News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Swedish American Wood wall phone

Started by wds, March 24, 2012, 04:19:47 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

wds

I picked this up last summer, and finally got around to refinishing it.  Thought I would share a few pictures with everyone.  Unfortunately I forgot to take some good before pictures, so I don't have much to compare to other than a few pictures I took so I could remember how to put it back together again.  All the metal was badly corroded, and had to be sent to Dennis for plating.  The wood finish was bad, and the seller (or someone) put another coat of finish on top of the bad finish before he sold it, so there were many layers to remove.  I probably have about $150 in it now, which isn't too bad.  
Dave

wds

#1
More pics
Dave

wds

#2
more pics
Dave


Snake

It looks beautiful, the wood looks very nice, and Dennis did a great job on the plating. It's a phone to be proud of. Great Job! ;D

AE_Collector

What am I looking at in the last picture? The back of the phone but is that  another piece of darker wood fastened over the back board or a difference in the stain on the back board?

Terry

wds

That part of the back is recessed about a 1/4" to protect the wires I guess.  The wood in that area is rough sawn, and I couldn't get all the old finish out of that area. 
Dave

AE_Collector

Okay, I can see that now that you explain it. I couldn't get any depth perception in it and thought it was an extra piece of wood attached to the back yet I couldn't see it on one of the other pictures of the side of the phone.

Terry

Sargeguy

Some old wall phones used condensers that were wide and flat, could that be the purpose? 1/4 inch seems a little shallow though.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

AE_Collector

There is lots of room inside the phone for condensors and putting them in the back would make it much more difficult to service them if required. Since many manufacturers liked to rout slots into the wood to run the wires that conneccted components of the phone together I would go along with that explanation. Enlarging the picture does show that there are a lot of onnections run point to point in that area.

Terry

Sargeguy

Also I think that type was only used on very early phones from the 1880s era,not a modern marvel like this one.  What vintage is this one, if it was a WE I would date it about 1905-1910?
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409