Hemingray D-512 Amber

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", April 1973, page 5

Question sent in by John E. Bartley, Springfield, Ohio: I have an unusual insulator acquired at an auction two years ago and have not as yet seen any information about it.

It's a D-512, amber, and completely solid, with a 1/4" lip probably to accept an iron ring much like lightning rod cable insulators. The base is heavily corrugated, the lip is chipped on opposite sides, and several wire scratches can be found. I've sent two photos to Mr. Milholland for his next revised reference book, but I would like to find out how rare this jewel is. I'd also like to express my gratitude toward people like yourself and the Milhollands for the valuable efforts that have made insulators an exciting hobby.

In reply to John E. Bartley: This Hemingray D-512 without pinhole and with flange around the base would hardly be a production item. Its use as suggested would be electrically and mechanically unsound and would constitute an expensive assembly that would have no advantage over the conventional insulators of that period. The Hemingray D- series was begun around 1930; so we are not dealing with something from the very early days of experimentation in the electrical distribution field. The item you have would probably be from the beginning of a run, where the glass was allowed to overfill the mold without the press being fully in operation. It could have been finished as it was and retained by a workman for use as a weight (it would be quite heavy); or it could have come from diggings at the factory dump.