Help ID prop - no holes no markings...

[Insane 1]

Hi, I bough this from a fellow to hang in my living room, but would like some help ID'ing it.

Looks to be oak, 96-3/4" in length with copper tips.

It has no markings, and as you can see the center is blank with only a 1/4" hole that goes all the way through.

The guy I bought it from owned it since 1974, you can see in person it has a lot of age, but is in good shape overall.

I included a pic of both tips and both sides.

Any help would be greatly appreaciated.
Thanks

[Dave]

It could be almost anything - from a factory reject to a reproduction. It is similar, but certainly not identical to the toothpick style used on the OX5 engine, but it also may be something manufactured in the 50s or 60s. There's just no good way to positively identify it, or to determine its age.

[Insane 1]

Thanks for the quick response.
I do not believe it is a repop as you can see the age in person, I would then assume it would be a reject. I was reading rejects can be common, and if so why? I would have thought they would have been destroyed since there would be no inherent reason to keep them.

I will be using this as a display piece, but curious what kind of value you might place on this?

Thanks, Mike

[Bob Gardner]

The shape is typical of the Lang Propeller Company. They made props in Britain from c1912 to 1919 and at the request of the USN in 1917 Dashwood Lang was lent to them to set up the mass production of aircraft props.

The method of attaching the brass sheathing was patented by Lang in both Britain and in USA.

The diameter of eight feet, 96 inches and 2440-2450mm was not a typical diameter for British props but two instances of Lang American props with this diameter are known, respectively 2439mm for the Curtiss OXX engine used in the Curtiss Model F and Model ND seaplanes; and for the OX5 engine in the H4 flying boat.

The use of brass sheathing on the tips generally indicates either a pusher aircraft where FOD would be thrown up by the undercarriage ahead of the prop or an aircraft operating from the water.

With kind regards,

Bob

[Dave]

It's also very similar in design to this "toothpick" style prop, although it's a smaller diameter and maybe a different profile altogether. That's one of the big problems with trying to identify any propeller by appearance alone.