News:

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

Main Menu

Now the Story Can be Told - 1949 WECo 500 Set

Started by Dan/Panther, March 20, 2010, 11:08:11 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Dan

Quote from: Dennis Markham on March 24, 2010, 09:55:58 PM
Dan, not to take anything away from any other posts from this forum, but this series of posts by you has to be the most interesting ones I can remember reading---at least to me.

Were you able to get any historical information from the seller?  Where has it been?  How did he happen to come upon it??

It would be nice to know where it's been all these years---kicked around from place to place.

I second what Dennis said--I would love to know the history. My guess it was picked up at a land fill site. Amazing that the dial turns freely. Please hook up a receiver and a line cord.... You can recreate "Frankenstein'--It's alive , it's alive!!!! tremendously exciting stuff!! I bet you the network still works!!
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Netdewt

This is really cool. Part of what I love is that you guys are obsessed about these phones enough to be able to recognize this, and the seller had no clue. Beautiful.

Phonesrfun

Looks like a couple of 302 feet will work on that just fine.
-Bill G

McHeath

Yeah Dennis this is a very fascinating series of pictures, perhaps we ought to collect them and put them in a separate locked thread as a historical reference.  I've never seen any pictures of the 48' models, and it seems clear that WE had pretty much figured the 500 out by this point.  

It looks like they greatly simplified the dial for the production model, probably a cost reason.  I read in the 1950 press conference that the 500 cost more to make than the 302 but they figured that was okay as it would be more durable and they would get the money back in savings from less maintenance.  

Are you planning to see if this phone works D/P?  

Yeah Netdewt, the phone OCD runs deep here. ;)  This is perhaps the find of the decade when it comes to the model 500, heck maybe the find of the century.  It makes me wonder exactly what this phone is worth, we saw a prototype touch tone, in a 302 case, go for $17,000 last year.

Jim Stettler

The real surprise is that the owner even bothered listing this phone.
The before photo looks like something most people would throw away.

The seller now has a great Ebay story to tell his friends.

D/P has a great "early 500" story to tell his friends.
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

GusHerb

1948 would make it 62 years old, something like this makes it amazing to think about where it's been all those 62 years.
The dial gear's are layed out shockingly simple compared to later 500s.
Jonathan

Dan/Panther

#81
I don't know how to respond except to say, I'm just relaying my excitement to you guys through photos. It has to be one of the highlights of my life. I look at the photo with Henry Dreyfus and his Pre-Production 500, with the same dial face that this one has, and I wonder, Could this be that very phone?
I will definitely contact the seller, but then maybe I should just hope he lists more of the same. I told him to watch out for phones and parts, and he lives near Murray Hill, he said he will be keeping his eyes open.
I was concerned that I would either have to leave the phone dirty or take something away cleaning it up. It turns out, the chassis is not that bad, parts that are dirtiest are the ones that need replaced anyhow, like the finger wheel. I plan to inquire with some tool makers to see about having a duplicate wheel made. It appears that the phone has an oily coating of sorts on everything, and Q-tips takes it off and underneath it's pretty clean.

The Dial for example, all I did was wipe away the dirt and it looks like new underneath, that number plate was wiped with a very mild liquid soap and lukewarm water, a very soft brush and it cleaned up nice, all of the what appeared, to be scratches, were just in the dirt. It has one very small scratch at the number 10 spot, right above the finger stop.
As far as it coming apart, it's the easiest phone I've ever taken down this far, screws come out easy, none are even scored a bit. Very minimal amount of parts.

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

McHeath

#82
Hmm, I wonder if this phone spent it life on a shelf someplace, never really used, and then got tossed around a bit towards the end?  Who knows what lurks in the Bell Labs nooks and crannies, maybe that's where it came from, someone was doing Spring cleaning and out it went.

The way the dial bezel is made, seems like the same way it was made on my late 60's Stromberg Carlson, pressed in the letters/numbers, painted, then the black added. 

I bet if you could make duplicates of the dial bezel you could easily sell them to us phone fiends. 

Jim Stettler

Quote from: McHeath on March 25, 2010, 12:11:44 AM
Hmm, I wonder if this phone spent it life on a shelf someplace, never really used, and then got tossed around a bit towards the end?  Who knows what lurks in the Bell Labs nooks and crannies, maybe that's where it came from, someone was doing Spring cleaning and out it went.

The way the dial bezel is made seems like the way the it is made on my late 60's Stromberg Carlson, pressed in the letters/numbers, painted, then the black added. 

I bet if you could make duplicates of the dial bezel you could easily sell them to us phone phiends. 

Bell had clear dial rings w/ the imprints. I have seen full clear dial rings (no paint) on clear 500's. I also have a clear ring w/ white letters (1958 soft plastic Phone display set). I have a back painted "Howard Johnson" dial (white letters) and I suspect that they had them w/ black letters as well.

These rings were back painted for custom color sets. The rings are hard to find.

I am always on the look out for some of these for my collection.
Jim

Regarding oddball Bell stuff, I have gotten some of my more interesting Items that were back door company stuff. Some of my hard-to-find clear items were seconds. I think they were tossed and scrounged. I find it amusing that some of my more interesting items were the "trash" when they were made.

Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Dan/Panther

#84
The dial face is molded from clear plastic, then the white color is painted in the recessed numbers and letters, then the black overcoat is added to the back. If you hold it up to the light it has a very obvious depth to it.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

dencins

Quote from: JorgeAmely on March 24, 2010, 09:44:27 PM
Looking good D/P. I am sure Dennis Hallworth can provide you with some pads to fit this phone.

Long story but unfortunately I only have one that is the screw-on 500 shape.

Dennis

Jim Stettler

Quote from: dencins on March 25, 2010, 12:41:34 AM
Quote from: JorgeAmely on March 24, 2010, 09:44:27 PM
Looking good D/P. I am sure Dennis Hallworth can provide you with some pads to fit this phone.

Long story but unfortunately I only have one that is the screw-on 500 shape.

Dennis

That is 1/2 as many as D/P.
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

dencins

Quote from: Phonesrfun on March 24, 2010, 11:38:19 PM
Looks like a couple of 302 feet will work on that just fine.

I just compared the dimples on the 500 screw-on with the dimples on a 302 and they do not line up.  The 302 footpads will not sit flush on the 500 base plate.

Dennis

Jim Stettler

Quote from: dencins on March 25, 2010, 12:45:12 AM
Quote from: Phonesrfun on March 24, 2010, 11:38:19 PM
Looks like a couple of 302 feet will work on that just fine.

I just compared the dimples on the 500 screw-on with the dimples on a 302 and they do not line up.  The 302 footpads will not sit flush on the 500 base plate.

Dennis
Do you think D/P would be able to thread rivet 500 feet to match?
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

dencins

Quote from: Jim S. on March 25, 2010, 12:44:01 AM
Quote from: dencins on March 25, 2010, 12:41:34 AM
Quote from: JorgeAmely on March 24, 2010, 09:44:27 PM
Looking good D/P. I am sure Dennis Hallworth can provide you with some pads to fit this phone.

Long story but unfortunately I only have one that is the screw-on 500 shape.

Dennis

That is 1/2 as many as D/P.
Jim

He can have it if he wants.  At least he will be at 3/4.  It is not doing any good sitting in my basement.

Also interesting the 500 screw-on does not have a felt cushion like the 302 or the 500 riveted do.

Dennis