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Pair of Antique Cast Iron Swivel Bearing Hangers - from Old Mill
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These are an identical pair of heavy cast iron swivel bearing hangers from an old mill. They were used to hang jackshafts from the ceiling. For those that don't know, jackshafts carried the power from a central source in the old woolen mills, cotton mills, textile miles, old time machine shops, and other industrial age enterprises, to each individual machine. There would be a large spindle on the jackshaft, one for each machine, connected to it with a broad leather belt. Here is your chance to own an authentic piece of America's industrial past.

You can see where these hangers can be adjusted for ceiling height irregularities on each side at the top. There is a nut on the swivel holder shaft, difficult to see, that allowed the swivel itself to be raised or lowered. The swivel itself swings left, right, up and down. Both still swivel but could use a little Mystery Oil and some TLC.

The purpose of all these adjustments was to keep all the bearings holding a given shaft in perfect alignment so it does not bind. As you can see, these are not roller bearings but rather some type of babbitt metal or other material.

Each of these two heavy cast iron items are 30" wide, 26" tall, and 6" thick at the bearing housing. They are apparently set up for a one and three sixteenths inch diameter shaft (1.375"). My scale bottoms out at 38 pounds, so I know each of these items weighs more than that. I would guess at least 40 pounds or more each, maybe fifty.

These were being used as table legs when I acquired them. You can see that when they are turned upside down (see bottom two photos right) the part that is normally flush against the ceiling becomes the part touching the ground. There is still a piece of wood on each, crudely attached, that the boards are fastened to. Right now the "For Sale" sign is screwed to it. The table in the pictures is just a quick example. For serious use, some type of cross bracing would have to be devised. The make excellent legs for a table to be permanently left outdoors.

I would normally not be selling these on eBay as they are very heavy and the shipping expense would be outrageous, but they are specialty items and I need a wider customer base.

The price tag visible in the lower right image says $195 for this pair of antique cast iron old mill relics.

NOTE, VERY IMPORTANT: YOU MUST PICK THESE UP YOURSELF. I will not ship these items and I cannot deliver them. For health reasons I may not be able to even help you load them into your vehicle when you get here. Items are in Essex County, in northeastern Massachusetts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a CASH sale only - NO CHECKS. There will not be any last minute on-site negotiations. This is a regular eBay transaction, and will be treated as such. You do have the right of refusal in person should you discover I misrepresented anything. Any questions on this item or any other items I may have for sale gladly answered. Please just ask.

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