How Old Is She?

It looks like it spills something out of the hole when it is lowered down into something...
Gunpowder loader for a cannon?

It looks like
a tiny bell mount,
the link between the bell and the rope.

It's a rope lock for ships\boats.

it's a universal joint, like in the driveshaft of cars

Metal pouring device used for jewelry making.

Red alert! It's a BOMB!

Let me explain, back in the day when ropes\lines were everywhere on a boat\ship, some were tied off but many others needed quick access. With this when the lines were sent thru, the natural weight of the line would pull the lower part upwards and "lock" the line in place. When line length needed to be changed a simple pull would again move the lower part free of the lines for easy pulling.

Its an old cleat for a ship.

It's what dentists use on abortionists as revenge for the death of prospective patients.

it is the "ringer" from inside of a bell. it is the thing that makes the bell ring. i think it is called a "claxon"

A tie weight for sailboats

An anchor for a model ship

It looks like the counterweight that is used in older or wooden windows - they were housed in the thicker frames in along side the panes of glass. they made raising the windows easier, while preventing them from closing too quickly due to the weight of the heavier pane design.

It looks like the joint between a spinnaker pole and the mast on an oldish sailboat.

It's a plumb bob. The bottom portion moves to dampen the swinging of the bob and bring it to a stop faster.

Its and anchor swivel.

It is the end of a lead line used for determining water depth from the deck of a boat.

It's a Turner Broadcasting advert mistook for a bomb in a major American city!

Its for swings

It's a part of a chain link fence gate.

it is the top of a plumb bob.

I agree. It's a piece of rigging of some sort, some kind of turnbuckle.

an instrument used by scientists that whould drag alog the ocean floor and collect materials.

Looks like it is designed to push into the end of a pipe and lock itself in place so as to give a tie loop to the end of the pipe.

It's a conversation piece for a top notch internet blog specializing in highly interesting articles and images. (Am I right? or What?)

Can't be a bomb, Jglaffick - it has no LED or Mooninite! And igness: hahaha!

Good guesses - but so far, nothing that sounds like the real answer! Come on - a free shirt awaits.

looks like a quick tie down anchor for a blimp.

Some type of rope pulley system??

Could be a bell knocker ?!#*

Doesn't seem like anyone know what this is: a weird railroad communication device.

You can rest assured that the device in that photo is not a RR warning device! It couldn't possibly be heard by either the Engineer or Fireman on any train and a work crew would hear the engine long before they would hear any firearm "report" from a mile distance. A 22 Cal either blank or live round would probably not be heard at all from a mile away and for that reason the RR workers used what they called "Torpedos" to allert them to approaching trains.
These were some type of plastic container about 3/8"thick and 2"X2" square, colored bright Red with a DANGER warning printed in White letters and had a Lead strip about 6" long X 3/16"thick and 3/8" wide adheared to the bottom.
They were then filled with explosive powder and sealed tight.
When the Section Car, or work car, was a predetermined distance from their assigned work spot they would stop and one of the "Gandy Dancers" would dismount and place 1 Torpedo upon the top of the rail by squeezing that Lead strap around the rail. They would then proceed on to thier work area. When a train came along and hit that Torpedo it naturally exploded with a "report" that could be heard by the engineer over the noises of that monstorous steam locomotive and by the work crew..
This report was as loud as a quarter stick of Dynomite and there were instances of kids being killed when they struck one with a stone or a hammer!
When the "report" was heard everybody started doing what they needed to do to clear the track and the engineer slowed the train down to a safe speed..
As a kid, 1940 thru 45 we used to walk the L&N tracks in Wildie Ky and pick up those lead strips for the WW2 scrap metal drives. We would flatten it out and then roll it up like tape or cut it into smaller pieces to wrap around our fishing line as a sinker.
The Torpedos were also used by the Brakeman riding in the caboose on a fraight train or a Conductor on a passenger train, to warn a follownig train to be on lookout for a train being stopped to take on water at one of those big trackside tanks..
They would place between 1 and 3 torps on the track. There would be a space between each Torp and that distance told the engeneer something about the train out in front of him..It would be like "bang"--------
"bang"--"bang" ...Or "bang""bang"------------"bang".
It's amasing how that photo and caption brought out all those memories from so many years ago!!