When is a spindle not a spindle? MYSTERY

The Mystery

 
When is a spindle not a spindle?

When it is:

A honey dripper?

Part of a musical Instrument?

A smoking pipe?

Part of a gun?

Some sort of piston?

Part of an old sewing apparatus?

Spoke of a spinning wheel?

So this little gem has been stumping a lot of people, including me.  My 10 year old daughter put forth the first plausible answer in the above list.  Others, including some long term antiquers, put forth the other possible options so far.

Yet each still holds some possibility, I’ve yet to find any convincing evidence of what this actually is… or more to the point, was.

Now it’s your turn.  What is your guess???

First person to point me towards fairly credible evidence of what this actually is, gets a $10 coupon code for my Etsy store!  All other ideas, ridiculous or otherwise will be taken into consideration as the "Honorable Mention".

The item   

This little gem measures just over 8.5 inches, snout to tail.  The interior of the larger “barrel” hole is 5/8 inch, with an interior metal sleeve about ½ inch long, with a slight ridge about half way down.  The wood tapers quickly in from there, barrel shaped,  similar to the exterior as the hole travels the length of the interior.   Each of the 3 metal rings on the outside of the barrel have about an 1/8 inch gap, each being equally spaced from the other.  They are set in a shallow groove.  There is no visible glue that I can see, and they do not move.  The shaft has equally spaced grooves about ¾ of the way up the shaft, which tapers down from the barrel to the smaller end, which has a 1/8 inch opening in the metal piece that has been crimped in place with four prongs.  The wood appears to have been turned as a solid piece.

Looking for this?

honey dripper

musical Instrument parts

Smoking pipe or better yet try Aristacob, top notch!

gun parts

pistons

sewing machines

spinning wheels 


The Etsy shop I get to spend my $10 in after I win!