# What in the world is this \[cast iron object found in a barn\]? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650 "2012-06-09T21:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gapanther79](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@gapanther79](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gapanther79)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/1 "2012-06-09T21:10:40Z")
My cousin was digging through the old barn on her property and found this item. It is made of cast iron and I am unsure of size (waiting on her to verify this for me). Any help would be appreciated. [http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/3391/42144138177636520974512.th.jpg](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/705/42144138177636520974512.jpg/) [http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7821/54333938177969187607911.th.jpg](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/98/54333938177969187607911.jpg/) ---
**Author:** ![cynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@cynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cynyc)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/2 "2012-06-09T21:50:50Z")
The image is awfy small. If I wasn’t widely feared and hated 😃 I would ask to create and mod a **what is it** board. But your question, as it stands, is what some of us in the history/antiques/treasure hunting/ relics community would call a What Is This Thing In My Hand question. A common mistake. 😉 Whatever it is is decorative–note the hearts. If size isn’t known it is good to photograph with an object such as a dollar bill or a coin to show relative size. One could guess something from the dead grass but like I said–too small. And also take pics of both sides. Does it have threads? Was anything else found nearby? Was it in the soil or sitting in the barn? What State is the barn in. How old is the building. Is the edge flat or grooved. Stuff like that. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/3 "2012-06-09T21:58:48Z")
[Cookie or pastry press](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=&=&q=heart+shaped+cookie+press&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=NsbTT4zAK4Oi8ATxk-C-Aw&biw=1406&bih=1024&sei=OMbTT9iLLI-Y8gTGiZnnAw#um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=antique+cookie+press+&oq=antique+cookie+press+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=img.3...7526.8526.18.8724.7.7.0.0.0.0.48.301.7.7.0...0.0.wgziEf66BKQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=5747a683c8986614&biw=1406&bih=1024)? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/4 "2012-06-09T22:14:42Z")
Looks like it has a bracket to stick a rod or axle in. My guess is a wheel or pulley from… something. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/5 "2012-06-09T22:15:17Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > [Cookie or pastry press](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=&=&q=heart+shaped+cookie+press&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=NsbTT4zAK4Oi8ATxk-C-Aw&biw=1406&bih=1024&sei=OMbTT9iLLI-Y8gTGiZnnAw#um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=antique+cookie+press+&oq=antique+cookie+press+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=img.3...7526.8526.18.8724.7.7.0.0.0.0.48.301.7.7.0...0.0.wgziEf66BKQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=5747a683c8986614&biw=1406&bih=1024)? Judging by the grass, I’m going to guess it’s 6 inches across or so and probably weighs at least 10 pounds. My first guess was a pulley for something that was meant to look a bit decorative/domestic. A washing machine or clothes press drying thing. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/6 "2012-06-09T22:20:30Z")
Not that it helps, but if you google “pulley with heart shapes” you’ll find a couple more similar ones. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/7 "2012-06-09T22:22:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Judging by the grass, I’m going to guess it’s 6 inches across or so and probably weighs at least 10 pounds. My first guess was a pulley for something that was meant to look a bit decorative/domestic. A washing machine or clothes press drying thing. You really think it’s that heavy? I was going to guess decorative child’s wagon or wheelbarrow wheel. ---
**Author:** ![David42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@David42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David42)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/8 "2012-06-09T22:23:12Z")
It looks like pulley to me. Is the outer edge grooved to accomodate a rope or cable? It looks like a bracket near the center and a socket into which an axle could fit for mounting it. The heart may not be there for the purpose of making hearts. They may be inadvertant after putting something between the spokes for a hand to better grab onto. or maybe they did choose hearts over similar designs just because it looks neater and serves the same purpose of making it easier to hold. Compare the size to the grass in the picture. That’s some pretty big cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/9 "2012-06-09T22:27:01Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > You really think it’s that heavy? > I was going to guess decorative child’s wagon or wheelbarrow wheel. If it’s 6 or so inches across and cast iron I’d guess it’s at least 10 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/10 "2012-06-09T22:29:28Z")
> [@David42](#): > > Compare the size to the grass in the picture. That’s some pretty big cookies. They’d be normal (or somewhat big) size cookies, but no homeowner would be punching out six at a time like that. If it were for cookies, it would be an industrial die from a factory. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/11 "2012-06-09T22:48:10Z")
Since it was in a barn I would guess it maybe came off of an old piece of farm machinery, perhaps a bit like [this threshing machine.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Threshing_Machine_In_Action.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/12 "2012-06-09T23:13:50Z")
Thread title edited to indicate subject. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/13 "2012-06-09T23:17:18Z")
machines did have decorative parts. it could have been a part of a guide for a moving part. it could have been a wheel (handle) as part of a control. it could been a peg to hold a coil of something. size and a more detailed photo would be useful. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/14 "2012-06-09T23:44:40Z")
Found a picture of one in situ - it’s a pully: [URL=“m.flickr.com/#/photos/bird079/3101166117/”]m.flickr.com/#/photos/bird079/3101166117/ ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/15 "2012-06-09T23:50:27Z")
Link doesn’t work for me. If it is a pulley than it must be 1/2 of an assembly. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/16 "2012-06-10T00:05:54Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > Found a picture of one in situ - it’s a pully: [URL=“m.flickr.com/#/photos/bird079/3101166117/”]m.flickr.com/#/photos/bird079/3101166117/ Looks to be the internal portion, I wonder if the rest is still in the barn ceiling? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/17 "2012-06-10T00:11:00Z")
\*\*gapanther79 \*\*–cough up a little more info. And some better images, those are too small. They _could_ be from an agricultural steam engine of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/18 "2012-06-10T02:16:03Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > Found a picture of one in situ - it’s a pully: [URL=“m.flickr.com/#/photos/bird079/3101166117/”]m.flickr.com/#/photos/bird079/3101166117/ Gets my vote. Looks just like it. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/19 "2012-06-10T07:43:10Z")
If you take the “.th” out of the “.th.jpg” filename, you can see a larger version of the photos. I don’t think it’s a pulley. It looks nothing like the one linked to. That one in the link isn’t even round because it melds into the base. The one in the OP’s photo doesn’t have any kind of groove around the outside of it like you’d need if you were going to feed a rope around it. The bracket is for attaching the wheel under something like [this](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FZY8v90tfSA/TlRXeziYhRI/AAAAAAAAAEU/_pW1jGwYrOk/s400/table+details+002.JPG). It’s only on one side and there’s no hole for a rod or axle to pass through, so the bracket would support all the weight. It would be too asymmetrical for a pulley but might be the wheel of a decorative cart. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650/20 "2012-06-10T08:27:30Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > If you take the “.th” out of the “.th.jpg” filename, you can see a larger version of the photos. > > I don’t think it’s a pulley. It looks nothing like the one linked to. That one in the link isn’t even round because it melds into the base. The one in the OP’s photo doesn’t have any kind of groove around the outside of it like you’d need if you were going to feed a rope around it. > > The bracket is for attaching the wheel under something like [this](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FZY8v90tfSA/TlRXeziYhRI/AAAAAAAAAEU/_pW1jGwYrOk/s400/table+details+002.JPG). It’s only on one side and there’s no hole for a rod or axle to pass through, so the bracket would support all the weight. It would be too asymmetrical for a pulley but might be the wheel of a decorative cart. That was my vote as well; decorative wheel of some sort. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-in-the-world-is-this-cast-iron-object-found-in-a-barn/624650.md?page=2)