Whatzit for a Friday

Got an email from a friend in Michigan - not sure why I got this but it's a good "whatzit" for a Friday -

First of all I'm only sending this to the few I know that have at least a few good cells left upstairs. If I didn't send it to you, you know why. Consider yourself lucky either way.
The picture I've attached is of a 'tool' that is nailed to a log cabin that was probably built in the 1930s (in Montana). As you can see it's made of wood, has one side tapered & has tapered, also commonly known as male pipe threads, to be screwed into something else?
It must have a tool name to it as well as what in the world it was used for. My understanding is that it has baffled people for over 50+ years! My intellect (what's left of it) tells me someone somewhere knows what it is & what it was used for.
If you're anything like me, it's gonna be tough to be serious, but who really cares. After all we do insist on enjoying life to the fullest!
Please & I do mean please, send me a comment about the tool or about my warped mind - it really doesn't matter. There's no phone service or internet where staying & any reply I get will be appreciated when I find civilization again (hopefully).
a232560.jpg
 
I'm a Southerner so my first/only idea is that it might have held an insulator for lightening rod ground wire. Any ideas?
 
I'm with Roger, used to be lots of them around here on old phone and power lines. Had the green or clear glass insulator screwed on the top with the wood part bolted-screwed to the pole. Think I might have one stashed in my shed(along with 10,000 other things).
 
Insulator screwed onto it for a telephone line. ReaL COMMON IN TE RURAL AREAS IN THE 40S & 50S WITH THE OLD HOOT & HOLLER PHONE SYSTEMS.
 
I have two of these. They were mounted on power poles and a ceramic or glass insulator was screwed on and the wire connected to the insulator for support.
They would normally be installed with the threaded tip pointing up. I have a few of the insulators. Some are brown colored ceramic, some are clear glass and some are blue-green glass.
 
Black locust was a preferred wood for those. Its resistance to bugs and rot makes it a great wood for fence posts too. The color in clear insulators comes from a photochemical reaction of mineral impurities in the glass. Each mineral produces a characteristic color. Some of those colored insulators are really pretty. Most insulators started out clear and colorless. Over time, exposure to light creates the color. When they get dark, spiders will form webs in them and the webs retain moisture. A few miles of insulators with moist spider webs results in a measurable voltage drop. Glass was formulated to remain clear to denied the spiders a dark place to make their webs. That solved that source of voltage drop.
 
If you ever find an insulator with no threads you have hit the jackpot. An insulator without threads is very valuable . Not hundreds but worth thousands. The wood holder in the pic was functional at one time for some service.
 
Reminds me, I got bunch of those insulators somewhere around here. When I was about 12 -14 the Chicago Great Western rail road abandoned the line next to our farm. My older brother told me to crawl up the poles and pull the wire down along with the insulators. The wire was to brace fence corner posts but I think it was stiffer than #9 wire and hard to handle. Took a while to find them, only 10 left, gave some away over the years. Think this was a telephone line, shorter poles, 2 wires on a pole.
a232577.jpg

a232578.jpg
 
We tore out several miles of telephone line after they went underground. Intended to use the poles for another pole shed, but that never happened. We ended up with several bucker of glass insulators. Traded some, sold a few and finally gave the rest to some guy to get them out of the way. Back then, there wasn't any market for them.
 
That is called a pole bracket. Phone Co used them in rural areas with 109 iron wire and glass insulators. They would take 2 wires to make one party line. One pole used these brackets and the next pole usually had a 2 pin cross arm. That way they could put twist in the line for better transmission quality. Have worked with a lot of them back in the day. Tommy
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top