looking for info on a wooden Oak prop from Glenn L. martin Co.

[Ckatze]

Hi....New forum member and new wooden prop owner.

I have a wooden airplane prop that i'm trying to research. Would like to know what type of plane it may have been from and its year . Ill list the info that is marked on the prop itself.

On one side of the hub it says ," Glenn L. Martin Co."

On the opposite side of the hub it has several lines...

115 x 60
M.O.1. AIRPLANE
SR. NO. 1942
OAK
There is a metal material riveted along the tip and just the edge of each blade to just before the hub.

I measured the blade tip to tip and its 115 inches so that explained the "115", i used my bathroom scale and weight it and its close to 60 lbs so i'm assuming the 60 is a wieght of the prop.

Any body know what i've come across here??

Thanks for any info.......Chuck

[PropArt]

Cool Prop. 1920's Martin MO Airplane.

Have any photos you could share?

If you are interested in selling let me know

Thanks

RT

Planepieces@gmail.com

[Dbahnson]

I measured the blade tip to tip and its 115 inches so that explained the "115", i used my bathroom scale and weight it and its close to 60 lbs so i'm assuming the 60 is a wieght of the prop.

You are correct about the length, but the "60" refers to the pitch of the prop in inches. The pitch is the theoretical distance the prop would move through space in one revolution in a solid medium, very much like the pitch on a screw thread. (Propellers are often referred to as "airscrews" for that same reason.)

Fine pitch is a low number (favoring climb performance) and coarse pitch is a high number (favoring cruise). Many propeller designs had a selection of pitches for each model, depending on the needs of the customer.

If you want me to upload photos you can mail them to dave at woodenpropeller dot com. But first try to upload them by clicking the "Manage attachments" button below your reply or edit in this thread. If they exceed the size limit just email them to me and I'll compress them and upload them here.

[Ckatze]

Thank you for the information, I greatly appreciate it. I have attached, I think, images for you to look at. Anything you could add to what you have told me already would be awesome. Thank you very much.

[Ckatze]

how to display props

hi,
Wanted to add that the bolt holes on my prop are plugged with what looks like dowel rods for some reason. Maybe the thought was it would strengthen the hub? Also the bolt holes are in a pattern of 8, put on the one side another hole, and plugged, is in between the normal bolt holes.

Looking to find the best way to display this on a wall and what mounting is appropriate ? Will try to post a photo of the hub soon. Thanks

Chuck

[Dbahnson]

I think you have as much information as you are likely to get, and much more that can be found with many of these.

Sometimes the bolt holes were filled with cork, and sometimes mud daubers used them for nests so they look filled with something. I don't know about this specific prop, but an additional hole might be there to register it in a specific location on a hub, so that when the engine is stopped the propeller rests in a specific position.

If you post a photo of the hub face we can usually tell if it's been mounted and put in use or was just a spare and sold off as surplus.

See this link for an option for mounting it on a wall without damaging the hub or detracting from its appearance.

[Ckatze]

how to display props

Thanks for all your help!

[Ckatze]

Pictures of the HUB with plugged holes.....

[JR44]

Looks like it has been bored out and a clock or similar has been fitted at some point.

[Dbahnson]

Looks like it has been bored out and a clock or similar has been fitted at some point.

Yep. And that's a most unfortunate event in the history of this otherwise wonderful piece. It's unfortunate that in the past these items were so de-valued that people were compelled into making them into display holders for something else, like a clock or barometer. In some rare cases, people for whatever reason did the hub mangling on the rear of the prop, where for display purposes it can at least be hidden (but it's still there )

I think most of us know now that doing so is foolish, but it's too late for a lot of nice collectibles.

I'm afraid that with this prop the damage was done to the forward face of the hub.

[Ckatze]

Hub bub

This prop was heading for the trash pile when I came upon it.
So due to the boring out of the hub , it’s considered damaged and has no real value anymore? To me it’s still a wonderful piece of history, like finding an old coin, only this is much bigger 😃, my home is small but I’ll find a place for it.
I’ve learned a lot about props and some aviation history as well.

Thanks all !

[Ckatze]

Hub bub

This prop was heading for the trash pile when I came upon it. I knew nothing about aviation or had interest in it but I knew I had to save this piece of history.
So due to the boring out of the hub this prop lost its monetary value due to now being damaged? It still deserves to be saved I think. My home is small but I’ll find a place to display it and share it’s history.

Thanks everyone!

[PropArt]

What a shame. Value of this propeller is significantly less because of this attempt at inserting a clock. So sad

[JR44]

This prop was heading for the trash pile when I came upon it. I knew nothing about aviation or had interest in it but I knew I had to save this piece of history.
So due to the boring out of the hub this prop lost its monetary value due to now being damaged? It still deserves to be saved I think. My home is small but I’ll find a place to display it and share it’s history.

Thanks everyone!

It will still display well, well done for rescuing it.
Most people won't notice the damage.

[Dbahnson]

Agreed. And I would correct "lost its monetary value" to "lost some of its monetary value". If nothing else, a person could simply turn it around and display the back of the prop, and many observers wouldn't see the difference. There's also the option of finding another clock to fit, or simply covering the hole with a wooden or metal plate.

It's still a historical artifact. It's just not "pristine" to a collector, and if you ever sell it you can advertise that it has had a clock in it and the clock just needs to be replaced.