Propeller of Unknown Provenance

[bobbop]

I have a propeller that appears to be post WWI. It's 100 inches long, and it has a center hole but no mounting holes. It's constructed of laminated wood. It has numbers written in pencil on the hub that read 38315/384 as best I can tell. Was it a pattern or reject? Any guesses?

[Dbahnson]

It could be almost anything, including non-aviation usage. A picture might help.

[bobbop]

Propeller of Unknown Provenance

See attached photos of the unknown propeller.

[Dbahnson]

It's almost certainly one that was rejected in the manufacturing process and never actually completed. While it's a long shot, it might be one of the "toothpick" propellers manufactured by Jacuzzi Brothers in the teens or twenties. I say that only because I've seen a Jacuzzi propeller with a very similar geometric shape.

[bobbop]

Thanks. Miles Hustad, the Propeller Man, said virtually the same thing although he had no guess where it came from. The lack of mounting holes and the rough surface on the blades indicate that it was never used. I will follow up on your suggestion about the Jacuzzi Brothers. Bob Hester

[bobbop]

Another question about the suggestion that this may be a Jacuzzi Brothers "toothpick" propeller: The brothers got out of the propeller making business at the insistence of their parents in 1921 when one of them was killed in an air crash. Rather than a manufacturing reject, is it possible that this propeller was one that had only been partially completed when they got out of the business?

[bobbop]

Dbahnson

I looked at my propeller using the criteria you suggested in the post on the 12 props from the American Propeller Company. Based on that, my prop appears to be a Jacuzzi Brothers product. Unlike APC toothpick props, this one flares noticeably at mid blade, and the tips are thin.

Also, I may have found why this prop may have been rejected: It has de-laminated place near the hub.

[Dbahnson]

If it is a Jacuzzi prop (and I'm certainly not convinced that it is) I think that it's much more likely that it would have been rejected due to a manufacturing defect than due to the family issues with flying.

[bobbop]

OK, thanks.