What has the Nox found here?

Someone out there will have the answer.
First i though it was an old section of pipe but it seems to short to be a usefull pipe.
Then i thought maby half a plain bearing due to the hole in the top (maby for grease) and the groove inside (maby a grease chanel )
Its solid copper / brass / bronze, something heavy thats golden colour when scratched and tarnished green.

I would say a brass shim any measurements

Looks like half a housing to me for a shaft as you say with the hole to allow a lubricant and internal groove to allow the lubricant to travel.

I don't think it is a housing for a bearing with no slots to hold the bearing in place.

My two bobs worth :Y:

I reckon half a bearing that fits over a shaft, the grease goes in through the hole and the groove let's it spread along the shaft both ways. Looks a lot like a cooper's bearing. Often used on boat prop shafts.

Phosphor bronze bearing, oil fed?

One half of a 2 piece bronze plain bearing (or bushing) used on shafts.
Possibly go into a housing or a locating/clamping system hence the flanged ends + grooves just inside the flanges. The flanges would be there to keep them located in place.
The hole & groove are definitely for lubrication.

Holy thread revival batman.... but i was obliged to comment because for once i actually know what i am looking at!

Manpa and mbasko are onto it. It is one half of a Phosphor bronze bushing, this one in particular was half of a headstock spindle bushing from a myford ml7 metal lathe. This was the top bushing of the chuck end, adjacent to the back gears. An oil dripper fed oil to the spindle for lubrication and the tension on the spindle was adjusted using fore and aft shims. Too little tension caused runout and chatter, too tight ate the bushes. Id consider that a pretty darn cool find!

A pic of my myford ml7

I'm glad for the confirmation that it's a phosphor bronze bearing, I sold Record Coronet woodworking lathes for many years and our top end models had p bronze bearings, although they were a one piece unit.
Thanks Mellor9.3