What the heck is this?

[crabo]

I got this in a box of reloading stuff I bought. There is no name, just a part number. It swivels on the point.

[letsmeltlead2693]

It is a blade balancer. You use to to balance a lawnmower blade when sharpening it. You use this to make sure the blade is balanced and centered after you grind it so it won't wobble when the mower is on.

[crabo]

How do you use it?

[fatnhappy]

Negative, that is spare unpainted DEVO headgear. Please return it to the prop section of MGM post haste.

http://www.vintagevinyljournals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/devo-freedomofchoice-cover.jpg

[edler7]

Set the cone on a table. You set the center hole of the blade on the cone. If the blade does not sit level, the side that is lower is heavier and needs some material taken off till the blade will sit level.

It works on the same principal as a balance on a scale.

[crabo]

That makes sense. I need to go grind the lawnmower blade now, just to use it. My engineer friend had the right idea, he just wasn't thinking on a large enough scale.

[MikeD7]

I dont think that should have been in the reloading box...

[oldgeezershooter]

Maybe they had some .50's mounted on the mower.

[runfiverun]

they used to balance tires that same way but those had a bubble in the center you would put weights on the rim till the bubble centered, then tapped them into place then flipped the tire over and done it again.
it took some skill to get things just right,but cars went about 80 tops back then too.

[Boondocker]

:bigsmyl2:I have one of those that came from where I don't know. I tried it on my blades, but I just use the old method, even grinds to each side and that works for me. When I was kid I got pretty good with the bubble balancer as my Roadrunners and RT's went considerably faster then 80 mph but stooping with the drum brakes was a challenge. My seventy Challenger RT with the 440 6 pack had disc witch was nice tho.:bigsmyl2:

[Thin Man]

Crabo,
Yes, that tool is a lawn mower blade balancer. However, for those who do not wish to buy that specific tool, one can do the same job with any common screwdriver (flat or phillips) that has a round shank handle to driver. Insert the driver's tip through the center hole of the blade, hold the driver shank horizontal and hope the blade holds horizontally level as well. If it does not, remove more material from the side which hangs lower. Continue this until the blade holds level on the driver shaft. Works every time.
Thin Man

[starmac]

We were still using bubble balancers up to the 80's. cars topping out at 80 had to be in the early fifties, and even them some would do well over a hundred. The old spin balancers that balanced them on the vehicle were the best, as they balanced the drum and all.

[KaliforniaRebel]

Maybe they had some .50's mounted on the mower.

Or a lawnmower blade mounted on the .50! :D

[firefly1957]

Starmac I remember my father telling me that his 50 Hudson Hornet would exceed 120 MPH. I never did find out how fast either of 73 chargers would go but it was well over 120 and my Mothers 71 Mercury Monteray would do 140 Even a 79 pinto station wagon I had would do 105 in third gear (out of 4). Trouble with that one is it ran out of torque before RPM it would not go any faster in 4th than 3rd gear. Those were Younger years, I no longer see how fast my car will go just made sure they go as fast as I need to go.

[Chihuahua Floyd]

Yeah, blade balancer, I just use a short piece of dowel rod. Set blade on rod and if it rolls to one side, grind that side.
CF

[WD2A7X3]

Maybe someone was balancing their bullets concentricaly with it.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

A year ago the Nevada Highway Patrol informed me that my 2000 Jaguar Convertible would do 159mph...

They use a spin balancer on Michelin Pilot Sports, and spin them to 165mph.

Rich

[DLCTEX]

I had a 50 ford that would run 92MPH, so I added an overdrive transmission to get to 100MPH. It wouldn't do 85 that way, just not enough horses under the hood.

[starmac]

My uncle had a studebaker champion, with a 3 spd overdrive, it was faster in second and over than it was in third. lol

[leadman]

I found out that a Michigan State Police car, Ford with 428, would do 140mph. He said he could not catch up to me in my '69 Dodge Dart 340. I saw him way back and slowed down as I was driving towards the police post.
The Dart would do 120 mph in second, speedo almost bounced back to zero in drive.

I have one of those tools also. Works ok.

[41 mag fan]

There is the old saying...go sit and spin.
Pointed for easier penetration?? [smilie=1:

[rr2241tx]

Since the early 1980s all US marketed vehicles have been electronically speed limited from the factory. Initially that was set to about 80mph so that the 85mph speedometers wouldn't peg out too much before they reached their limited max. The repeal of Jimmy Carter's Speed Limit has resulted in most current vehicles being limited at 112mph. Some "high performance" models have higher limited speeds, but they are ALL limited. Re-flashing your control module with 3rd party code will/can raise or delete the limiting but eventually you will not be able to flow enough air and/or fuel to overcome wind resistance. There was a reason we ran dual 1150 Holleys on those old V-8s. That was also often the reason we broke crankshafts. Breaking a pair of 12" cheater slicks loose at 6500rpm, your foot just isn't fast enough to save it.

[geargnasher]

Did anyone mention that that is a blade balancer? :kidding:

I have one but use a small brass rod centered under the hole instead, I find it faster.

Gear

[firefly1957]

rr2241tx Not sure were you got your information but it is incorrect for GM's any way they do have a system on some of the fuel injected cars that will retard the timing at either 100 or 120 MPH in the 1980's even though the law only allowed the speedometer to read 85 the cars would exceed that by quite a bit. I had a 85 and a 83 Delta 88 5 litres rear wheel drive both cars exceeded 130 MPH using a GPS to measure speed. My sister had a 1976 firebird 350 that would top out about 92 because of the way the EGR valve (MIS) functioned When I drove it I would plug vacuum line and it would pass 120MPH. I do know both 1996 Corsicas My wife had said in the owners manual that they were limited to 120MPH.

[geargnasher]

Many Fords are governed at 104 MPH.

Gear

[JeffinNZ]

Or a lawnmower blade mounted on the .50! :D

Why now? There's a typewriter mounted on a shotgun in the pic of the month.