suggests welding of sorts ?

[Tilly2]

It looks like half an object. Is there a top to it, to make it circular?

[dannyk13]

Donny, a photo of the front might be of some help.

[hc4361]

A peeler?

[dannyk13]

Is the looped bar at the top flexible or fixed?

[Togo]

Danny, Donny says that he is told that, everything is "fixed". Proper puzzler. It would help if we knew whether it is agricultural kit or a manufacturing gizmo.

[donny48]

I have very little first hand knowledge of the article but am told that nothing moves, but to me the spring suggests differently. I have asked for more photos. It was found with a lot of WW1 stuff but nothing on it looks military

[dannyk13]

The crank on the left looks as it can only be connected to the spring.

[murraymints]

some kind of gun barrel cleaner ??

[murraymints]

that's what I thought Danny..to retract spring ?

[naomi24]

Not the foggiest - but I've subscribed to this thread in the hope of finding out. That big screw thing in the middle of it must move, surely? What would be the point of it being threaded otherwise?

[dannyk13]

Naomi, it'a a spring

[murraymints]

the curve on the holder type bit on the right suggests it holds something similarly shaped

[Peter Pedant]

erm take it back to tesco and demand your money back ?

[1ozzy]

I'm thinking by itself it is a nothing item.

Looking at the photo it seems to have been mounted on a piece of wood painted black.

Once upon a time it was a tension device for something larger.

[naomi24]

Oh is it danny? Okay.

[naomi24]

Yes, I see that now. Must try harder .... or put my glasses on. :o)

[EDDIE51]

It looks like only part of the object. I think there is another part that fits onto the bit shown. The only Idea I have at the moment is possibly a device to fire 'clay pigeons' into the air for shooting competitions.

[rowanwitch]

Nothing may move at present but the framework around the spring looks like it should slide rather than flip. The spoon like section is very thick so my guess is it could hold something like a combustible material. That makes me think it is part of something much larger and it was part of an early ignition system. If the long twisty bit is a tube not solid I would be more confident.

[donny48]

Although the thing on the left looks like a crank it is not, it is a spigot with a gusset to add strength. I have a far larger but badly out of focus picture, too big for tinypics.