What is this glass piece?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

My grandfather had a model T Ford in the 1940’s, and I wonder if this glass piece has something to do with that car. I have a bulbous glass jar, slightly ribbed and with 3 rows of threads at the top of the glass. On top of that is a metal dome piece. There is a liquid inside the jar that could be oil. Any idea what this glass jar could be?

(Any way I can add a photo to this site?)

2

I’m not likely to be able to help with the id of the jar. But there is an “attach file” button at the bottom left of the reply window. If forget where it is for making a new post, but you can post your own reply to this thread and attach photos using that button.

3

Maybe it had oil lamp headlights?

The above was intended to be a joke until I actually found those by Googling “Oil Lamp Headlights” and found this

4

Here’s a photo of the piece.

5

Thanks for the help. I just uploaded a photo of this piece.

6

That’s called a gravity feed oiler. The glass part is threaded upside down on a piece of equipment and oil drips to lubricate a moving mechanical part. I can’t see where that would be used on a Model T.

Tester

7

I just uploaded a photo. Any ideas would be helpful.

8

Geez, after asking so many family members, you have the answer!
On what would it be used?

9

I would first have to ask what your grandfathers profession was. It could indicate what it was used on.

Tester

10

My grandfather was a furniture maker. He had a wood lathe and equipment to make furniture in his basement. Died in 1955 at age 77, and in 2008, his basement was just as he left it in 1955. I picked this up because it looked so interesting.

11

That oil luber was probably used on his wood lathe. The lathes back then had what were called oil-lite bearings. And these oil-lite bearings required constant lubrication to prevent them from wearing out.

Tester

12

Thank you so much for the information. When there is no family around here (like my father, a machinist) to answer my questions, it’s nice to know there are people on the Car Talk website who can answer those questions.
How’d you get so smart, anyway?