A strange "Hollow" Bolt

[Baldingboy]

A strange "Hollow" Bolt

Can anybody tell me anything about this? (Other than the obvious?) I found this at an old house (late 1800's). The strange thing is that this thing is thin metal and hollow inside, as if it covered something. It has and "A" stamped on the head of it.

 

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[Ant]

Re: A strange "Hollow" Bolt

It looks like a oil pan drain plug of some other kind of sump drain plug. The hollow area catches dirt, now days they use magnets and some plugs still have hollow catch bassin.

 

[gollum]

Re: A strange "Hollow" Bolt

I'm with Ant. Oil Drain Plug.

Mike

 

[trikikiwi]

Re: A strange "Hollow" Bolt

I'm with Ant and Mike
Cheers, Mike

 

[easytime]

Re: A strange "Hollow" Bolt

Without seeing a pic of the other end - I think it's a carbon unit for a telephone line. The open end would hold a set of small round discs (carbon) with a holder of made of ceramic with a small center mounted piece of carbon. The idea being that a surge of voltage (lightning) would short between the carbon peices looking for ground and would be prevented from entering into the phone equipment attached to the other end of the line. The screw in carbon units would go into a small block on the outside of a building and be connected between the outside line and inside wiring.

 

[Rancho Leo]

Re: A strange "Hollow" Bolt

I totally agree with Easytime, having spent 30 years in the telephone industry, that is definately a part of a telephone line protector assembly.

HH
Leo

 

[re-tek]

Re: A strange "Hollow" Bolt

yep, lightning arrestor used by phone company. two of those screw into a bakelite block that has a ground wire running to it. the block was mounted to the side of the house where the phone line came down from the pole.