WOW!! You hit the treasure chest! I'm afraid I don't have any ideas but someone on here will. Just remember to post pictures of all your creations. Are you going to do anything with the Poles???

That type would make excellent taper candle holders Kirkus.
Even just a display of them is nice.

Hi Kirk,
Well, if you have any of the clear ones you can make Malibu Lights with them. I see an insulator person being made out of those! What a great treasure trove to find BURIED none the less! Oh,also if you have enough, you can make a skeleton out of them for Halloween! Those small ones look like vertabrae.Have you not seen my insulator lights? I had that idea a few years back. Here's a current photo of mine.Have fun with those and PLEASE post pictures!
Love, Jules
PS: Well, I cannot upload the photo since it's on imagestation....(they are closing soon and my photos are held hostage somewhere in cyberspace!)..

You could group hem together with other plants for just sheer visual interest. I'd stick them on the poles and put some in among the other taller plants for more interest. People collect them. You could flip some over to use as a butterfly bath. Put some sand in the bottom.

I am so jealous of your find. I made hose guides with mine and have started sitting them everywhere and use them for toppers on plant stakes. I love the idea of putting sand in them for the butterflies.

Great find! One of our neighbors has a coat rack that his Great Uncle made from an old wooden pole with the insulators attached strategically around the top portion which is where you hung your coat or hat. I have always admired it.

Great ideas! I knew you would spark my imagination. I like the idea of mini-totemlike creations in the garden. Cluster them at different heights in groups of 3... The poles are really oily and rotted so I can't really use those. I'll use some for the hose guides and some for tapered candles... It's fun brainstorming with you! I promise I'll post pictures! Kirk

Believe it or not, there is a National Insulator Association. I would do some research on your insulators before you use them, in case they may be rare or valuable.

One of the pending projects in my "junk room" is a blue insulator I bought at a TS. I plan to wrap a bit of copper wire around it, and put doo-dads and curly-cues along the lengths and at the ends, so that's an idea for you. Copper goes with a lot of colors, I think.

Hi Kirk!

Great find! I got curious about the insulators that I've used in totems so I found a website that has oodles of info about them. Maybe you'll get lucky! Let us know.

~~Mimi

Here is a link that might be useful: Insulator website

Those would be interesting to put a group (at least three) of tall but varying heights stakes in the ground and just put those on top of the stakes. Simple but interesting.

Ok Kirk,

Here's a currect photo of my pond withteh Insulator Malibu Lights.Aslo, I have a spotlight on the rocks too but the insulator lights are really bright. I don;t know if you have any glass ones...

Have fun with your creative idea.

Jules

Here is a link that might be useful: Malibu Insulator Lights

You can find out lots about insulators @ insulators.com. There's a new price guide out now for glass insulators and there is a guide for porcelain (link below).
I use both glass and porcelain insulators in many of the birdhouse designs I make. Search for "unique birdhouses" on Google and you'll find me. The shape of some of yours looks like they'd make good hose routing guides - placed at edges of flower beds, etc. where you don't want a hose to drag through (stake or rod through pin hole and into ground). If you have the poles you likely have the hardware and pins that you can use to attach them to various things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Porcelain Insulator Guide

all I can say is WOW!!!!!!!! You lucky guy!!!!! So many possibilities(-: And if you get tired of finding uses I will gladly take some(-: LOL

Thanks to those who posted the sites about the insulators. I knew folks collected them but never knew they could go for prices up to $20,000. I found pics and prices of a few I have, just my luck, they're $3 to $5 a piece. Figures!!
I did find a nice purple one in an antique store and paid $20 for it, maybe I'll hit the jackpot with that one.

Sal

Ok Kirk,

Today my hubby and kids and I drove up to Lompoc (North of Santa Barbara). along the 126 route there are a lot of power lines. I got to thinking about those insulators you have. What if you somehow connect them vertically upside down and make a rain chain out of them? Hook them up to a pump and water source to make a cool water feature in your yard? Epsecially in the Pacific Northwest you've got water (in non drought years) on a regular basis. Just trying to think outside the "candle holder" midset.

Hope you made a great Saturday!

Jules

Sal, mine aren't worth that much either but it was sure fun looking at the various insulators! Jules, I love your lights!!!! Beautiful! Mine are all porcelain but I love your rain chain idea! That's creative! I will ponder how to do it! Everyone has such great ideas! Thank you! Kirk

Well, I learn something every day here! I don't think I ever thought about insulators! There is a whole subculture out there! I am going to be late for work looking at all that beautiful glass and porcelain!

Here is a project you can do:

Here is a link that might be useful: candle holder

Kirk,

Ah, so I did come up with a good idea! Hehehe Although in reading the last post that trellis partition candle holder looked really coool too! (Thanks for the compliments about my insulators)

YES, there is an ENTIRE subculture out there for insulators! Oh,. have fun assembling your project!

Love, Jules

I like the drain spout idea. You could link the insulators with a good thickness of copper wire in some sort of fashion such as this....
{{gwi:187060}}
One would have to use some pretty stout wire if you wanted to hang quite a few in one line. Most insulators, glass and porcelain, do not have holes clear through them. To hang those you'd have to get more creative with the wire. I'll try this will glass, pin type insulators and if successful I'll post my results - likely won't get around to it for a week or two.

Thanks for the tips, Nestmaster! By the way, I LOVE YOUR BIRDHOUSES! I enjoyed exploring your website and have seen your work at various shows in the area. (We live north of Deer Park, and I teach in Mead.) Your work is inspiring! Again, thanks for the ideas in linking the insulators. Kirk

Kirk - Birdhouses are my summer/spare time adventure - I teach too - Horizon MS - CVSD. We probably do not live far from you - Chattaroy. There's a fairly active hand full of insulator collectors in our area. A fellow here in Spokane used to have 300,000 in his backyard! No #%&@! He was selling them for $.25 each when I found out about him, then $.05, then free. They were mainly from old phone lines between Spokane & Ritzville that they put underground. He had worked for the phone company. The insulators got to be a liability for him (20' x 30' waist deep bin in his backyard which recycling outfits would not take). I ended up with at least 3,000 and my neighbor was one of the ones who took his remainder (he has 50,000). I don't think I'll be running out of them any time soon! Back to birdhouses.... they're fun to make. We get lots of birds along the Little Spokane R. I'm trying to have a bunch made for the Inland Craft Warnings show in Nov. It'll be their 25th anniversary so it should be a good show. Email me via my website if you'd like and we'll discuss education/insulators/etc. Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Inland Craft Warnings group and show