I concur with Lyle and immediately saw the curved end as the finished
product. As I noted earlier, but failed to describe the context, I recovered a
drift pin from the Ballast Point Whaling Station in 1992. Drift pins (note the
tapered point) were inserted in machinery to hold parts that needed to be taken
apart for maintenance or repair often. The pins were often greased before
insertion, especially out on maritime locations. But similar pins are used in
mining machinery and even early manufacturing. My suspicion is that it relates
to a piece of long gone machinery that once existed on the site.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
In a message dated 9/10/2008 10:35:47 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
I'd have thought the curved end spoke more to a finished product
rather than a blank. Besides, the thing looks cast rather than
wrought. Drop forging comes into play in the early 20th century or
earlier? I'd be inclined to think the things had to do with power
sources and were therefore some form of grate sort of thing.
Lyle Browning
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