Hello from Hazard!
Don Scott was quick to identify Item No. 1075, which we first showed last week. It’s called an open wire running board.
“It was used by telephone linemen to put transpositions in the wire every so many poles to stop inductive noise,” Scott explains in his email. That’s back when wires were put on cross arms with glass insulators.
“On the short side of the tool, it is marked Bell System, with patent dates of the early 1900s.”
Wow! Thanks for the prompt and complete answer and description!
The item was submitted by Dan Gault, of Dalton, Ohio. He was told it had an entirely different use, so we’re happy to set him (and others) straight.
Longtime reader Wayne Cooper of Fombell, Pennsylvania, sends us Item No. 1076, this chicken wire contraption.
Think you know how it was used? Email your responses to editorial@farmanddairy.com; or respond by mail to: Hazard a Guess, c/o Farm and Dairy, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460.
Do you have something in your kitchen, basement, shed or barn that you think would be a good item for Hazard a Guess? Send us a photo or attach a digital file to an email. Be sure to include complete dimensions and description, including markings, as well as an explanation of how the item was used. Send photos to the contact information listed above.
