Speedwheel Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Really?!!!! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-SOLID-COPPER-PRESENTATION-SEWAGE-WATER-BOARD-CANAL-BOAT-BARGE-LOCK-KEY-/310596651182?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=SfiCfAk6zg7OFe4otxLid3vrftA%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_fincher Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Staggering! Bloody hell, there are some gullible people about are there not? So what should I stamp into this one, and what might it be worh if I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fudd Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Staggering! Bloody hell, there are some gullible people about are there not? So what should I stamp into this one, and what might it be worh if I do? I'd say, £185 plus postage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlt Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I'd say, £185 plus postage Ah but is Alan's "solid copper"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebotco Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 'taint worth nowt when you drop it in the cut - can't even retrieve it with a magnet!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel carton Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 'taint worth nowt when you drop it in the cut - can't even retrieve it with a magnet!!!! At £185, I'd be in there head first to retrieve it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSer Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I can engrave it we can put a proper old date on it, might make a mint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I can engrave it we can put a proper old date on it, might make a mint! I would be a bit more worried about hoping to get an exact same replacement for my painted 13kg calor gas bottle.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckbyLocks Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I can engrave it we can put a proper old date on it, might make a mint! A brass one went for £145 +postage on there last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 A brass one went for £145 +postage on there last week. As people seem willing to pay these sort of prices, is it viable to cast some new ones? MtB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo No2 Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 A brass one went for £145 +postage on there last week. I bought a good brass one for £10 the other day (Kempton Park Antiques Fair). It is quite unbelievable what some people will pay for things. Is/was it really solid 'copper' - I have my doubts as copper, if I remember my Physics from school days is very soft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul C Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 What's a reasonable price for one of these? (Without any special engraving on). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 £10 max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onionbargee Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 pure copper would be way too soft to use, more likely it's bronze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I bought a good brass one for £10 the other day (Kempton Park Antiques Fair). It is quite unbelievable what some people will pay for things. Is/was it really solid 'copper' - I have my doubts as copper, if I remember my Physics from school days is very soft. But was it ever intended to be used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_fincher Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 (edited) What's a reasonable price for one of these? (Without any special engraving on). £10 max Midland Chandlers still had a variant of these listed until quite recently, but they are no longer on their web-site. My memory is that they were somewhere around the £35 to £40 mark, but I may not be completely correct on that. EDIT: I wasn't! - Having checked they were actually listed at £46! When first made these were either "Grand Union" sized, with 1 1/4" nominal tapers (as mine is, and hence little practical use today), or !" "narrow canal" sized. Most of the old windlasses I have from that era that are 1" will not fit a lot of the modern paddle gear, as the size of the taper now standardised on is often larger than on typical narrow canals in the 1970s. The one in the advert is certainly "narrow", but whether it is "old narrow" or "new narrow" I can't guess. They are indeed bronze or gunmetal. Neither copper nor brass would be up to the task of being used - mine was once regularly used. But was it ever intended to be used? Yes, One could, (and did), use them. They were cast in exactly the same moulds as the mass produced single eye cast iron windlasses that were standard fodder on hire boats. Just they were bronze, rather than cast iron that was usually then galvanised, (often producing an unpleasantly rough handle that damaged the hands). They appear to owe something in their shape to the famous Cooke windlasses, (which were of course wrought iron, not cast). Often the mould that was used for these cast ones actually has a Cooke style clay pipe on it, and this shape is often cast into the finished windlasses, albeit crudely. Some people think it is the number "1", but examined closely, it is meant to be the clay pipe. Edited February 25, 2013 by alan_fincher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 But was it ever intended to be used? We have all see engraved silver trowels with the mayors name and date, I can't images many brickies using one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_fincher Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 We have all see engraved silver trowels with the mayors name and date, I can't images many brickies using one of them. Sorry to be strictly correct..... This one does appear to have been engraved for a specific reason, and I don't imagine this particular one was intended for use after that point. However the type of windlass that has been engraved here were definitely sold for use as well as ornamentation. Mind you we are told that engraving something doesn't stop it being functional - ask CRT about those balance beams at Hillmorton! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Sorry to be strictly correct..... This one does appear to have been engraved for a specific reason, and I don't imagine this particular one was intended for use after that point. However the type of windlass that has been engraved here were definitely sold for use as well as ornamentation. Mind you we are told that engraving something doesn't stop it being functional - ask CRT about those balance beams at Hillmorton! Greeny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace and Favour Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 I bought a good brass one for £10 the other day (Kempton Park Antiques Fair). It is quite unbelievable what some people will pay for things. Is/was it really solid 'copper' - I have my doubts as copper, if I remember my Physics from school days is very soft. Copper is soft and malleable The purchaser is soft and gullible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilR Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Staggering! Bloody hell, there are some gullible people about are there not? So what should I stamp into this one, and what might it be worh if I do? I've got one of those ............ and it is magnetic. Gunmetal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek R. Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 Gunmetal? More like Galvanised! Retirement gift for a canal enthusiast: "Retired Sept. '85." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schweizer Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) For Christmas 2011, Jan bought me the last bronze windlass in stock from Boatman's cabin in Iver, which thanks to Lauurnce Hogg, they found after a rummage in the stock room. It is the compact "Harry Neil" type and I used it almost all the time on our trip to Wordsley/Stourbridge last year, despite it's short throw it is remarkable comfortable to use. From recollection it cost £30 plus postage Edited February 26, 2013 by David Schweizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam & Di Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 Staggering! Bloody hell, there are some gullible people about are there not? I'm intrigued by its description as a vintage "CANAL BOAT BARGE LOCK KEY" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 Yes bronze is the stuff, copper way too soft, brass not really up to it, if you heat brass up without some sort of flux floating on top of the molten metal the zinc burns out with a horrible luminous flame, birds fall from the sky, the dog runs howling into the house and you die quite quickly, nevertheless at those prices I shall be in the shed at first light making patterns and firing up the furnace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Featured Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now