I photographed this machine at a yard sale last summer. The owner surmised that it was for cutting cloth. There was no maker's name, aside from a place on the base where a decal might have once resided. The only text was the label above. "BBL" is the abbreviation for an oil barrel. (No one seems to know why "barrel" would be abbreviated in this fashion. The "b" may have been doubled originally to indicate the plural (1 bl, 2 bbl), or possibly it was doubled to eliminate any confusion with bl as a symbol for the bale.) In any event, today it can also stand for "Broadband light" or for "Be back later." Different times, different meanings. BBL!
Bolt-winding machine, for rolling up bolts of cloth.
ReplyDeleteHi,I have one that looks nearly identical. I can't tell size from your photos,but mine is clearly marked as a roll up window blind cutter. I guess the old roll up blinds on a wooden core were inserted and cut to length by rotating against a spring loaded blade.
ReplyDeleteGoogle antique star window shade cutter. You can still buy replacement blades on ebay!
ReplyDeleteThanks! No longer a mystery machine...
ReplyDelete