Brass screw threaded rod - what are they from ?

[Wally69]

I have found numerous brass screw thread rods with the SDC and each time I go from a excited high to a fugget low. The mystery of what they were used for has haunted my mind for a number of years.

A couple of detecting trips ago I found definitive proof of their purpose, but before I share the factual account of their use I thought I should run a poll to have a bit of fun

 

[xcvator]

How big is this fugget ?

 

[Anolphart]

It's actually a petrified tapeworm that got twisted in the bowels.

 

[nucopia]

It's actually a petrified tapeworm that got twisted in the bowels.

 

[Dron]

I know at least one source where they come from ... had me stumped for a long time until I found a source.

SPOILER ALERT - HIGHLIGHT TEXT BELOW TO READ

[colour=white]They are from the old shoes the miners wore ... They were used in the heels of the boots to bind the heel of the shoe to the sole of the shoe.[/colour]

[colour=white]Detecting it a sluiced out gully I found the nearly complete but severely degraded chunk of boot heel with about 8 pieces the threaded rod poking out. [/colour]

 

[mudgee hunter]

It dose seem to a fast thread. I cant imagine it being used heavy loads. Usually fast threads are used for applications of regular tightening and undoing etc,
hard to tell the size, is it just a timber screw mate

 

[Wally69]

For size comparison

 

[moeee]

Well done dron
Well done in being knowledgeable in providing the answer and well done in being knowledgeable in the way you provided the answer.
I hope you like me too.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Endless screw. We used to use it in the military to repair cracked rifle stocks.

Fastening wooden items, etc.

Cheers

Doug

 

[Wally69]

Endless screw. We used to use it in the military to repair cracked rifle stocks.

Fastening wooden items, etc.

Cheers

Doug

I think that sort of thing was fashionable in the 60s and more recently with the invention of viagra.

Also was my most common conclusion, while filling in time waiting for the next target. Figured they were used in rocker boxes or dryblower construction to hold down fine timber trimmings for hessian or even for the boxes themselves to stop them rattling apart. The small size always perplexed me thouhg and the drawings of the period showed rough construction techniques, so concluded I was probably wrong and they were bought to the goldfields in something that was pre-manufactured. Although, if had some at hand, and ran out of cheap square nails I could bend the tail over on or screws, I think I would give them a go.

 

[Wally69]

Nice post Dron - have a photo coming soon the puts your words into action.

Will let the thread run for a bit longer before sharing it 8)

 

[Keith1]

It looks more like a worm drive than a fastener - is it small enough for a pocket watch winder???

cheers
Keith

 

[Wally69]

It looks more like a worm drive than a fastener - is it small enough for a pocket watch winder???

cheers
Keith

I think the first one I found had me gridding the area looking for the rest of the pocket watch, they certainly look like machine parts.

 

[Bjay]

I voted number 5 because Ive found a fair few of them. Generally pieces are a bit shorter though.

 

[Troutman]

I have found them at Clermont in Qld (a bunch of them all in the same spot, kept me busy for an hour or more detecting and digging) and when I showed them to someone that night I was told they were out of a dryblower that had rotted away leaving just the brass behind. That explanation made sense at the time!

 

[Rockhunter62]

The stuff we used came in a roll about 4" round. Probably sold by the pound.

Cheers

Doug

 

[Wally69]

Continued.........High up on a remote hillside, where no gold or relic was to be expected, I dropped the NoXs coil between two massive outcrop boulders and hit a signal that gave a sweet familiar tone that said wealth lay below.

FUGGET was the verbalised response, another one of those pesky twisty brass rod thingies :N: I wonder if they were used as nails to hold strong boxes together was the thought

Due to the remote location and more dig-me signals, my enthusiasm for buried weath was growing. unfortunately the clean up of targets was underwhelming :brokenh:

The resulting extraction of a partially preserved boot with an extremely thick sole studded with never ending brass wire screw nails made complete and utter sense. It being there in the first place however, is a mystery that will require further investigation.

 

[iamagoldenoldie2]

I used to stack rocks to mark my way along my secret trails down to my secret cave above a secret river, my cave was that well hidden I never found it in 5 searches i reckon there were treasures hidden in the caves along that river ,finding an old box of 1/2 sticks of dynamite was interesting, all dried out ,the person that hid it there must have been scared to keep nitro glycerine based stuff at home, that river looks familiar lol

 

[diggit]

I read the hidden text first after initially thinking that maybe it was used somewhere in a carriage that had a steel and brass joint, steel and brass together produce less wear allegedly, but I then honestly thought to myself....WTF is that thing? No idea.

I mean come ON, what gold prospector has steel or brass in his shoes???

 

[Philthy]

Similar to Rockhunter62, I've used this stuff to repair rifle stocks.

Haven't seen it around for a while though. I've still got some somewhere in my kit on the farm.