What is this?
- Thread starter woodjin
- Start date
woodjin said:I found this out in the woods. Does anybody know what it is or might have been part of?
Jeff
Hey, Jeff, quite a find!
Best I can make out from these two views is that it is a late 1800's or early 1900's model of a weltrichtich belfschnabble made just outside Munich at the well-known (but recently abandoned) "Bayern Belfschnabbel Werk und Fabrik" (BBWF). During the War they converted to making (what else?) ball bearings which they shipped to Stuttgart so that a "made in Stuttgart" label could be affixed to mislead the Allies into thinking that Stuttgart was a center of ball-bearing manufacture ( or "fabrikation" if you will...). Stuttgart, figuring that nothing good could come from such a ploy, did, in turn, send them to peaceful Dresden for the same purpose... and Stuttgart is damned by Dresdeners to this very day!
After the War the BBWF returned to making their signature product to benefit fans of schnabbeled belfs worldwide. Sadly, with the advent of the World Wide Web and a growing plethora of websites dealing with more methods of schnabbeling belfs than one could ever imagine, the market for the product of BBWK plummetted to the depths of the commercial cellar.
An historical note:
Rumor has it that several crates of booby-trapped vintage belfschabbelers were serruptitiously landed on the Jersey shore by raft from a "U-boot" in the dark of night in June of '42. Admiral Canaris was, I've heard, the brains of the operation. The one you found may be one of those. Be careful how you handle it! I've heard that one similar to the one pictured was recently purchased on eBay for several thousands of Deutschmarks by an avid collector of Nazi memorabilia.
Then again... I could be ... mistaken...
Dave
I wonder, Jeff, if that isn't one of the earlier air tanks used to pressurize household plumbing. It would have a diaphragm in the tank with air on one side acting against the water to keep the pressure up and equal throughout the house.
It can't be a belfschnabble, its too small and not gaily painted.
It can't be a belfschnabble, its too small and not gaily painted.
Correction
Dave,
I think it's a vintage 1852 Belfschnabble, which, as any Belfschnabble expert knows, was manufactured in Eichschiess on the rim of the Swaebian Alps (about 20 klicks outside of Stuttgart), thus the "--le" diminutive Swaebian suffix. If it had been manufactured in Berlin, it would possibly have been called a "Belfschnaebblein;" in Bavaria, as you must know, it would have been called a "Belfschnabbl;" and if it had been made in Zuerich, it probably would have been called a "Belfschnaebbeli." Bob is wrong: vintage 1852 Belfschnabble(s) were parkerized and not painted...
The centre of the German wartime production of ball bearings was in Schweinfurt ("Schweinfurt" means, literally, a "ford" for "swine."), the SKF (Schweinfurter Kugellagerfabrik). Ball bearings were not produced in any great quantity in Stuttgart, however, the Sueddeutsche Kolbenbolzen Fabrik, which made Pleuelstangen (piston connecting rods) was located in centre city --- about 1 klick from the Haupbahnhof. It was located in the Lazarettstrasse, so named because of the military hospital (It bore a big, red cross painted on its roof.), which was located on the same street. Recovering soldiers used "moonlight" by sneaking out of the Lazarett, and walking across the street. Also there was a movie house nearby, and a Gasthaus where one could hold a couple of cool "blondes."
If caught, that usually meant time "im Bau" (in the "brig")...:jeffd:
Although the Lazarettstrasse no longer exists today, it crossed the Kasernenstrasse, which was renamed the Breitscheidstrasse after the war. The headquarters for the Robert Bosch Corporation were located on the Breitscheidstrasse until approx. 1969/1970. The University of Stuttgart has now taken over that very large property.
Centre city Stuttgart was destroyed to 80% by Allied bombing :cry: --- primarily to knock out the Sueddeutsche Kolbenbolzen Fabrik. They also wanted to KO Rommel's command centre, which was, at one time, housed in the Moltke Kaserne, not too far away. A tunnel, wide enough to accommodate two German Tiger tanks ran from the Moltke Kaserne to what, today, is known as "Patch Barracks," about 15 klicks away (about 30 klicks from Eichschiess). Patch Barracks used to be the "nerve centre" for the (US) Army Signal Corps. BTW: The rubble trucked out of Stuttgart after the war was dumped into a huge pile, which today, serves as an Aussichtspunkt. That mountain of rubble has been termed "Monte Scherbalino."
Actually, the Dresdeners and Stuttgarters got along quite well, until the "fall of The Wall" in 1990. Stuttgart was a destination of choice for many older Desdeners who wanted to buy things like oranges, bananas and green beans :jeffd: --- but that's another story. Everyone likes Desdener Stollen!
Alas, Belfschnabble production has been discontinued.
It has been replaced by the "Gizinta," which is "Made in China." I understand that the American Belfschnabble Corporation ("ABC," for short), under NAFTA, has moved to Mesiko City, where in addition to manufacturing Framisses, it also breeds evil Chiuachas.
ebsi
P.S.: Yes, Jeff, you definitely have quite a find. You want to take that "puppy" home, polish it, and hang it over your fireplace!
e.
uuglypher said:
Dave,
I think it's a vintage 1852 Belfschnabble, which, as any Belfschnabble expert knows, was manufactured in Eichschiess on the rim of the Swaebian Alps (about 20 klicks outside of Stuttgart), thus the "--le" diminutive Swaebian suffix. If it had been manufactured in Berlin, it would possibly have been called a "Belfschnaebblein;" in Bavaria, as you must know, it would have been called a "Belfschnabbl;" and if it had been made in Zuerich, it probably would have been called a "Belfschnaebbeli." Bob is wrong: vintage 1852 Belfschnabble(s) were parkerized and not painted...
The centre of the German wartime production of ball bearings was in Schweinfurt ("Schweinfurt" means, literally, a "ford" for "swine."), the SKF (Schweinfurter Kugellagerfabrik). Ball bearings were not produced in any great quantity in Stuttgart, however, the Sueddeutsche Kolbenbolzen Fabrik, which made Pleuelstangen (piston connecting rods) was located in centre city --- about 1 klick from the Haupbahnhof. It was located in the Lazarettstrasse, so named because of the military hospital (It bore a big, red cross painted on its roof.), which was located on the same street. Recovering soldiers used "moonlight" by sneaking out of the Lazarett, and walking across the street. Also there was a movie house nearby, and a Gasthaus where one could hold a couple of cool "blondes."
If caught, that usually meant time "im Bau" (in the "brig")...:jeffd: Although the Lazarettstrasse no longer exists today, it crossed the Kasernenstrasse, which was renamed the Breitscheidstrasse after the war. The headquarters for the Robert Bosch Corporation were located on the Breitscheidstrasse until approx. 1969/1970. The University of Stuttgart has now taken over that very large property.
Centre city Stuttgart was destroyed to 80% by Allied bombing :cry: --- primarily to knock out the Sueddeutsche Kolbenbolzen Fabrik. They also wanted to KO Rommel's command centre, which was, at one time, housed in the Moltke Kaserne, not too far away. A tunnel, wide enough to accommodate two German Tiger tanks ran from the Moltke Kaserne to what, today, is known as "Patch Barracks," about 15 klicks away (about 30 klicks from Eichschiess). Patch Barracks used to be the "nerve centre" for the (US) Army Signal Corps. BTW: The rubble trucked out of Stuttgart after the war was dumped into a huge pile, which today, serves as an Aussichtspunkt. That mountain of rubble has been termed "Monte Scherbalino."
Actually, the Dresdeners and Stuttgarters got along quite well, until the "fall of The Wall" in 1990. Stuttgart was a destination of choice for many older Desdeners who wanted to buy things like oranges, bananas and green beans :jeffd: --- but that's another story. Everyone likes Desdener Stollen!
Alas, Belfschnabble production has been discontinued.
It has been replaced by the "Gizinta," which is "Made in China." I understand that the American Belfschnabble Corporation ("ABC," for short), under NAFTA, has moved to Mesiko City, where in addition to manufacturing Framisses, it also breeds evil Chiuachas.ebsi
P.S.: Yes, Jeff, you definitely have quite a find. You want to take that "puppy" home, polish it, and hang it over your fireplace!
e.
ebsi2001 said:
Funny you mention Schweinfurt Ebsi. My stepdad was stationed there from '61 to '65. I lived there from '62 to '65. No one but you has ever mentioned the name before. They always look at me funny when I say I lived in Schweinfurt. I'll never forget the day I heard that President Kennedy was shot on Armed Forces Radio. Felt very unsettling listening to that and not being in your own country.
bobpbx said:
Bob,
I still think it's a vintage 1852 Belfschnabble. :rofl:
ebsi
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Bunch of wise guys
Alright, so a master cylinder, power brake. I can only imagine how that ended up in the middle of nowhere, where I found it. I bet there is a story there. I picture some toothless piney throwing it in the sand in a fit of rage, "son of a bitch, dang piece of %$&." As his truck rests against the pine it crashed into because his brakes failed. Who knows.
Jeff
Alright, so a master cylinder, power brake. I can only imagine how that ended up in the middle of nowhere, where I found it. I bet there is a story there. I picture some toothless piney throwing it in the sand in a fit of rage, "son of a bitch, dang piece of %$&." As his truck rests against the pine it crashed into because his brakes failed. Who knows.
Jeff
gudennoggin schlofsgood ,belfshenhoggin .i vote for the old house water pressurizer, original design was to small to supply adequate pressure, after market design enlarged the tank to 12 gallons with 22 psi of pressure enabling the water to reach adequately to all parts of the homestead