75 YEARS - Hubbell Power Systems

8
The Guardian
Mike Glueckert, Sr. is a Journeyman
Lineman/Troubleshooter at
Northwestern Energy in Helena,
Montana. He is also the guardian of hundreds of
antique line tools.
Glueckert started collecting line tools when he was
a young apprentice, more than 37 years ago. But,
he did not get serious until the end of the 1990’s.
“The OSHA regulations changed and utilities in
the US had to dispose of all their wooden tools. I
saw my supervisor cutting the wooden handles in
half and I asked if I could take the rest of the tools
home with me. He said yes and it became clear to
me that I needed to preserve some of our past,”
explains Glueckert.
What do you have in your collection?
Primarily I collect safety line tools, but I have a
little bit of everything. I have a lot of line tools
including saddles, clamps, and anything to do
with transmission work. I have wooden tools and
some of the very first, epoxy-glass sticks. I have old
wooden insulator cradles and wooden link sticks.
I'm not a big insulator collector, but I do have some
rubber goods.”
Most of my tools are Chance ® tools. Of course,
before it was Chance it was Tips Tool Company
(1918-1937). Our forefathers, started with Tips.
And, some of the most popular tools in the
collection are the Tips and Chance shotgun sticks.
I have quite a few for transmission work, as well
as six-footers and folding sticks. I have a number
of different universal sticks with all the tips and a
variety of tie heads.
I also have my own, fully refurbished, 1959 hot stick
trailer. It is a Chance trailer, filled with Chance tools.
of Historic Line Tools
What is the oldest thing you have in your
collection?
“I have some very old tool belts. They are
homemade out of horse harness leather. I don’t
know how old they are for sure, but I suppose they
were made at the turn-of-the-century or early in
the 1900s. As far as tools go, I have a large variety
of Tips tools from the 1920s.”
What do you think has changed the most
over the years?
“The basic tools haven’t changed much over the
years, but there have been many modifications.
Most of the changes were made because the
hardware on the lines changed. Over the years,
more large heavy tools have been developed for
transmission work. These have been incorporated
into the trade to accommodate the heavy string of
bells, for example. Those are all fairly new tools.
And, since the industry is reluctant to take lines out
of service, we've been seeing more live line work
and more bare hand work and all the tools that
you need to do that work. One major change is the
addition of electronic components to line tools.”
What are some the strangest items that you
have?
“One of the most unique things is an old Tips Tool
grounding chain. It is a braided copper chain the
linemen would attach to ground--either the shield
wire or a local ground. Then, they would pull the
other end of the chain over the conductor with an
old manila rope. So, it was just a copper chain lying
over the conductor. There aren’t many of those
around anymore.
Also, I have some antique climbing hooks that
the lineman wore. In the old days, the shank was