Can anyone identify this gizmo?

[winojoe]

I'm trying to figure out what this gizmo is / does

 

[Rocky]

Not sure but some additional pictures and information would help. I have seen something similar and it was a "hold down" clamp. Are the top parts of your items are spring loaded? Are there holes in the flange at the bottom for mounting? I have seen something like that which is used to hold down a hood of a vehicle. They are mounted on a fender and there is a loop on the hood which the hook on the top piece grabs onto and secures the hood.

 

[dcbrown73]

I can't see the base (if any drilled holes in it), but I would say it looks like part of a ship's mast / sail rigging.

 

[bkisel]

If you're on Chrome or Firefox 4+, you can drag an image from your computer into the search box.

1. Visit images.google.com.
2. On your computer, click the image you want to search for.
3. While holding down the mouse, drag the image into the search box.

Here is on of the "best guesses" that Google came up with.... [I did a screen snip, saved the snip as a file and then uploaded the file to the Googles image search.]

https://www.google.com/search?tbs=sbi:AMhZZitRJzMg7zzeS_1eN0FXGBBkaJ3UsjTyV_1btAnUr1YPwu3aqeJ2RgUZ1PRYhpr-PIXPudPxChm-ZEDdA9G881rT-achgvMlnvELNBOoQfQ_1K-a_1EmxL3fsJCohRIMNdjpYDm88FsfY3Y_14dONaaFPXq5vzLdoRFhzu8Y_1B_1sPpkz7FsEgNAGURf5h7pnr8z3dVNzhQJYJ-iAJdQO4aCZkyqTPZlSdp6t9pqvLSbFMLpK4ag_1qeG3tHf6UFA-y1ngebl6a0Ln7hvhCnJI_1MSMpXi87Wqv2FHhfuwiraJr6dmXBvU3OpUadL1DluUWb5oWRx_1nCagGZDsuJK4o7Y84aX-Oby-bVuF6iPHn3VFTQcuylFlyRFX3sYnSQLsEpm0Mwc2VXtx_1izycXG-7BLJLE5_1eXyroBUIWf3r76E7aI8JI8aKLc9hH8nORlWfNsWhHS4fqrFL4wrDTq0qb1OoChEkAVVohHKVmdGAFElAdsgBJ5-PTpBy0I1CM-QU_1N0TUm5p2_1-pCAM2sKkN0ryutzls8DXq5szo9VaHqJnJJSwQboZR1lVHWIraO6kpClvAOItBXKRHkENKpWXUiP3agqgbQ9lvbSfNtgUzxXDDGmMMVC68rrqrHpAhidFDaJh9aya026HNRAzzDKKnZG4P5e9AAGMwXwvZK-MU8bWqJL58j2vpipwQpwQGQsHJhtFueHsQXVyRqHpZyTikCaBhWcVLRC-m4aKsLeXEd7YZ9fRI_1YEY8hyV0syJ6zxaLeaEgG4_1LZ7EouhAWqvNYEYYmd4tfwY9Vfzlq1H4V3TBkV6gZHl_15U5E5WWB9SviPdo6a_18c77rEGTFEbXYCLKplN-xwuOI-Iq1JrZ4GWeAVcnjPNzmgYvoVc3jdGd9DIJm4fZvlRBdutTeRTymjjQXHlK4aKVvVN4YZgB3VqtOxNmse6QtyliY_1jX_1-ae4UnOvBep_1Un1pPwkY8T_1SyTyUKJVPuOa0n0le_1ZEgPjBwMAMNDkGyruEbJB8ngDOS-lFdpo9Qdkr5vbU5C5-rXx3uRWjAPQwfXO3sFEZCH0mJrX0WAIu8JfDtRr42LMLfcsDDGhr_1Z7vEKvyFYdJ2LLKdK8QGBkp4xhoZRAZbqvGwcNKxyPajnuBHm5Ox2weuFE--_17A_12rwRstcw5FYJFbKDPYRhIEwx5umkfcusZTUUIc-2dblVzlpY5UVXYyfe2afoIrMqOYLiNjlxFDK6ZvJrYusXSNlexafwOUQR2sK0XW2KT97lL2ea3gwJ2x9WNjnz241poGbISJb7xFefpoHppj2Nm9e7Y156w4vtxQdMaZbcg3XJTQataFA_1_1FEThb5Nhz2qnN2cXN2jsyPG6gOmye8E_1_1qfZEO1-yBTKWBDEuNILqmo-K7KkWZQ3FAUzki68DZERH5e-6i93iqLBQrTOLLGKE9mcTZVtrdWIBc9_1oaptYqafzW0kmN1eoVTFApqA2WlfqZ7SbsK5nlgqndaUhSJqlm3WEwg2qMhMy25IBn6ODFhMnXzPUhtH4YIweyGVdJeojO21Su3qQt7_1_1UOvIPy8eRo5DW5Tw7ulFXhI8yhq0Yq76ham_1GvmuHlZLSBCPSCkIZLz2u&hl=en

 

[Mismost]

I have seen similar things in Germany, not as ornate as these. I think it is a Beer Warmer...a metal rod that is kept in like a Crockpot full of hot water...it gets hot...if your beer is too cold, you use the upside down hook on the side to hang it in your glass/mug to warm up your beer. I suppose the ring on top is simply a lifting device...but I've never seen one like it. The cup on the bottom is to carry it around and when the beer is warm enough you just put the rod back in the cup.

Germans don't like beer as cold as we do.

That's my guess and I have been wrong once to day already....I got outta bed!

 

[sour_grapes]

I have seen similar things in Germany, not as ornate as these. I think it is a Beer Warmer...a metal rod that is kept in like a Crockpot full of hot water...it gets hot...if your beer is too cold, you use the upside down hook on the side to hang it in your glass/mug to warm up your beer. I suppose the ring on top is simply a lifting device...but I've never seen one like it. The cup on the bottom is to carry it around and when the beer is warm enough you just put the rod back in the cup.

Germans don't like beer as cold as we do.

That's my guess and I have been wrong once to day already....I got outta bed!

Mein Gott! You evidently nailed it. I would NEVER have guessed that. See:http://www.oldandinteresting.com/ale-warmers.aspx

In Germany and Austria some people warm their beer with a Bierwärmer, although they may be seen as old-fashioned. It's a tube that you fill with boiling water before putting it in your mug. It has a hook to hang it over the side, often with a stand to hold it when it's not in the beer. Old ones are tin (see picture); fancier ones were made of opalescent glass, or even silver. Some people used to use a metal rod that was heated in boiling water. There are some vintage mid-20th century electric immersion beer warmers too. Inns used to keep beer warmers for customers' drinks, but this has died out as it contravenes modern hygiene regulations.
[In 1930s Vienna the musician Guido Adler] ...had the waiter bring him a 'beer-warmer' (an iron rod removed from a pot of boiling water and stuck into the beer glass).
Edward R. Reilly, Gustav Mahler and Guido Adler: Records of a Friendship
More than one stainless steel beer warmer of the German "hot water bottle" type is currently available. Some are promoted as protecting stomachs which can't tolerate cold beer. Are these being bought by people who remember beer warming in "the old days", or by a new generation of cask ale connoisseurs? Brewers sometimes suggest an ideal temperature for bringing out the flavour of their beer. Is this a good way of bringing beer to a state of perfection?

 

[olusteebus]

well just dang. I woulda never thought that was right.

 

[winojoe]

Paul, thank you for such fine research.

A guy in my Homebrewing Club saw this on a shelf behind a bar at a brewpub here in Michigan. He took a picture, but failed to ask the bartender about it. So, he posted it on the clubs web site and queried the club members as to its purpose. The guesses have been interesting, with several very humorous.

Now I can straighten them out!

Thanks again,
Joe

 

[bkisel]

I have seen similar things in Germany, not as ornate as these. I think it is a Beer Warmer...a metal rod that is kept in like a Crockpot full of hot water...it gets hot...if your beer is too cold, you use the upside down hook on the side to hang it in your glass/mug to warm up your beer. I suppose the ring on top is simply a lifting device...but I've never seen one like it. The cup on the bottom is to carry it around and when the beer is warm enough you just put the rod back in the cup.

Germans don't like beer as cold as we do.

That's my guess and I have been wrong once to day already....I got outta bed!

Way to go!

 

[sour_grapes]

Paul, thank you for such fine research.

Not me! Mismost! Mismost!