Antique Electrical Hardware

[Craig T]

I keep a small display cabinet on the wall with early electrical hardware. I keep some of them for fan/radio plug replacement. Here are a few I just cleaned up.

There is one at the end I am working on right now. I just pulled this one out of the old mine depot with some great farm lights. It has a bakelite switch, when turned it rolls a metal disc that says on and off.

I keep around as many different cloth cords as I can too. This one is one of my favorites and it bound for an Emerson 77648-SO (A 16" Emerson metal blade fan in a bronze color).

The switches are my favorites, I only have the two of those right now. I don't come across that many of those. I have a few boxes like the one at the end that still need to be cleaned up. If anyone has any more to show, please post some pics of them.

[AET]

I actually had quite a few of those switches and those knobs, which were all in use in our old gun store, built in 1853, and a pharmacy from 1865 until we bought it in 2004.  All of them still worked, we just updated the knob and tube wiring and left them in place.  Hindsight's 20/20 I guess.

[GusHerb]

We have some of those old knob-twist switches as well.... They're still installed in my dad's building in the basement, one of them still is connected to a regularly used light. One day I plan on snatching them.

[Kenny C]

hey do any of you know how to tell what year an iron was made in

[Phonesrfun]

Kenny,

Appliance manufacturers didn't (and still don't) date their parts like Western Electric did. WE kind of set the all time standard that very few have duplicated.  Sometimes there may be a date somewhere inside, but chances are, not.

[Ampico66]

Check out my antique electric stuff on Ebay I'm selling, Ampico66 is my user name on there too.  I have a ton of antique switches, plugs, sockets, etc. in the basement.  I've been collecting them for years.  I need to photograph them for show and tell.  I'm not selling all of it, just some of it. 

[Craig T]

I marked you as a favorite seller. I just spent an hour on the dirty switch. One more and it will be done. I will keep an eye out for the switches, thanks for the heads up. -Craig

[dencins]

Somewhat along the same line, I acquire and digitally enhance the old No 6 dry cell labels.  Most are specific for telephone use but I have other general purpose labels.

Dennis

[Craig T]

More very impressive work Dennis!

With turnouts like that you are going to make a battery collector out of me. Those show very nicely, great work! A couple of those would make a great finishing touch on a phone shelf too. Cannot say I have seen any for sale in my travels though.

Thanks for posting the time line too, interesting to see the progression.

[Bill]

Somewhere I've got a whole box of the old pushbutton light switches - you know, the ceramic body, two black pushbuttons, one having a mother-of-pearl disc on it. I'm not sure where they are at the moment, but they are brand new. I bought them from the basement of an old hardware store, where they had been stored since the days they were used. I needed one to replace a worn-out unit in the late Victorian house we owned, and the store owner said "Take the entire box for $10". I did.

I've thought about selling them on eBay, but I'm not sure of the ramifications of using switches that aren't UL approved. Anyway, if I can find them, I'll add some pictures here - this one is not mine, though identical.

Bill

[dencins]

More very impressive work Dennis!

With turnouts like that you are going to make a battery collector out of me. Those show very nicely, great work! A couple of those would make a great finishing touch on a phone shelf too. Cannot say I have seen any for sale in my travels though.

Thanks for posting the time line too, interesting to see the progression.

A while back I was selling the replicas but ran out of the large unplated Fahenstock clips so I stopped.  The original clips on No 6 were 1" long unplated brass but now I can only find nickel plated.  I have 3/4" unplated but it just does not look the same.

If people want to put the labels over a new No 6, I do sell the laebls for $5.00 each plus $2.00 postage per order.

After Energizer stopped making the EN6, people were having trouble replacements but recently another company start making them.  They have two versions:

http://www.batterycountry.com/ShopSite/product9982.html
http://www.batterycountry.com/ShopSite/product9992.html

These are the screw terminal type.

Dennis

[Craig T]

Thanks for the link Dennis, I will keep that the batteries and your labels in mind.

Bill, I want two of those  Look forward to seeing them if you find them.

Here is the one I cleaned up.