My 1st WTF is it thread!

[RivennHewn]

Not very often that I'm completely stumped, but this thing?

What the hell is it?

 

[66dave]

My guess ....Looks like some sort of mechanical to electric feedback. I see a spur gear turning into a linear motion that is connected to a variable resistor...

What was it on? Where did you find it?

 

[RivennHewn]

Came with my new (very old) Sypher metal lathe.

Did I mention it was Free?

 

[wildbill23c]

Some sort of speed reduction device for the metal lathe I would assume. I'm not a machinist, but that would be my guess since you mentioned the lathe.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I am really stretching ...

The gear box gives that small motor a lot of torque. The arm on the end of the gearbox output could drive something in a liner motion, back-and-forth.

Some kind of gear hobbing or keyway broaching add on for the lathe ?

 

[RivennHewn]

The small silver cover on what looks to be a transformer is labeled "Marchal"

No part numbers of any other info.

Speed control for an auto-feed on the lathe?

 

[Outlawmws]

I'm thinking that's a motor also but maybe not AC. DC variable speed? Then the GR box and further reduced via the chain drive.

 

[ZRX61]

That's from some sort of aircraft.

 

[CNGsaves]

Time to get guy's name, forwarding address, & phone number from Realtor for your free score !!

Wealth of knowledge likely to be gleaned from the guy who moved and left that behind.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Marchal is (or was) a european company that built automotive electrical equipment. It looks like a home made setup for some unknown purpose, with a windshield wiper motor hooked up with a chain to a right angle gear drive.

 

[Outlawmws]

That's from some sort of aircraft.

Marchal is (or was) a european company that built automotive electrical equipment. It looks like a home made setup for some unknown purpose, with a windshield wiper motor hooked up with a chain to a right angle gear drive.

Aircraft windshield wiper motor?

 

[rancherbill]

What's on the other sides of the device?

I have never seen something like this before. It looks like the shaft goes in and out. Maybe its controlled by a magnet and shifts the gears from locked to free wheeling when power is applied.

 

[ZRX61]

Aircraft windshield wiper motor?

I'm thinking more along the lines of a trim tab or small flap motor

 

[RivennHewn]

The mounting bracket is made from a section of aluminum C-channel with a green coating, similar to what I've seen in aircraft manufacturing.

I do live in the land of Boeing engineers.

It has a 12V stamp on it. I tried hooking it up to a battery, but got no response.

Google searches turn up nil.

Gear reduction unit: 30 revs of the gear to 1 of the arm.

 

[shanny19]

Aren't most relatively modern aircraft 24V??

 

[theoldwizard1]

I'm thinking more along the lines of a trim tab or small flap motor

I second that, especially after seeing that piece of "green" aluminum !

I don't see any limit switches. They could have been mounted elsewhere and wired into the circuit.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Aren't most relatively modern aircraft 24V??

I thought they were more like 72V...but maybe just fighter jets.

 

[Fretters]

That could just be something chucked together by someone to confuse the **** out of people a few years down the line, as it's doing now. I know full well I could find doing something like that highly amusing whilst building one. That's a "keep you chuckling well into old age" piece of kit, IMHO.