whatzit

[nas]

I was tearing apart my barn today and found this under the straw.  I don't know what it is but thought I would tap into the forums endless knowledge.  It has the name of an elevator co printed on it and a patent date of 187?.  My barn is around 130 years old.  Any guesses?
 





Nick

[Tom]

Without knowing, I'd say it is surely collectable.   From the looks of the hook and a place to tie it at the top, I'd say it  is some kind of chainfall type instrument, or come-a-long kind of thing.   Is your barn multi-level?  Maybe it was used to hoist stuff up into the loft.  Yeah, that's the word I was looking for, Hoist.

Do the gears mesh? 

I'd hate to think that they hung an elevator for people on it. 

[WH_Conley]

Are they not 2 different machines? Look at the squirrel cage on the first pic and the flat side on the second. I would guess that the thing was a a hay hoist, for lack of a better term.

[LeeB]

looks like a chain fall to me. does the open wheel have notches in it to accept a chain?

[bull]

Its a rope crane for a hay hook!!!!   Is there a metal rail at the ridge line in your barn....

[timberfaller390]

Its a rope crane for a hay hook!!!!   Is there a metal rail at the ridge line in your barn....

Yep I agree. All the old barns we have here had a heavy wood rail instead of metal. I have the trolley that this would attatch to that ran on the rail out in my barn somewhere.

[pigman]

Are they not 2 different machines? Look at the squirrel cage on the first pic and the flat side on the second. I would guess that the thing was a a hay hoist, for lack of a better term.

Bill, nas fooled me too until I decided he just turned the thing around before the second picture. I still don't know what it is though.

[Chuck White]

I agree, it's a hoist for a hay fork.
Only thing I can't figure is where the rope winds up!
There must be more to it than what is pictured, like a 2nd half that would actually be attached to the hayfork!
In the second pic, it looks like maybe a flat belt would run on the "bent spoke" wheel.

[bull]

something similiar was also used to move block ice into ice houses

[SwampDonkey]

I can remember things like you guys are describing when I was younger in my uncle's barn. He had a squared off section in the middle of the hay mow that went 40 feet to the bottom where the cows were tethered. You wouldn't dare throw a bale down that, it would bounce and strike a cow or human, so there was a hoist system there to send hay down. They built really high hip roofed barns around here 50+ years ago. My uncle's was split level. Cows at ground level on the north end, central part of barn was hay mow and shed for wagons and light tractors down the middle of two mows. One side for hay, other for straw, but the straw was 12 feet high and open in under to store stuff. I think it was his shop, now that I think of it. You wouldn't be doing any metal work in there though. Then south end was a potato shed at ground level that had bins in under the hay mows as well as the milk separator/parlour room. It was planked over the top of the potato bins, up over the south bins had a room he stored new bags and boxes for taters which came in bales (burlap) and bundles. The old barn, which isn't all that old, 50 years, has fallen in since he was done farming. No heat and the concrete caved in, then the roof went. Just a big pile of rubble now and he's gone to.

[nas]

Thanks for the reply's guys.  LeeB it does have notches in the wheel but they look too small to hold a chain.  Maybe just to grip a rope?  The small wheel on the back of the second reduction gear has notches that might hold a chain.  So if a rope goes on one side and a chain on the other, why the hook on the bottom?  Or is that the top?  I need some rust reaper to try to get this thing to work!

Nick

[isawlogs]

 The hook goes on top , rope around the pully , there should be a lock mecanisme on there , a little arm of some kind to stop the pully from free falling . Thats as far as the coconut can remember ... It was used with the hay hook as the horses pulle the hay up , if they stopped it would hold the load . Now the rest of the rigging I need more cogitating  done .