No powder, no smell. Looks unused. It's a mystery....did it have any kind of residue inside? or an odor? like some kind of lubricant.
Yes, rubber gaskets, two halves screw apart. The screw at the top of said device screws down to puncture something. This may not even be loading related, it just was in a die set, and fit nicely in the box. I've wondered about this object for years and had no clue what it is.Are the two black rings gaskets? Is the disc with two holes in it spring loaded or fixed in place? Are the two halves being held together somehow in your OP or are they just stacked? Both halves have female threads. Was there any kind of threaded coupling in the box?
My dad was a machinist, and maybe this is totally unrelated to loading.