Restoration project, my WE 354

[AliceWonder]

Nothing special, nothing no one hasn't seen before, but here's the pictures of the 354 I picked up as my first project - and the future house phone for our kitchen.
(http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=26860)

The phone looks like it had been pried off a wall, hence the dents in the top and the bottom.

In the first picture, you can see it is extremely dusty inside. The wires going off to the side were to a an aftermarket toggle switch put inline to disconnect the phone line at will, probably to avoid it ringing while previous owner slept. I'm not using it.

The second is how well just a soaking in lukewarm water with mild soap removed the dust, but it also shows the dents that allowed me to talk the shop down - and with the dust removed, it revealed a date stamp I didn't know was there. It looks like August 4th, 1954 which I gather is almost the end of the production run because it seems none were made in 1955.

For the dents, I can live with them but I will try some wood with wood clamps sandwiching them straight, it should at least reduce the severity.

The backplane I have mostly fixed with pliers but still working on getting them flat where the metal was bent. Or at least flat enough to wall-mount it.

I haven't cleaned the backplane yet, Thanksgiving is busy here.

[AliceWonder]

These next pictures show the issue with the handset cord, why I am going to replace that cord.

The coating on the white wire is clearly breaking down and coming apart, I don't know for sure what caused that to happen but it goes to the dial yet was not routed through the wire guard with all the other wires that go to dial/hookswitch, so I think when the case was closed it may have been too close to the coil?

Second photo shows the same handset wires removed and shown sitting on the case.

[AliceWonder]

The handset. Other than it being extremely difficult to get the mouthpiece off, and the cord that needed to be replaced, I don't see any issues with it.

It's interesting that the receiver is a few years older than the transmitter and transmitter cap.

I am guessing that the handset was dropped and that bent the threads on the mouthpiece a little bit, but I did manage (obviously) to get it off.

I had to prop the handset between a couple books to photograph it.

[AliceWonder]

With respect to the 6A dial - when it hasn't been dialed, dialing a low number is very slow.

Dialing a 0 once loosens things up.

Yes, it probably will be just fine if I take it apart and clean it and properly lube it - but I still want to buy one already restored simply so that I can do that process slowly and carefully, as well as having a working dial with which to compare dial speed with.

This phone will not be a thing of pristine beauty, so buying a dial that is restored and then restoring the dial that came with this phone to then have available for a future 302 or 304 makes sense to me---even if it doesn't to others.

When I do have everything cleaned and I put this phone back together, I am seriously thinking about using the 352 wiring diagram instead of the 354. Reason being, the hookswitch wires look old and brittle. the 352 diagram only uses two switches, so that's two fewer old wires in the circuit - old wires that can degrade signal quality. I think the 354 only used three switches in the hookswitch for some party line purpose anyway.

Well - there it is.

Sandpaper has been ordered, I will try a wet sanding method I read about here. I don't need it to be super shiny, but I'm sure it can be improved upon.

Thank you for your time.

[AliceWonder]

Oh when I say use the 352 wiring diagram, I do mean running a jumper from RR on the 101B to L1 on the connection block, and of course the two "extra" ringer wires still going to K on the connection block.

Then it looks like I could just do 352 and not need all six of the hookswitch wires.

[TelePlay]

As for the bends you mentioned, if you have a deformed plastic housing, this is one discussion I found on the forum about that. Basically controlled heating while clamped between 2 flats and letting it cool slowly to reform the bent area.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=334.0

Might have to do it more than once being careful not to cause deformation of unclamped areas.

[LarryInMichigan]

It should be possible to bend the top of the shell back using heat.  As for the handset caps, it is quite common for them to become tuck over the years as dirt collects in the grooves.  A good cleaning with a toothbrush usually works.  Your handset and caps look like bakelite from here.  Some were made of plastic which can shrink, and the caps can become difficult to turn,

As for the dial, the popular thing to do is to send it to Steve Hilsz for cleaning and repair: www.navysalvage.com/.  He does a good job for a very reasonable price.

As for the handset cord wire insulation, the crumbling of the old dry rubber is not unusual.  If it is so bad that the wires are coming into electrical contact with each other, you may need to replace the cord.  Steve Hilsz might have suitable replacement cord available.

The old wires will not degrade signal quality in the phone unless they are making poor contact or shorting, so you shouldn't need to worry unless that is happening.

One thing to note is that whatever you are using for your home phone service may not support pulse dialing.  I use a Dialgizmo here to convert pulses to DTMF tones.  Of course, nearly everyone laughs or cringes when they see or hear me dialing a phone number with a rotary dial.

BTW, I saw a youtube video recently by a woman who has designed and is selling mobile phones with real rotary dials.

Larry

[Contempra]

With respect to the 6A dial - when it hasn't been dialed, dialing a low number is very slow.

Dialing a 0 once loosens things up.

Yes, it probably will be just fine if I take it apart and clean it and properly lube it - but I still want to buy one already restored simply so that I can do that process slowly and carefully, as well as having a working dial with which to compare dial speed with.

A good cleaning of the entire dial would be a plus, oiling it too, however, you will most likely have to adjust the (GOVERNOR). it is a small spring that you will take care to VERY slightly bend the two small hooks that are attached to the center. in the video he demonstrates how to do this.

https://youtu.be/1pTF9tIPYsU

[HarrySmith]

That is a great first project. You are on the right track with all the info you got here. I agree that the easiest and fastest way to get the dial fixed is send it to Steve. I have sent many dials to him, for $6 it is not worth my time to take it all apart. He works fast too, usually back in a couple of days. The dents in the case are something I have not seen before, I think the heat & clamp method would work there. Good luck. Keep us updated with lots of pictures as you progress on the restoration.