Antique B&W Billiard Iron

[sberry]

Fork handles

[Geoff Large]

Looking at it , I think it has been converted to be turned upside down and the flat sole plate used for other purpose .

the tubes fitting over some sort of stand , don't ask what it then may have been used for but I see no other purpose for those tube rings other than to locate onto a stand for the sole plate to be used for something else in an upturned flat plate.

Mini anvil ?

UNLESS ...heated lugs placed in the 4 holes to heat the iron ?

also for anyone who has ever used one of these irons and I have as one was kept in an old gentleman's club where I used to service their tables , they are the best to use as the plate is very thick and cannot warp but you have to time them on the heat source on medium gas flame ring , also you have to use cloth wrapped around the handle as this gets hot too , it is impossible to pick these irons up off the heat source using bare hands on the handle so it is classed as a risk to use them . many club's using them today will fall foul of Health and safety laws.

so only for the Private person really to use.

now for all you people with dowsing or Chinese irons where the element has blown or the thermostat keeps blowing , heat the iron up on an electric hob or gas ring and try it on a piece of old billiard cloth wrapped around you're brush ,if it scorches the cloth don't use it until it cools down a bit , if it is OK then use the iron ,
Heating the sole plate of an iron can be done from the inside and the outside of the sole plate , I know a club where they have 5 old blown irons , because it is too expensive to repair them which is around £80 plus postage they simply buy another second hand one off ebay , they now heat the none working iron up on the electric hob .

[100-uper]

What amazes me is that these irons were still being sold well into the 1970's. I have a Bennett catalogue offering them in two sizes, heavy (16½ lb) and medium/small (9½ lb) along with the more usual electric Dowsing iron, which typically weighed in at 14lb. Many people think they have an antique when they come across one of these flat irons, but quite often they are relatively modern.

I have noticed that after the second war the design of the flat iron seems to have standardised, regardless of the name on the casting. I suspect they all came from the same foundry after 1945, but if this is the case I haven't discovered the supplier.

[philip in china]

This would be very common with castings. The foundry would have generic shapes and then use loose letters which you can buy to customise the mould for an individual customer. If you look at a more common casting, such as bodies for vices, you can see that they are identical except for the name part of the casting.

One amusing thing is to spot the spelling errors which are quite common on such castings.

What amazes me is that these irons were still being sold well into the 1970's. I have a Bennett catalogue offering them in two sizes, heavy (16½ lb) and medium/small (9½ lb) along with the more usual electric Dowsing iron, which typically weighed in at 14lb. Many people think they have an antique when they come across one of these flat irons, but quite often they are relatively modern.

I have noticed that after the second war the design of the flat iron seems to have standardised, regardless of the name on the casting. I suspect they all came from the same foundry after 1945, but if this is the case I haven't discovered the supplier.