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Sunday, September 25, 2011

History Detective: what is this thing?

Charlie Bierschwale, of Back 40 Trailers here in Kerrville, brought by this object.  He found it years ago on his family's ranch, and wondered if I knew what it was.  I do not know, but I thought one of my clever readers might!  (History detective 'crowdsourcing.')  If you know what this thing is, please let me know in the comments below.   It's about 8 inches tall, made of metal, with a sliding vent at the bottom.  It had a handle at one time which is now gone; it might have had a lid as well.  It looks as if it was made for fire or heat.
Click on image to enlarge
Mystery pot, marked "Pacific."

3 comments:

  1. I believe it's a tabletop hibachi grill. A picture can be found at http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=8163229

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  2. My mom has something like this and it's really heavy. I think it is made to build a fire inside the pot (hence the vent on the bottom). I have to go over to her house this afternoon and will send you a photo. It might have some "accessories" to give clues to the pot's purpose.

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  3. Joe, I asked Oscar Baker about it and he says it is likely a pot in which to melt lead, then drain it from the opening at the bottom into a mold to make bullet slugs. The top would be covered with dross but the bottom would be pure molten lead. Another friend, Wayne Comer, said also to melt some sort of metal, perhaps lead to use when sealing drain lines together in the old days. As a kid I used to melt lead in a pot on my mothers kitchen stove and pour it into a mold to make sinkers for cast nets my father had knitted. We would then either use the nets ourselves to catch shrimp or fish or sell the nets to others.
    Lonnie Rollins

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