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New to Forum and to vintage phones!

Started by TennesseeWhiskey, June 15, 2017, 07:18:49 PM

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TennesseeWhiskey

Hello all!

Thanks for the acceptance Dennis to Forum.

Recently purchased a Chicago telephone supply company phone, hoping to learn as much as I can about it. Any info would be appreciated.

Alex G. Bell

Quote from: TennesseeWhiskey on June 15, 2017, 07:18:49 PM
Hello all!

Thanks for the acceptance Dennis to Forum.

Recently purchased a Chicago telephone supply company phone, hoping to learn as much as I can about it. Any info would be appreciated.
Welcome, TW.  Glass front phones are very neat and not very common but I'm not an expert on them so I'll leave the details to others.

TennesseeWhiskey

Has the six-bar bridging, which from the research is nice to have and "rare" for these type of phones.

Looking for wiring schematics, any idea where I could locate one for this phone?

Also, just starting to do light cleaning, soap and water and adding a little wood oil to bring finish to life. Any other suggestion on proper cleaning techniques.


HarrySmith

Hi and welcome to the asylum! Very Nice phone. As already stated the glass front phones are not very common. I am not a wood phone expert either but I will give a warning. These old phones multiply. There is a disease called Phoneitis, it is progressive and incurable. We all here are afflicted, the only cure is more phones! Soon you will be looking for another model or another manufacturer. Maybe a sign or some tools, how about a phone book? The list goes on & on. You have found the best form on the net. Lots of people here with lots of experience and knowledge who are very willing to help. I am sure someone familiar with wood phones will chime in shortly. Have fun!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

TennesseeWhiskey

Yes, already looking for other unique wall phones. However, the candlesticks are growing on me. 😃

Before I buy another phone, going to spend Sunday reading many posts on this forum to gather info and tips.

TelePlay

Quote from: TennesseeWhiskey on June 15, 2017, 08:42:25 PM
Also, just starting to do light cleaning, soap and water and adding a little wood oil to bring finish to life. Any other suggestion on proper cleaning techniques.

Stay away from water, it will lift the grain.

Best thing to use according to other members who work with wood phones is to start with Howard-Restor-A-Finish. Apply lightly with 0000 steel wool. If you have used water, the steel wool will also cut down any raised grain.

Home Depot, Menard's, Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, etc. other and similar places sell it.

Comes in different shades so pick one that is a close match to your phone. Take and post before and after pictures.

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=14239.0


Alex G. Bell

Quote from: TelePlay on June 15, 2017, 10:41:50 PM
Stay away from water, it will lift the grain.

Best thing to use according to other members who work with wood phones is to start with Howard-Restor-A-Finish. Apply lightly with 0000 steel wool. If you have used water, the steel wool will also cut down any raised grain.

Home Depot, Menard's, Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, etc. other and similar places sell it.

Comes in different shades so pick one that is a close match to your phone. Take and post before and after pictures.

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=14239.0
I'd be very very cautious about using steel wool around electrical equipment, especially with strong magnets.  Tiny fragments of steel wool can get into the electrical parts, cause shorts, and be devilishly difficult to get out because in the first place, they're nearly impossible to see because they are so fine, finer than hair! 

The presence of magnets and the light weight of these fine wire fragments makes it very difficult to prevent.  Might be best to use plastic abrasive pads like Scotch Brite since, in the first place, you don't really need to use anything that's very abrasive.

TelePlay

Quote from: Alex G. Bell on June 15, 2017, 11:27:15 PM
I'd be very very cautious about using steel wool around electrical equipment, especially with strong magnets.  Tiny fragments of steel wool can get into the electrical parts, cause shorts, and be devilishly difficult to get out because in the first place, they're nearly impossible to see because they are so fine, finer than hair! 

The presence of magnets and the light weight of these fine wire fragments makes it very difficult to prevent.  Might be best to use plastic abrasive pads like Scotch Brite since, in the first place, you don't really need to use anything that's very abrasive.

Or, if you don't want to remove all of the phone parts first, a cotton cloth rag with Howard's-Restor-A-Finish will do a very nice job of deepening and filling in wear spots. However, cotton will not remove any raised grain from the water wash and the area under and around components will be missed or coated.

I've found that once the steel wool is soaked with the liquid, steel "wool dust" is not an issues. Dry steel wool would dust, and cut too much old finish anyway so that is not recommended.

I'm sure Doug Rose, Sargeguy, WEBellSystemChristian and others who work with wood phones and furniture can post a helpful. positive reply discussing their methods of using Howard's products. They've recommend its use on the forum many times and I know at least one of them uses steel wool are the liquid carrier.

I've found at least 37 topics by others discussing Howard's on the forum with no mention of steel wool dust.

Alex G. Bell

Quote from: TelePlay on June 15, 2017, 11:59:15 PM
Or, if you don't want to remove all of the phone parts first, a cotton cloth rag with Howard's-Restor-A-Finish will do a very nice job of deepening and filling in wear spots. However, cotton will not remove any raised grain from the water wash and the area under and around components will be missed or coated.

I've found that once the steel wool is soaked with the liquid, steel "wool dust" is not an issues. Dry steel wool would dust, and cut too much old finish anyway so that is not recommended.

I'm sure Doug Rose, Sargeguy, WEBellSystemChristian and others who work with wood phones and furniture can post a helpful. positive reply discussing their methods of using Howard's products. They've recommend its use on the forum many times and I know at least one of them uses steel wool are the liquid carrier.

I've found at least 37 topics by others discussing Howard's on the forum with no mention of steel wool dust.
A lot of people, perhaps most phone collectors, especially of magneto phones, collect purely for display with no intention of ever making them work.  For those people it would not matter.  That's not my orientation to phones and I have encountered "invisible shorts" in equipment due to very fine metal debris.  That's where I'm coming from.

Don't know about Howard's but wonder why one would not use it on plastic pads.

TelePlay

Quote from: Alex G. Bell on June 16, 2017, 12:19:00 AM
Don't know about Howard's but wonder why one would not use it on plastic pads.

First, 0000 steel wool is recommended on the can's instructions (even though the front can picture shows a person applying it with a rag) but, yes, they are assuming people are doing tables, chairs, cabinets, dressers, etc. Steel wool soaked with the liquid provides a refurbished, smooth finish looking much like it did long ago. A cotton rag can be used to fill in scratches and remove some surface dirt.

Second, they probably don't recommend and people don't use a plastic application device because 1: it does not hold the liquid as wool or cloth would, 2) Restor-A-Finish contains stuff that will dissolve some plastics and 3) the plastic would not pick up the removed dirt and old finish.

     Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated heavy paraffinic 50-75%
     Petroleum distillates, hydrotreated light 25-50%
     Isopropyl Alcohol 5-10%
     Acetone 5-10%
     Butanone 5-10%

The whole point of Howard's is to dissolve a very thin layer of the existing finish and let that mix with the colored liquid in the wool or cloth to fill in scratches, bare spots etc to make the old wood finish look about the same tone or color as when manufactured.

Howard's is much like Formby's re-finisher except that stuff has toluene, methylated chlorinated hydrocarbons, acetone and other aggressive solvents which basically dissolve the existing finish, leaving some on the surface and the rest in the wash pan. It basically strips the existing finish but leaves a thin layer of the old finish on the wood - does a very nice job but it's nasty to work with.

On a scale of 1 to 10 Howard's is about a 2 and Formby's a 12.

And then there are the wood phones that have been shellacked and that's a different game. Alcohol carefully applied will melt a bit of the surface to smooth it out and fill in the scratched to restore that type of old finish. Don't know if Howard's work or would do on shellac? There is a bit of alcohol in Howard's so it may have some restorative affect on a shellacked surface.

Sargeguy would be best to say what type of finishes were used on which phones and when.

.....


Pourme

Welcome to the forum, nice phone! At some point we would be interested in the story of how you found it....
Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

Dan/Panther

Welcome to the forum TW, if you can't find info here, either you don't need it, or it's not available.

D/P

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

Doug Rose

Quote from: TelePlay on June 15, 2017, 10:41:50 PM
Stay away from water, it will lift the grain.

Best thing to use according to other members who work with wood phones is to start with Howard-Restor-A-Finish. Apply lightly with 0000 steel wool. If you have used water, the steel wool will also cut down any raised grain.

Home Depot, Menard's, Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, etc. other and similar places sell it.

Comes in different shades so pick one that is a close match to your phone. Take and post before and after pictures.

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=14239.0


I do agree with John, Howard's retorafinish does an amazing job with some fine steel wool. If the lacquer is discolored or bubbling you should strip it. Howard's is great, but nothing looks better than stripping it with Citrix stripper and then use Howard's . Wear gloves as you will be surprised at how much lacquer will come of of the wood and you will find grain in the wood you do not see now. It will look like it just came from the factory.  Wonderful phone and welcome to the Forum. Are you really Chris Stapleton? I do love your song!.....Doug
Kidphone

Sargeguy

I have used the Citru-Strip/Howard's method quite a bit. I find it doesn't look good until you shellac it.  If you are going to strip it, I'd recommend using shellac first to see what you can accomplish.  I usually spray on a coat, then use steel wool, then another coat, until I am happy.If steel wool is a concern you could always use brass wool. You can always strip it all off and start with bare wood if you do not like the results.

Brass wool is a substitute for strrl wool that is non-magnetic. I am not sure what grades it is available in.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409