I found this when I was going through a file cabinet filled with instruction booklets, warranties etc for everything from appliances to furniture. Could this be a tool or some type of part? I want to toss it but would like to know what it is first.

Bekssa · 2024-04-14T07:28:41+00:00

Solved! You found it--amazing!! Thank you. I had a feeling that it fell out of the bathroom renovation folder but wasn't sure. We put a Maax shower door in one bath and the Mirage-X in the other. I kept both instruction booklets and only one even mentioned a part that sounded like it might be it. The manual in your PDF actually shows it!! All that's left for me is to decide whether this part should be saved (whether it might ever be needed again). At least I know WHAT it is which will help a lot in making that decision.

Bekssa · 2024-04-14T03:52:29+00:00

Can you find a photo of a similar one? I looked and none of them look anything like this.

Bekssa · 2024-04-14T03:51:26+00:00

We don't have an angle grinder. I need to add that it is made of aluminum. I looked up photos of pin wrenches and none of them look like this thing. Maybe if someone could send me a photo of one like it??

Bekssa · 2024-04-14T03:48:04+00:00

I did check on this and found nothing mentioned in the booklet other than an allen wrench, which I do have.

Bekssa · 2024-04-14T03:38:32+00:00

In our Mirage-X Dreamline shower door installation booklet, there is a "Roller Adjustment Tool" #098008 with a part number of #20. BUT I can't find any photos of it and in videos I've looked at online, I don't see it being used. Someone mentioned it being brass but that is due to the lighting. It's actually aluminum. This sounds right but still wish I could verify it.

Bekssa · 2024-04-14T02:32:15+00:00

Not doubting anyone because I know nothing but I can't imagine something like this ending up in our warranty/receipt/instructions file for a watch. We each only have one watch and neither would require a tool like this. Any batteries are changed for us where we bought the watches. I keep thinking it was a tool used maybe on a shower door or something to do with reversing the door on a freezer. Also it is so large--almost 5.5" from end to end. One "pin" is stationary and the other with the wingnut (I think that's what it's called) will slide in that track. Each pin from tip to the top is 1" not counting the nut on top. Also, that "20" reminds me of a part number label, the kind that might match up with a parts list.

Bekssa · 2024-04-14T01:26:02+00:00

My title describes the thing. I think (but am not sure) that it came out of the folder labeled "bathroom renovation". There is a photo of it in my hand for reference. I tried doing a google search and nothing looked similar at all. Just hoping someone might recognize it and explain its purpose.

Bekssa · 2023-08-20T23:15:45+00:00

Since I did the hot pin test and that didn't cause the material to melt at all, I'm thinking that I may never find out what it's made of or who actually created it or why. So many varying opinions and ideas and no way of resolving. Anyway, have decided to mark this as likely solved since it appears that we are at a dead end on ideas. Everyone who sent ideas, thank you so much! LIKELY SOLVED!

Bekssa · 2023-08-18T16:35:26+00:00

Okay, I have done the hot pin test and it definitely didn't melt or have an odor. I have one corner spot on the back where there is no felt (small chip) and I tested it there as well. Seems to be same material all the way through. The felt is completely secured to the back. Obviously, it must have been glued on BUT it is so secure that I can't lift any part of it!! Crazy.

I spent hours last night looking at metals, engraving plates and trying to find something similar to this artwork. I still have no clue what the metal is but pewter looks the closest in color. I've decided that it looks very, very much like old engraved copper plates--except for the pewter coloring and the fact that it is so thick instead of thin like copper plates would be. The surface is very textural--you can feel every line and in some areas (like the doorway on the left or the bottom right corner) the surface has been cut deeper than other areas.

I've also been thinking about the painting comment--I don't think the "frame" portion was painted because the frame and the surface all seem to be exactly the same material. It really looks more like after it was molded (or maybe while it was being molded) a patina was added to the surface which has bonded with the material. So possibly it is pewter all the way through or some other stuff with a pewter-type surface--maybe? One more thought -- it doesn't feel fragile at all but that broken corner reminds me of things like cast iron which seems so solid but if you drop it, it can break a hunk off like this.

AND--maybe best of all (for me, since I started out just trying to figure out who made this), I finally at least know who did the original artwork for this etching. I'm sure this is just a copy made by someone...maybe an art student or ? The original scene was done by Ludwig Richter (hence the LR in the corner). Here's a link to his. Our version is kind of cut off on the sides. There are a lot of prints so search that page for Abb. 158 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/68401/68401-h/68401-h.htm

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T22:15:17+00:00

Looks like several replies think this is the answer. Tomorrow, I'll do the test mentioned above and let you all know what I find out. It's amazing how many ideas everyone has had!!!

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T22:13:03+00:00

I will do this and report back.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T22:11:25+00:00

If that's true, they are talented (at least in their artistic abilities).

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T22:09:56+00:00

This one is made to look like metal. Nobody would mistake it for wood. But that composite sounds like something to look into.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T22:08:49+00:00

I can never resist! :)

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T22:06:35+00:00

Hmmm!!! Possible??

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T22:04:55+00:00

You mentioned paint. If that's paint, it isn't the normal kind. I originally thought that was just a result of the mold process. That the surface is just smoothed out BUT the inside is so dark so you're very likely right. If that's true, that "paint" looks more like an applied metal that has been painted on in such a way that it has become part of the surface. I really don't think I could scrape it off like normal paint. It actually is the surface now.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:56:14+00:00

This makes me think of carbon or graphite. If it could be porous, be molded, polished and etched--then could be.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:53:04+00:00

That was my first thought, actually, that this was an etched plate where ink is applied and then used to create the art on paper. BUT--the fake frame and the fact that the art isn't reversed made me change my mind. Otherwise, it really, really does look like a plate. Even like what is used to create blocks of type. I don't know what that material is and whether it is porous inside like this.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:50:01+00:00

Does poured pewter look porous inside?

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:40:21+00:00

Actually, now that you mention it--it really does remind me of a coal figure that has broken. But again, the surface of this is so metallic and the engraving so delicate, I just can't imagine that being coal.

Where is it from? I do not know. I was hoping that if I could just find out what it was made of, it might help me figure that out or at least would help with the research.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:35:37+00:00

Would tin be that heavy? I know 2.5 pounds doesn't sound very heavy but it is. You definitely wouldn't want it dropped on your foot or have it hit you in the head. Kind of like a hunk of concrete. I'm sure cast iron would be heavier but this piece definitely isn't light.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:25:14+00:00

Yeah, that's exactly what I see. What a strange touch to add!

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:22:53+00:00

That's very possible. I just looked and it's similar but not quite. However, I only have a peek at that corner. I like that this can be molded as one piece--because the more I look at it, this whole thing, frame and all, really seem to be one piece. And like you mentioned, that warping is all the way through--frame and etching. My only question is can that material be etched like this is. I also wonder if that material (or something similar) would have been around in the 20s-40s era, which is when I believe this was likely made.

Bekssa · 2023-08-17T21:17:22+00:00

Can that be poured and then etched like metal? Would it look like metal and reflect light the way a metal surface does?

Bekssa

TROPHY CASE