I bought something almost identical to this eBay offering, at an antique store. (Mine has a different number and letter cast into it, but in the same spots, and all other details I can see match.) What is it?? eBay says it’s a pulley for V belts. But there is no groove for the belt to fit into. It’s not a pulley for flat belts, either, as its outer face is not crowned. And idlers are never this big and narrow.
I’m wondering if it could be a flywheel.
I’ve seen similar offerings that DO have the V belt groove. Perhaps a pulley maker decided to also offer flywheels, which they make simply by skipping the groove cutting process?
Deleted b/c “FQ” I dont have the EXACT answer for that EXACT part
WAG: Valve handle (think Poseidon Adventure). Looks like a big ass set screw on the hub; slip it on a valve, tighten the set screw, Bob’s yer uncle.
Far to light to be a useful flywheel, and a flywheel would not use just a round hole with a set crew to hold it on. It would more likley also have a keyway to keep it locked onto the shaft if it were a flywheel.
Its a valve or doorway handle. as @burpo_the_wonder_mutt mentioned.
Sailors scrambling to use wheels like this to close and seal a hatch on a sinking ship, damaged submarine, etc are a familiar film scene.
Handwheel rims are always rounded. They don’t have sharp corners. I don’t think that can be it.
Certainly the rounded comfort handwheel is a refinement of the non rounded, uncomfortable version of the same.
Perhaps cost was more important. Or it’s for occasional use like for a railcar brake. Or culvert diverter. Or the leather wrap is lost. Or the overmolded rubber grip.
Or simply put, its just an antique version of the modern, round edge version.
Also note that it is held onto a shaft with a single set screw, not a very dependable design. I’d hate to try and open a hatch in an emercency situation and have that set screw “slip” on the shaft. Maybe there was a flat spot in the shaft that mated with the setscrew, maybe not. A lot of earlier designs didn’t get improved until people died.
Is it an even diameter like 12" or 14"? Looks like a wheel for a bandsaw to me.
Just a guess, but I have similar pulleys on my band saw.
Hey, you just might be onto something!! I have a small inexpensive modern bandsaw, and, though its wheels are lighter and a bit smaller, they’re quite similar. The rubber tire seems simply glued on.
Thank you!!
The more I think about it, the better the bandsaw pulley suggestion sounds.
In fact, maybe a year ago I bought a pulley that I guessed was for flat drive belts, but now I’m thinking it’s a big old bandsaw pulley, too. It’s 26" in diameter, with a 1.5" flat face, and that face is ribbed circumferentially, about like corduroy cloth. Now I think those ribs help hold a (missing) rubber tire in place.
In fact, it looks just like the pulley in this eBay offering, including the 8 spokes, except for the missing tire:
And bandsaws for cutting metal do not use tires at all. Just the flat face.