Brass candlestick.....with a story

I received this as a gift from an elderly friend .
She told me , her father had handmade it ,( which would put it around 60 to 100 years old...give or take...) & it has a secret compartment .....Eeekk !

I think it's lovely, but so far I can only get the top rim to move, and it just goes round and round ....no thread...up or down.
The rest is solid....& the darn thing weighs in at 1340 grams........
It stands 8 1/8 inches tall....& for it's sweet little size, it's weight is unreal !!!
I've tried finding ANY separation....& can find none.

Enjoy !

 

She told you there's a secret compartment, but didn't tell you how to access it...?

 

She's quite the curmudgeon ......& delights in confounding me !!!!

For all I know , she was blowing smoke up my..........tushy !!!

 

Being her Dads, she was reticent to part with it......but I protested ....as I had been invited to select what I wished..!

 

Well she got you then! She just might be pulling your leg to drive you nuts, LOL!

 

I've considered that.....as I tug every which way on almost 3 pounds of solid metal !!

 

There seems to be a joint in one of the photos that might unscrew.

 

hmmmmm...how much do gold coins in a secret compartment weigh.......

..or...is it really brass

 

That's what I was going to suggest.
May be somewhere else as well.

 

I though maybe bronze, but on the last pic you can just about make out the turning marks left on the underside of the stick ,which I attribute to a lath .

 

I've gone over every nook with a loop and can not find any separations....nor does anything want to turn , cept the top rim.

 

and I can't figure out how the base is attached , it's as if it's all one piece.
The hole for the candle has striations , as if it was drilled / hollowed out.

 

has anyone ever seen a solid candlestick like this ?

 

I wonder what would happen if you freeze it.
That might be enough to make any joint shift and release.
I wouldn't heat it. Maybe in direct sun.

 

In several photos of the top 1/4 of the stick there appears to be a solder line,maybe the top spinning part is "keyed".

 

You can be certain the base is a separate piece and is soldered on. Heat base to about 550 deg. F and it will drop off. Test with magnet all over. Hire an industrial imaging firm to X-ray it, should be able to do for about $150. Ask a psychic what's in it, get a fixed fee, should be $25. Or close to that. Do Archimedes-style density check with water, scale etc. If u really wanna know.

 

Now there's a thought !
or two..

 

How come the psychics don't come to me?
They must know I need them......

 

I'd run a strong magnet over it and see if anything sticks before trying anything more drastic. If it sticks anywhere it might be a clue.