AE34 - just arrived

[LarryInMichigan]

Reading this has finally got me to brave getting apart the receiver end of my AE 2 Line Monophone (http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=19956), and with success!
Luckily on mine the brass ring did unscrew from the handset, making it easier to work on. I have now got the rest apart with a WD40 soak and an old pair of GPO duckbill pliers. The problem was that the centre collar has an octagonal hole so allen keys etc do not fit as they are hexagonal. However the end of the duckbill pliers fitted well enough to get purchase on the collar and undo it.

I used the pliers handle trick to unscrew the center (or is that centre ?) part of my AE receiver caps.  Note that the round posts sticking up on the top of the brass collar piece fit into holes in the bottom of the bakelite cap to hold the bakelite in place so that it will not rotate.  Getting everything positioned properly is challenging without the special tool to fit into the octagonal hole.

Larry

[stub]

FABphones,
                  I used a 3/8" allen wrench with slightly ground or filed off on 2 directly opposite ribs like pic . Just enough to go into the center of the receiver. Then unscrew counter-clockwise. Then screw the base of the receiver back on as tight as you need it and place the ear piece in a comfortable position for you , making sure you feel the tabs go into place, and retighten the center piece. Hope this helps.  stub

[tubaman]

... center (or is that centre ?) ...

Larry

Here it's 'centre' - perhaps the seas were rough when the boat carrying that word went across the pond and things got muddled. 

[FABphones]

I have spent the last few days constantly in and out of the garage rummaging through the tools looking for something with which I can loosen the receiver cap. I have more than once attempted to sneak out with a 3/8" Allen key but been caught each time and told to put it back (the metal file in the other hand being a bit of a giveaway as to my intentions ). No Flag Pliers in my BT tool case either (now on the search for a pair of those). Pulled out several lengths of metal but nothing correct enough to adapt. Nothing Imperial Octagonal to be found online either, so whilst I wait for a new 3/8" Allen key of my very own to arrive in the post, I have been doing a bit of Bakelite Polishing. A lot of Nicotine was on this phone, it looks and feels much better for the time spent cleaning it up.

Still without full use of my little workshop, any dial adjustment will have to wait. It turns fine but the finger wheel is a tad out of adjustment. All my electronics, chemicals and tools are in the workshop so as soon as the phones in there get unpacked I will be able to reach it all again and perform a proper dial clean and test.

Photos below, after a quick polish by hand: