The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Are these items phonograph related? Thanks for any input.

Jerry Blais

These could be clock parts or from a tool. Did you find this in a phonograph? I definitely know the nickel is not
Harvey Kravitz

These say "sewing machine" to me.

The nickel confirms to me the belief that the US may have the world's ugliest coinage. Is that really supposed to be Thomas Jefferson there???

I suspect the two parts are not related. The small ratchet wheel is probably iron that has been blued. That, the overall size, and the square hole strongly suggest that this was for winding a mainspring on a watch, most likely an English fusee. Fusees were keyword watches that included a small chain somewhat reminiscent of a bicycle chain. They were part of the winding mechanism. The square hole of this ratchet wheel fit over the arbor of the mainspring. I have many of these at my worksite but my camera is not working. If you would like, I will see if I can find a photo on the Internet.

I found one on eBay.

And a little more searching . . . You can see the little ratchet wheel. Below the barrel bridge lies the mainspring. In this arrangement, the barrel arbor comes up through the barrel bridge, which then has the little ratchet wheel placed over it. anyway, if not used in a pocket watch, then used for some related purpose.

The dome shaped thing looks like a cover for something, where it would pivot over a button (?) to prevent it from being pushed... or prevent accidental access to something...

The linkage with the spring is hard to imagine using it for any practical purpose...