One of my favorite finds while beach combing, are fragments from antique and vintage glass electrical insulators. The insulator fragments are thicker and more unusually colored then a lot of other pieces of sea glass. I often use the insulator fragments for my suncatchers.
Glass insulators are as old as our commercial use of electricity. Many of the insulators date back to the 1800's. The insulators can be found on old power poles all over. They are screwed onto the crosspiece on a power pole. They carried phone lines and power lines. It was and is critical that these utility lines do not come in contact with a conductive material such as wood and the glass insulators provided a “safe” way to carry the lines filled with electricity. Today most of them have been replaced by ceramics, which are stronger and lighter, but not nearly as attractive.
I find my insulators in old dumps, along beaches and through other sources. I often post them on eBay as well as having several available here. If you are looking for a particular model or color, email me and I will do my best to fill your request.
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Glass electrical insulators can be used for display on the window sill, in the garden, as lawn ornaments, along a walk way, for candle holders, lamp bases and many arts and crafts projects. Many people simply collect them just to collect them. There are over 2 thousand insulator collecting clubs.
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