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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: maxwell on May 14, 2013, 05:59:51 PM

Title: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 14, 2013, 05:59:51 PM
I have been asking around for a while, now, but nobody seems to be able to tell me what this is. I think it is made out of wood, except for a round metal piece in the side. On the back side, there are a couple of tiny things that appear to be lightbulbs, but I can't see any way of powering them, unless there is a battery on the inside. If that is the case, I don't know how somebody would get the battery out. If anybody has any ideas what this might be, please share them! Thanks!

It is four inches in diameter. On one side, it is painted like an eight ball, and the other is red. It weighs about 1.2 lbs.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 14, 2013, 06:19:16 PM
Pics
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 14, 2013, 06:20:49 PM
More pics
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: frogpatch on May 14, 2013, 07:35:16 PM
It looks like it may be a control knob off of a game or something. The red part looks like it would turn a corresponding female part. Just a wild guess. I searched a thousand images on Google and could not find another one.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 14, 2013, 07:51:34 PM
Is it perfectly round so it rolls ??  That white dot on the side looks like it would mark the sweet spot when playing pool !!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 14, 2013, 08:29:24 PM
It seems too large to be a game controller. It is perfectly round except the red part is carved into a + shape, so it will not roll if it rolls onto one of the non-round parts. It is also much too large to play pool...
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: fancypants on May 14, 2013, 10:26:14 PM
My wild guess would be monster-truck related item (4-axis switch) , or maybe more like R/C controller .
Sure looks like there's wear/use marks on the "X" side of it !

No sure clue here , though .
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 15, 2013, 05:26:01 AM
Have you tried to unscrew the red part from the black part ??
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: cogar on May 15, 2013, 07:41:01 AM
Just a different version of .................

(http://d1jqecz1iy566e.cloudfront.net/large/mtl035.jpg)
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 15, 2013, 10:44:12 AM
No Fortune cookie for you just yet...this is the same....but Different....we need an exact....sorreeeeee ee ;D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 15, 2013, 11:05:42 AM
I think it is one solid ball of wood, except for where the metal part goes in. It doesn't unscrew, as far as I can tell. Once again, it is four inches in diameter, and seems much too large to be part of a knob for anything. And if i was, that wouldn't explain the small lightbulbs on the back...
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: KC on May 15, 2013, 02:54:48 PM
Gear shift knob?
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 15, 2013, 03:25:45 PM
Too big and no way to attach it !!  Gear shift knobs screw on !!  This thing has to come apart or fit into something else !!  Looks like the red is fitted so it can unscrew !!  That cross fits the fingers !!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 15, 2013, 03:59:29 PM
Gear shift knob?
LOL!..its 4in in dia.......not even for one of these...
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 15, 2013, 04:03:46 PM
I think this is part of something bigger...that cross on the bottom...may fit into a reccessed slot...on something else..
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: Rauville on May 16, 2013, 08:46:55 AM
Some electric wheel chairs or scooters will have an oversized control knob for folks with limited grip.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 16, 2013, 09:16:45 AM
Some electric wheel chairs or scooters will have an oversized control knob for folks with limited grip.
What,at 4 ******g inches...in dia...give us a break....we know you,re the dogs bollocks....but a 4in control knob....Mince..... ;D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 16, 2013, 10:01:08 AM
Problem with that is,, how to attach and secure it ??  No way I can see !!  To figure what it is,, you have to know what it does !! I have looked through a bunch of google images and saw nothing even similar !!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 16, 2013, 10:06:39 AM
This is getting to be like KevinM,s upside down back to front wine bottle....if we do happen to chance upon it...we,ll probably ...say...."i just knew it was something like that" ;D....and anyway...i don,t think it should be here in the first place...
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 16, 2013, 10:49:32 AM
http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgame/5426/behind-the-8-ball

This is the only thing I have found with an oversized 8 ball !!  Look at middle pic !!  Doesn`t show the other side though !!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: KC on May 16, 2013, 11:19:52 AM
It is most likely a paperweight!

The metal part must come out!!!  If it has lights...you have to get to the battery!  (Or am I trying to sound rational?)

Although it may not be antique...it is kinda fun to try and figure it out!

By-the-way Wullie, Larger people needs shifts also!  :)
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 16, 2013, 11:50:00 AM
I looked for those too KC !!  No match I found !!  I agree,, still think the red unscrews from black !!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 16, 2013, 12:11:52 PM
I think you may have cracked it Mart...nope...you have,nt...back to the drawing board..the obverse side is round...like a ball
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 16, 2013, 08:19:30 PM
I would already have had it torn apart to find out what it is !!!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 17, 2013, 01:26:59 AM
Any sane person would have....me,... if it did,nt come apart with a screwdriver....it would with a hammer.... ;D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: cogar on May 17, 2013, 02:26:20 AM
Quote
..... for a round metal piece in the side. On the back side, there are a couple of tiny things that appear to be lightbulbs ....

How about a close-up picture of what you describe as a "metal piece" and "lightbulbs".

It looks to me to be made of 2-piece molded plastic and probably "sonic" welded together. If so, then saw or hammer is required for dis-assembly.

HA, if there is a battery inside ...... then it could have had a "charging" stand ..... like phones n' electric razors are made now days.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 17, 2013, 03:49:10 AM
like i said in a previous post...that cruciform configuration on the underside,makes me think this is inserted in,..like a key, then it could be turned like in a timer ,and the ball would revolve..or the mechanism underneath would turn.....am i grasping at straws....you bet i am.......Get a bloody hammer and put us out of our misery....better still send it to me..and ..i,ll give it a good seeing too..... ;D....
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 17, 2013, 08:40:08 AM
The red X looks like a finger and thumb grip that you can grab and turn !!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 17, 2013, 06:05:17 PM
Here are some closeups of a lightbulb and the metal part. Sorry for the low quality, I might pust some better pics up later.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 17, 2013, 07:39:54 PM
http://www.barrysbatteries.com/product/2/495/8-Ball-Magnetic-Blinking-Lights-SKU-NO-10032.html
OK !! I am out of ideas  !! ;D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: Kevin_Bones on May 19, 2013, 05:47:35 PM
It almost looks to me like it could be for fishing..?
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 20, 2013, 11:17:13 AM
Here are a couple of slightly better pictures of the metal part and a lightbulb.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: KC on May 20, 2013, 12:17:53 PM
Does it roll well?  I am thinking it is a game piece and the lights would flicker when it rotates!

I would have had it in pieces long, long ago!!!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 20, 2013, 12:27:17 PM
Like you KC...and Mart,I too would have had it in pieces, long ago,......but,having said that,...all we would have ended up with,was an in pieces..."what is it"....its in situations like this,where our primitive, inquisitive nature comes to the fore,...."we don,t know what it is, therefore we have to take it apart and see what makes it tick,.....i,m now of the opinion that it is a key of some sort.....
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: KC on May 20, 2013, 12:33:19 PM
Why would a key have lights?
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 20, 2013, 12:53:54 PM
Also, what kind of a thing would have an oversized eightball as a key?
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: Packman on May 20, 2013, 01:11:14 PM
Thousands of google images later, I still have not found anything like it.

My best guess would be a control knob to an billiards arcade game. Maybe???
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 20, 2013, 01:26:48 PM
Think about it logically,...on the underside it has that cruciform shape,...now if there was a corresponding female shape on a large "board game cum mechanical ratchetty like sprikng thingy wheel,..then you could fit the control knob cum oversized 8 ball key in the slot and ..hey presto...  ;D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 20, 2013, 01:37:12 PM
Hmm... if it were an arcade game knob, it would have some way of connecting to the game. The board game thingy... not quite buying it, yet. It seems like it would come up on a google search, even if it is a quite old game. I would say that it is probably a one-of-a-kind homemade thing, but the cutting and smoothness of the paint just look too perfect for that. It really looks factory made. Another curious detail is that the "8" is not exactly in the center of the black side...
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 20, 2013, 02:13:07 PM
Ask the Chinese...they,ll know....
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: Packman on May 20, 2013, 02:55:18 PM
Maybe the whole 8ball thing is throwing us off. The paint looks to be chipping in places. Is the 8ball theme original or painted at a later date.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 20, 2013, 03:23:35 PM
It is hard to tell if the eight ball paint is original or not. The fact that it is off-center would seem to suggest that it is not, but the seam where it meets the red paint is flawless, and the "8" itself looks perfect as well.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 20, 2013, 03:38:16 PM
I,m still thinking along these lines...

http://boardgamegeek.com/image/247354/magic-8-ball-the-board-game
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on May 20, 2013, 03:55:36 PM
I'm really starting to think that the "8" was added on, and that it has nothing to do with it's real purpose...
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: fancypants on May 20, 2013, 04:00:49 PM
Maybe someone used it in conjunction with a bowl/mortar as a cocaine 'grinder' .....
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 20, 2013, 04:50:33 PM
Maybe someone used it in conjunction with a bowl/pestle as a cocaine 'grinder' .....
And!!.....what would you know about Coke grinders....."methinks you,re worth a watching" ;D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: xmelax38 on May 20, 2013, 07:43:18 PM
No little tiny markings on it of any kind?
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: fancypants on May 20, 2013, 09:40:58 PM
bigwull - I'd know enough about such stuff , since I spent some not-few years riding herd on drug-users , in the drug-rehab racket .

I found many odd & creative adapted/homemade devices for using/hiding/etc drugs & the items associated with them .
One guy had made a dope-hookah 'stash pipe' from the case & innards of a Zippo lighter ... I'd have missed it , right in plain sight , had it not been for it's aroma (in case you're fishing for tips , bigwull) .

 :D :D :D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 21, 2013, 03:12:04 AM
No Aroma off my favourite M.A.D,s...in the late 60,s early70,s .....just lots of these.....and more beside...+ of course the obligatory...Munchi es........

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=psychedelic+colours&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=jzmbUcH0FouR0QXv9YFo&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=1016&bih=578
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: Packman on May 28, 2013, 02:33:41 PM
Have we given up.

Still dying to know wat this is.
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on May 28, 2013, 02:45:35 PM
You,ve got 4 pages of replies and humour out of us....what more do ya want....Blood...unl ess your willing to prise the bloody thing open..or whack it with a hammer....i,d say its had a good run but now its time to put it to bed.... ;)
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on May 28, 2013, 03:46:04 PM
I still have no clue !!!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: maxwell on June 01, 2013, 02:10:30 PM
 ??? Yeah, at this point I just have no idea... I am kind of itching to break it open, but I don't really expect that to help... The most exciting thing I would expect to find is a battery. This one may just remain a mystery... I don't really know what kind of a person would be likely to know about this thing because I don't have an inkling of a clue what it is, or what it is related to. There don't seem to be any marks from the maker, and nobody I have asked has seen anything like it...  :-\
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: mart on June 01, 2013, 02:19:52 PM
Here is an idea,, have a party and ask everyone there if they are smart enough to figure out what it is,, for a small prize !!   Or tell them the bar is closed till someone figures it out !! :D
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: bigwull on June 01, 2013, 03:42:15 PM
this topic has become   an elastic band....it just keeps getting stretched....yawn!!
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: goodoldvintage on June 02, 2013, 11:51:21 AM
Game piece for long forgotten lawn-game?
Just spitballin'....
Title: Re: Does anybody know what this is?
Post by: rockandrollrods on June 02, 2013, 11:36:52 PM
It could have been part of a slot machine or video poker.