The hardware that holds a line up.

Distribution poles carry crossarms that hold pin or post insulators and keep the conductors apart. A single arm is through-bolted to the pole and braced; at angles and dead-ends a second arm is mounted on the far side and the pair is tied together so both share the pull. North American utilities specify this hardware to ANSI C135.1 and RUS patterns, and UK and Commonwealth utilities often to BS 4190.

Machine / Square Headed Bolt clamps the arm to the pole with a square nut and a square or curved washer under each end. Double Arming Rod passes through both arms of a doubled pair, with nuts clamping each one. Carriage Bolt fixes the braces, and Hex Headed Bolt takes the place of the square-head bolt where the utility specifies hex. Crossarms, braces, insulators and conductors come from the utility or other makers.

Low-voltage secondary conductors and service drops run on spool insulators rather than on the crossarms. The spools sit on a secondary rack bolted to the pole, or on a single spool bolt through the pole or an arm. Buyers name the shoulder style, single or double, and the shank length to suit the pole.

Spool Bolt carries the spool insulator on its shank, with the forged shoulder holding it clear of the pole, and a cotter pin keeping it on. Washers and Square Nut finish the joint on the far side of the pole. The rack, spool insulators and conductors come from other makers.

Angle poles, dead-ends and poles carrying heavy equipment lean toward the pull of the line unless a guy holds them back. The down guy runs from a clamp near the top of the pole to an anchor set in the ground at a lead distance from the base. Screw anchors are turned into the soil by hand or with a digger-derrick, so no hole needs to be dug and backfilled.

Earth Anchor / Auger is the screw anchor: a helix plate on a rod with an eye at the top, sized to the soil and the guy. Hex Nut and Washers fix the anchor rod fittings. The guy strand, guy grips, thimbles and insulators come from other makers.

Transformers, surge arresters and the system neutral on a pole are bonded to earth so fault current has a path into the ground. The usual electrode is a steel rod driven vertically beside the pole base, with the pole ground wire clamped to its top. US buyers commonly specify rod sizes from UL 467, and UK buyers call the same part an earth rod.

Ground Rod is the driven electrode, galvanized and pointed for driving, in 5/8 and 3/4 in (M16 and M20) diameters and 6 to 10 ft (2 to 3 m) lengths. The ground wire, clamps and couplings come from other makers.

Much of what goes on a pole is fixed to one face rather than through it: brackets, pole steps, cable guards, riser supports and signs. Lag screws drive straight into the wood, while bolts are used where the attachment must clamp through. Maintenance crews also replace corroded bolts, nuts and washers on existing poles.

Lag Bolt fixes brackets and steps into the wood, with a regular or fetter drive point. Carriage Bolt and Hex Headed Bolt through-bolt attachments that need clamping, and Hex Nut and Washers finish each joint. The brackets and attachments come from other makers.