Bunch of AE40s

[LarryInMichigan]

I saw these ebay link recently, and pushed the BIN button.  I thought that for $20, I couldn't go too far wrong.  The phones arrived today.  

The one with a complete dial has Army Signal Corps stamps on the back of the shell and a tag from Fort Sheridan, IL (which was not far from where I spent my childhood).  The phone is very dirty and looks like it has some small cracks, but it is probably salvageable.  The cords look pretty good.  The receiver cap has a chrome band, and the transmitter cap has the indentation for a band but is missing it.  The AE dial has an extra pair of normally closed contacts (WE-style) which are not connected to anything.  The SL ringer is missing one of its gongs.

The other two phones have both had their ringers removed with the ringers wires snipped, but the capacitors are still in place.  The phone with the dial missing the finger wheel is missing a large chunk of bakelite from the rear of the shell.  The handset has been painted and looks like it may be in bad shape under the paint.  It does not have proper cords.  I think that it was probably also a Signal Corps phone.  

The phone with the dial blank has no handset, but the bakelite looks salvageable.  All three phones have holes by the plungers for butlers handles but no handles.

Does anyone have a spare butler handle or two?

Larry

[dencins]

Looks like a good deal.

Before you toss any of the plunger blocks that hold the butler handles, please let me know.  They are made of pot metal and I have been looking for some to practise plating pot metal.  Same if any have a carry handle (straight bar that runs across the phone between the plungers) rather than a butler handle.

Dennis Hallworth

[AE_Collector]

Buttler Handles are VERY hard to find. I have seen them on ebaY before and can't recall what they went for but I would take a guess at $50  minimum. The carry bar type is much easier to find.

Terry

[Stephen Furley]

What's a butler handle?

[LarryInMichigan]

What's a butler handle?

It's a handle which fits between the cradle ears/plungers and allows the phone to be carried.  Apparently, they were not very durable and usually broke.  I expect that plenty of phones shattered when they fell after the handle broke.

Larry

[wds]

I think just about everyone is trying to find a butler handle for their model 40.  I know I would love to have a couple.  Here's a link to a previous posting that has pictures of the handle

http://tinyurl.com/butler-handle