Any idea what this is/was for?

[Phil Pascoe]

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I paid £20 for it to anchor a small anvil and/or large vice to. It's mighty heavy.

 

[Tris]

Looks like something for a metal shaper or milling machine, bolt whatever you are working on to it sort of thing. Only a guess though

 

[Inspector]

Tris is correct, a table for a metal shaper. The parts or vice was clamped to them and the cutter moved fore and aft, cutting on the forward stroke and not the backstroke. Then the table moved slightly to the side for the next stroke. It was all automatic and once running you could walk away for a while. They were also used to cut gear teeth and keyways among other things. One of the metal machining forums might have someone looking for one.

Pete

 

[clogs]

I have a smaller one for use on my mill.....not used often but very handy....
bit like a magnetic vise/plate...good to have around....

 

[Inspector]

Thy also have similar blocks on radial drills so it could have come from there but the absence of oops holes don't point there.

Pete

 

[Alpha-Dave]

I have seen them on ebay called ‘engineer’s cubes’, at one time I was thinking of turning a large one into a small welding table.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes. There are a few there now, much smaller than this one.

 

[Richard_C]

According to the National Enquirer a few of these were made to look like engineers cubes to avoid suspicion but are in fact designed to resonate in sympathy with very specific radiation frequencies. They act as homing beacons for alien spacecraft. NASA and the US military hushed it up.

To be safe, I suggest you mount an all night alien spacecraft watch to make sure yours isn't one of those. If you don't post for a few weeks we will know that the aliens have taken you away to be probed and analysed.

 

[joethedrummer]

According to the National Enquirer a few of these were made to look like engineers cubes to avoid suspicion but are in fact designed to resonate in sympathy with very specific radiation frequencies. They act as homing beacons for alien spacecraft. NASA and the US military hushed it up.

To be safe, I suggest you mount an all night alien spacecraft watch to make sure yours isn't one of those. If you don't post for a few weeks we will know that the aliens have taken you away to be probed and analysed.

,, exactly,, I bought one and now I can"t get my homing pigeons to leave their cage,,

 

[Phill05]

According to the National Enquirer a few of these were made to look like engineers cubes to avoid suspicion but are in fact designed to resonate in sympathy with very specific radiation frequencies. They act as homing beacons for alien spacecraft. NASA and the US military hushed it up.

To be safe, I suggest you mount an all night alien spacecraft watch to make sure yours isn't one of those. If you don't post for a few weeks we will know that the aliens have taken you away to be probed and analysed.

Can I have some of what you've been drinking please.

 

[johnbaz]

It's a machine block for holding large workpieces for drilling etc..

Here's a rendundant radial arm drill with a machineblock, It used to be used for drilling railway castings at my company, It's probably gone for scrap now, I finished late in 2020 due to after effects of covid!..

John

 

[Stan]

It's a thing for attaching to people you don't like, shortly before you take them on a one-way fishing trip.

 

[Orraloon]

It's a thing for attaching to people you don't like, shortly before you take them on a one-way fishing trip.

Yes waiting for the cement to dry makes for a boring day

 

[KingAether]

£20 ? Lucky man; I'd go grab those smaller ones and chuck them on ebay if it where me. Its been answered but to chime in they make great welding surfaces too

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Strange that ......... I've just bought a welder.

 

[Adam W.]

Yes waiting for the cement to dry makes for a boring day

I don't know, you can always spend some fun time pulling their fingernails out whilst it dries. Plus it takes quite a while to sail to the Mariana trench from Dover.

What cement are you using?