Early 70s WE single slot

[RotarDad]

Nice find, Greg!  With all your cool finds, details, pics and resto-techniques, you risk making the rest of us lazy.  We can just sit back on the forum, read thru your posts, and not have to work on any of own phones......   

[Sargeguy]

If you need any reference pics I have a 1c1 as well.

Thanks!

[Sigmaz]

Already tested Simichrome on it, works wonders!

How hard is it to find the correct vault door?  Are all the single slot doors interchangeable?

AFAIK all WE vault doors are the same.
My vault doors from my 1D2 fits my 1C1.

[Key2871]

Yes all western single slots are the same. However, if you go to fleabay watch out for quantum doors that are advertised as western, they will not fit. A dead giveaway is the back, the lock mechanism is round on quantum, not western.
I thought I had a door in my stuff, but I'd have to look. I think it was plain chrome.

[Sargeguy]

Here is the one I was looking at-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-Steel-Western-Electric-Pay-Phone-Vault-Door-NOS/202284631161?

[mentalstampede]

Here is the one I was looking at-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-Steel-Western-Electric-Pay-Phone-Vault-Door-NOS/202284631161?

That one will work. Nice find!

[Sargeguy]

Will keep working at it. I have a few other projects so this may need to wait

[Key2871]

Well, I had a few that I resorted to drilling out because they wouldn't break loose. But I never used a hammer drill, that's what I was told to try, if I had it. So I used the dowel and hammer. Taking time is always better than hurry.
Good luck.

[Sargeguy]

There is some rust in the vault. I wonder if the screws holding the lock on are seized?

[Key2871]

I think there would have a lot of rust to seize them in there. Try hitting the lock with a center punch, the lock is no good anyway. That should help break then loose.

[Sargeguy]

Which lock is on these?  Is it a 29A?

[Key2871]

I guess you're talking about the upper, as you don't have a vault door in your set? It would be a 29A, ## the last two digits would be for the key number. Even if you had the area code, chances of finding a key would not be easy.

[Payphone installer]

I have typed this in the past but after reading this feel the need to type it again. The 29A lock was designed to be removed in the field if  necessary  by a installer. You never drill a payphone lock as they were designed not to be drilled. As far as the 29A drilling a clean hole threw the middle just makes the job harder. Remember the first thing any body thought of when looking at a payphone lock is I need to drill it. So it was designed not to drill. That's why every time the lock thread starts drilling comments start. Payphone locks are built not to drill. So that said there were to types of Bell issued upper housing locks there was the 29A which was issued to the Bell operating companies and there was the 29B which was sold to independent payphone providers by AT&T after deregulation. It was generally found in the Private Payphone Plus. When accessing a 29 type lock you cover the lock with duct tape to protect the paint. In the field I used Electrical tape. If the phone is lying on its side place a pice of carpet under it to keep from scratching the paint on the other side. Cut the tape away exposing the chrome on the 29A lock. Take a medium screw driver or a small chisel and drive it in the middle of the key way and then pry out the chrome. As you drive and pry use pliers to tear away the chrome lock pieces. Once all the chrome is removed drive the screw drive in between the leafs that you will now be able tos see. It takes a lot of hammering driving and prying as the leafs come apart pull the out with the pliers. Once they are all out you can see the  bolt and pull it back the phone will open.
    This is the method guys used by the Bell System, and it works every time. It is also the reason a 29A lock was in the upper housing as the need for security was not as high level as the money box. Never put a money box lock in a upper housing because if you ever loose the key you are screwed as this method does not work on a money box lock. Money box W/E locks are 30 A,B, and C never put them in a upper housing. 14 A,B,C and D locks were also used in single slot W/E payphones. A and B locks had a round key head like a N/E money box lock. 14 A and B locks also had a key snatch feature that if you placed a different key in a 14 A or B then the one that was supposed to go in it will turn 3 quarters of the way then grab the key. At that point you are done. 14 A and B locks are rare as they were removed from the field as a result of this feature. It caused problems for coin collectors.
   The way to access a money box is by cutting or drilling the door. I have posted in the past the method for door drilling.
   As for the payphone that is posted as 1A it may be. The true date of the phone guts can often be determined by the date in the bottom corner of the instruction card. The cards were often replaced on a gut upgrade. My buck says the inside of this phone is probably the early what I call white box chassis which came right after the yellow box chassis. The color of the plastic box on the chassis  follows the timeline of development I have noticed.
The chrome face is at least the second face they released as the bell does not have the words, I think there were possibly 3 fronts total I just need to go look at my phones in the payphone building. I phone you have is very nice and a rare piece. With the phone number in it it is possible I may have that key of at least be able to tell you what key fits it. Jim

[Key2871]

Thanks Jim for your expertise. I actually read your posts on locks, and payphones in general, just yesterday. And I remember that I had to pick apart a 29 lock because my hammer thing didn't work well, it did take quite a while to get the bolt to open.  But I saw a post about someone who used a hole saw of sorts to cut the lock dome off to gain access to the levers so they could be removed, and expose the bolt. Is that an easier way? And what type of hole saw would work best.

[Payphone installer]

The point is that the drill or saw makes a clean cut. You don't want a clean cut, you want rough edges on the leafs so you can pull them out. You could lay a payphone on a drill press and bore a hole in the lock. It still won't open, as the leafs are still in place blocking the bolt. A clean hole makes it harder to grab and pull the leafs out. It makes it harder to drive something in between the leafs. It gives you less metal to grab a hold of. Sometimes you just have to use a big hammer to get the job done. In this case as much damage as possible on the leafs expedites the process. It's not clean it's not easy but if you are a installer outside at -20 degrees below zero you learn to do what works. At one point I probably had this down to 10 minutes. And let me tell you, a standard 1C, 1D or 1A is nothing compared to trying to break into a W/E panel phone made of stainless steel. That my friend is a whole different ball game. Especially when you are trying to do it discreetly in a airport or high end hotel lobby. But that's another post or another installer story.