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Hello All. I recently purchased 3 propellers that are each 12 feet long. The elderly gentleman that I got them from told me that his father bought them 30+ years ago from the southern California area. As you can see they have been painted, I assume that this is not the way that they originally came. I can see that the copper(?) tips have also been painted. Each propeller looks identical. I am thinking about stripping the paint off but do not want to ruin the wood. I understand that finding out makers and what plane these could have been used on is very difficult but any help that you can provide would be very much appreciated. Thanks you.
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It's a left hand thread, so I'd be thinking it might be a pusher application, maybe for an airship. Check the hub dimensions to see if the measurements are consistent with a Liberty engine.
If that is indeed paint that was added "recently" (i.e. after original manufacture) then removing it doesn't affect value much, if at all. You might take the one in the worst looking condition and use a good quality paint stripper. Don't use sandpaper!Dave -
Thanks for the information Dave. Any idea about what type of wood that they might be made of?Comment
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Most Liberty engine propellers were made of mahogany, but if this is a later prop (1920's or later) it might well be made of a lighter colored wood like ash, etc.DaveComment
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I have started to strip one of the propellers but it is very slow going, looks like there are 3-4 layers of thick paint. Could I try using a heat gun?Comment
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I wouldn't do that unless you plan to re-paint it, which I wouldn't do either. If there are lots of coatings of paint it may take several separate strippings with paint stripper.DaveComment
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