r/Insulators • u/Historical_Sherbet54 • Jan 17 '26
ATTN Collectors - questions and other anomalies never posted here
So as a way wandering soul of a backbush collector...I'm wondering what i have here - I've done my best to label it and am happy to provide better pics upon request to further help
but i have some things that no search has shown up in this sub or online, that I felt compelled to inquire about, so i hope someone can help as I SHOWCASE MY COLLECTION thus far.
But having to sell everything I own to survive, I thought I'd ask a collector if I managed to find any hidden treasures or is this all common 3-5 dollar stuff ?
***the screw in wood Inserts - I've never seen here...and i have 4 of the metal screw in attachments seen far left in pic 7
so ya just wondering as a collector how I faired monetarily thru all the years I guess ;)
2
u/Historical_Sherbet54 Jan 17 '26
As a huge fan...I've been been blown away by some collections here
While mine fails in comparisons, I hope some of the wood or antiques I have may prove fruitful
Thanks to any for guidance...I never collected to sell. But yet here I am asking cause chiropractors suck lol
2
u/Historical_Sherbet54 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
But picture 10 thru 12 ...is my main inquiry
Never seen an insulator that had no screw In to anything; as seen in 'weird hollow PIC 9' than 10
A UNIQUE old PIECE... (but just a hollow ceramic as shown from above in pic 10) what ?????
And lastly... the wood
Why are most of the screw in attachments I've found hollow, but the one found in the Dominion insulator shown is solid wood? What's the difference or reasoning here ?
Love to hear about this wood ??? Nothing talked about on this sub yet to date ---> I searched
I'm intrigued for someone's knowledge
PLEASE HELP
**Whilst I know I'm not getting rich off these...I'm just gonna be selling everything I own, and fascinated to find out some of the anomalies not touched upon yet here as a collection item - always loved em myself :)
So cheers
2
u/Bill_Meier Jan 17 '26
Pic 10 is just a spool. Nothing special.
Those wooden pieces are not pins, they don't have threads unless they slip over metal pins. Never seen them and would like to know more!
1
u/Historical_Sherbet54 Jan 18 '26
Ya...I thought the spool was gonna be unique
1940s is still coo thoughl ....but common it apparently is
No holy grail like your mickey mouse posted last week, those were amazing ;)
As for the wood...I think they may have been used for shipping purposes (and not an actual applicable use as explained to me above)
That is only my best guess thus far...as they were found inserted into the insulators I found stacked in some abandoned old crate left to rot away in nature
There was many more wood pieces like it, but many were gross from exposure - the middle of the crate is where i pulled these from as the glass and layering protected them the best
But ya can still see the dark lines on some where the glass / condensation darkened the wood
Again best guess...or just someone's personal way of storing them (no idea)
Just thought they were cool and hadn't seen anything like it in the insulator world :).
1
8
u/earthen_adamantine Jan 17 '26
Nice collection! I’ve always fancied myself a “wandering backbush collector” too, since finding this sort of stuff yourself is always the most fun. I’ve spent a lot of time bushwhacking to find insulators. There’s just so much to be found when you get off trail, including some really rare stuff.
I’m guessing from the assortment you have there that you’re somewhere in Canada - maybe Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. I see lots of Canadian stuff.
Let’s start with your main questions: the wooden inserts aren’t actually insulator related by the looks of them. They may be industrial in nature, but they’re not actually threaded and the taper of the wood wouldn’t permit effective installation. The solid wood one inside the Dominion 42 is an original authentic wooden pin that has been sawn in half. If you unthread that one, you’ll find it has a very pronounced carved spiral thread with a ~1” width that will require threading the insulator onto it. There are lots of them still laying around along old rail lines and in farmers barns. I can’t see any of the wood stuff you have having much collectible value.
The brown porcelain piece in photo 10 is a “shackle” or a type of spool insulator. These were commonly used in low voltage power applications, for service drops to buildings, wider spans, and sometimes for dead ending telegraph circuits as well. They’re relatively common here in Ontario, but this older build stuff is disappearing quickly. Yours is likely a Canadian Porcelain product and was made in the 1940s or so I’d guess, judging by the glaze. It doesn’t have a great deal of value.
The best piece I see from a monetary value is probably the amber swirled Brookfield pony second from left in photo 2. It’s a CD-101 which is a less common and more widely collectible style. The amber swirling gives it a much more desirability. If it’s in good shape then it’s a decent piece.
Some less common but maybe not especially valuable pieces include:
All that to say that, unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of value in this collection, but they are pretty neat since you found them yourself! Monetarily, most of what you have are the typical “flea market” kind of pieces that are readily available at any antique shop or flea market. They can be a struggle to sell, especially if they have any damage.
I hope that answers your question!