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Another AE 40 has arrived broken

Started by FABphones, June 22, 2018, 12:19:21 PM

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FABphones

We all know just how fragile Bakelite is, but are AE 40's extra delicate or am I just having a spot of bad luck? Such a gorgeous design, one of my top three phones, and harder to find in the UK than the States, so I've snapped up both that I've found in the last few months, and both have arrived broken. Such a shame.  :(

The sellers packing could have been better but I think they were padded out enough to have survived. But they didn't.  :(

Ho hum.  :( :( :( :( :(
A collector of  'Monochrome Phones with Sepia Tones'   ...and a Duck!
***********
Vintage Phones - 10% man made, 90% Tribble
*************

twocvbloke

Sometimes too much padding can allow bumps and bashes to transfer right through to the phone, resulting in damage, so far the best way to deal with it that I've noticed is the phone being wrapped in bubblewrap, then placed into the biodegradable packing peanuts, as they tend to collapse more readily than bubblewrap or the non-biodegradable peanuts...

LarryInMichigan

AE40s and similar AE models are quite fragile.  It it easy to find them here with cracked shells.  Plenty pf padding is needed around all sides of the phone, including the bottom, and the handset needs to be kept far away from the rest of the phone to avoid damage in shipment.  If you phone is not severely damaged, I would suggest gluing the pieces back together with super glue (cyanoacrylate).  It does wonders on bakelite.

Larry

HarrySmith

Quote from: twocvbloke on June 22, 2018, 12:39:33 PM
Sometimes too much padding can allow bumps and bashes to transfer right through to the phone, resulting in damage, so far the best way to deal with it that I've noticed is the phone being wrapped in bubblewrap, then placed into the biodegradable packing peanuts, as they tend to collapse more readily than bubblewrap or the non-biodegradable peanuts...

Agreed. I found that wrapping them loosely is the better way to go. Do not wrap them really tight and tape the whole mess together to make it even tighter! I think the bubble wrap protects better if it can move and give. JMHO - your mileage may vary.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

FABphones

Thanks all. I think I need to emphasize more how important it is to put packing underneath.

The seller has contacted me and, despite my recently saying this never happens, has told me to keep the phone and given a full refund. Super glue at the ready so I'll fix this one up and see what it looks like when done. It will probably become a doner phone though as the break is centre front. Such a shame. Now I have two AE 40's with broken bodies.

...I will look for another. Third time lucky?

Photo attached of the break to front.
A collector of  'Monochrome Phones with Sepia Tones'   ...and a Duck!
***********
Vintage Phones - 10% man made, 90% Tribble
*************

Nick in Manitou

Might it make sense for these phones to be shipped with the base detached from the shell and with padding between the two so that if the box receives a shock the mass of the base doesn't transmit its inertia to one point of the bakelite shell?

Luckily, I have not witnessed firsthand the results of bad packing on an AE40, but if the damage looks as though it was due to forces being transferred by the mass of the base, perhaps this would help.

Those that have experience with this please voice your opinion...I am just guessing here.

Nick

Pourme

You raise a good point. If the seller is a "phone person" this would work well.
If not, some sellers may be reluctant to partially disassemble the phone prior to shipping.
Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

Payphone installer

Got shells for 10 bucks each plus shipping if you need a replacement.

RB

I am with Harry.
Back in 80's, workin for TRW, we packed tube monitors in liquid foam, the kind you wrap plastic around the item, then squirt in foam. It expands, and holds the item in tight suspension.
The tubes arrived shattered from the weight of the yoke. but the box showed no evidence of trauma.
We then switched to peanuts, and a bigger box.
The boxes would arrive smashed, wrinkled, commin apart.
BUT, the tubes were still intact.
go figure...