Some Recent Finds in the Insulator World:

[Robby Raccoon]

The other evening, I was out in search of embossed/debossed pavers on Muskegon Avenue (totally torn-up) and and old lot (today I was watching them remove more wastes.) I spotted what looked like glass in the dirt next to a telephone pole and under some debris. So I pulled it out of the ground and found this thing.It looks like some sort of insulator, but for what is it exactly?When is it from?

That same evening, I was trying to bring home two blocks (one I didn't have, and another I still don't have) when disaster struck: My pack broke, and I was stuck several miles away from home on my mom's bike as darkness fell. But also that same evening, after climbing down into a deep hole into a small room full of heat, humidity, metal, and broken glass tubes (and one broken paver I'd also not before seen, []) I walked around weeds ranging from 1 to 7 feet high and discovered this insulator that I believe-- as I have an embossed shard as well-- is a CD 257 insulator, or the Mickey Mouse insulator-style.

After attempting to put two pavers, the next item I'll show you, 2 bottles of water, regular supplies, a lot of glass and a bottle, and the insulators among other odds and ends into my pack that had been so faithful, my strap broke.So what do I do?Well, I tried carrying it under my arm after dumping away some weight in scrap and brick, but that got tiring.So I tie it to the seat and strap it down on the wheel-guard, but that forces the guard into the wheel and slides off-- it slid off and caused my bike to stop in a busy intersection... So after a couple miles of numerous stops, I tied it to the front-- but that forced the wheel-guard down again onto the tire. So I had to have it off to the side some. But that not only impair steering and causes the wheel to strike the guard with every bump on our holey roads, but it also caused the bike to want to wobble severely the whole road home. Then it begins to lightly rain, but I beat the heavy rains home by God's grace.Nonetheless, I ended up feeling so sick after it. It appears that it also has to do with insulators, but exactly what? That white center was part of a brown-glazed ceramic piece.

It's basically all copper.I found it where I had found this thing-- like a matter of feet away in the tall weeds. Then today, I bought this CD 106 Hemingray 9 insulator without the May 2nd info on it:

Drip-points.Some glass slipped out of the mold.

 

[2find4me]

Cool finds, the mickey mouse one would have been one sweet insulator if whole. I found an insulator the other day too that was in the woods. I will try to post a pic of it tomorrow.

 

[Robby Raccoon]

Please do.

 

[2find4me]

I think it is a CD 126.1, I can see W.E. Brookfield faintly embossed around the top.

 

[Robby Raccoon]

I'd have been ecstatic to find it. Congrats!

 

[BillinMo]

Some interesting finds there. I'm not an expert on electrical equipment, but my best guess about that porcelain piece and copper top is that it's a capacitor bushing, probably for a (relatively) lower voltage application like the rail signal relay pictured here: http://www.insulators.info/pictures/?id=205271185 The Hemingray 9 with just PATENTED and no date is a bit unusual and not as common as the dated version. 2Find - I think you have a CD 126 there. The 126.1 has a very straight skirt with no flare at all. Still, that's quite an old insulator and they're not easy to find.

 

[Robby Raccoon]

BillinMo, thank you for the response.I am unable to access your link, though, as my computer blocks it. Could you put the pics on here and a small bit of info? The porcelain (ring-like insulator, if you mean that) came off Muskegon Avenue-- a few miles from where the copper item came from. Wiki failed to give me dates or enough pics about a porcelain capacitor bushing. Something like these perhaps? ("These" being the modern version.) I picked up the insulator only because it lacked May 2nd 1893. Is it worth more than the $2 I spent on it? Being dateless (if this makes sense,) can it help narrow down when it was made?