Thus, guy stubs of cedar or juniper, either 18 or 25 feet in length, must have a circumference of 22 inches at the top and of 32 inches 6 feet from the butt; stubs of chestnut must measure 24 inches in the first, and 34 in the second, while those of cypress require 28 in the first, and in the second, 39 inches for an 18 foot length, and at least 41 for a 25 foot length. In planting guy stubs the same rules are followed as hold for poles, every means being adopted to promote security of construction except that the stub is raked or tilted against the strain on the guy cable.
Wiring the Line.—The erection and guying of the poles of a line as well as the attachment of the cross arms and the screwing on of the insulators are completed before the stringing of the line is begun. It is particularly essential that the pull on poles of a given line be accurately calculated, and that each one be guyed accordingly before the line is strung, in order to avoid the danger of an undue strain upon the wires in attempting to rectify the condition afterward. It is a good working rule that the wires should be subjected to no stress other than the weights of their own spans after they have been attached to the poles.
Figs. 953 and 954.—Pay out reels. Fig. 953, type used for telephone or telegraph work; [fig. 954], type used for electric light work.
Ques. Describe how the wires are strung.
Ans. In stringing the lines, either one or the full number of wires may be put up at the same time. When one line only is to be strung, the operation consists simply in reeling the wire and running it off from a hand reel, such as is shown in [fig. 953] or [954]. At each pole the wire is drawn up to its place, pulled out to the desired tension, and attached to the insulator.
In the operation of stringing a number of lines at once, the method is different. The reels are placed at the beginning of a section, each wire being inserted and secured through a separate hole in a board, which is perforated to correspond with the spacing of the insulators on the cross arms. A rope is then attached to this running board, which is drawn by a team of horses through the stretch to be wired, being lifted over each pole top in turn. When a certain length has thus been drawn out the wires are drawn to the required tension between each pair of poles and secured to the insulators.