It's Old and it's electric but what is it?

[skidive101]

I found this at a local auction house and it piqued my curiosity. I the best guess I have is someone said it could be an old hot wire foam cutter. it just seems like it would be limited on the size and shape of cut for that.

good luck!

had to adjust my file size

[Fins/413]

An accident waiting to happen.

[BruceS]

Almost looks like the electric mouse trap I made years ago.   Seriously !

[geneg]

JUST DON'T PLUG IT IN!   & keep it out of the reach of those under 40.    I know of a collector who would put one of the little padlocks thru the hole in the male cord prongs to prevent someone from playing with his odd items.  I probably could agree with Bruce as to the intent.  Just have your home owner's insurance paid up before using it.

[Fins/413]

I wonder if its some kind of crystal radio. Does the rod connect to anything that looks like a tuner?

[Branson]

Hamster electrocution chamber...

[Branson]

I found this at a local auction house and it piqued my curiosity. I the best guess I have is someone said it could be an old hot wire foam cutter. it just seems like it would be limited on the size and shape of cut for that.

Yeah, it does look quite limited.  Most that I've seen are shop made.  The cutting wires are bent to the shape desired and the foam just pushed through, against a fence.  I don't see how this thing could do that.

[Aunt Phil]

Homemade version of the plastic rope cutter mounted on the rope shelf at Lowes box store.

[skidive101]

I wonder if its some kind of crystal radio. Does the rod connect to anything that looks like a tuner?

No it doesn't seem to have any missing components

[skipskip]

I like Aunt Phil's idea


Skip

[Bill Houghton]

Almost looks like the electric mouse trap I made years ago.   Seriously !

Electric mice?  They must have realllllly long tails, although I suppose the modern ones are all cordless.

If you do plug that object in, make sure you're plugging into a working GFCI outlet.

[rusty]

Perhaps for Cats rather than Mice...

(This really appeared in an old Pop Sci...Not PETA approved...)

[johnsironsanctuary]

That schematic looks like a thing that my dad built in the mid thirties. His first job out of high school was working as a mechanic in a large Dodge dealership. He kept losing tools until he installed one on his toolbox and used a sheet of tin for a floor mat with a foot operated off switch so he could pick up tools. He didn't lose tools after that. A spark coil is part of a Model T ignition. It puts out a big jolt.
Is the thing inside the screen box a coil or a transformer?