Kind of a strange ceramic insulator

[moodorf]

I saw this at a store. Pretty sure it's an insulator but I've never seen one quite like it before. I almost think it's a very early type of ceramic insulator. I could be wrong.

 

[CanadianBottles]

Huh, that's an odd one. It reminds me a bit of those old ashtrays with match strikers included, but all the ones I've seen have had a cup to hold matches in the middle. If it is an insulator I think it's just one part of a multi-part insulator, probably for some specialized use with high-voltage power. Did you get a picture of the underside of it?

 

[moodorf]

No I didn't, but I do recall it was not threaded and had that embedded stuff too

 

[BillinMo]

It's probably a substation or dead end insulator. The sanded areas are meant to be cemented to metal hardware. What does the underside look like?

 

[moodorf]

It's probably a substation or dead end insulator. The sanded areas are meant to be cemented to metal hardware. What does the underside look like?

I didn't take a pic of the underside but I do recall it was not threaded and had that embedded stuff too

 

[fredmcain]

Most open-wire telephone lines in America and Canada used cylindrical, ceramic, termination insulators where the line started or ended. But they didn't look like this. Truth be known, I've never seen anything exactly like this. In fact, I am not 100% certain that this is an insulator at all. It almost looks like to me like it could be an ashtray or something.

If it is an insulator, I've never seen one like it before.