Building a WE candlestick phone from scratch

[djtownsend]

I just purchased the base to a WE candlestick phone.  The picture is below.  Can anyone tell me for which model this base belongs to?  Also, I obviously have to get all of the parts for this phone so if all of you can tell me what types of parts (and part model numbers) are required, I'd appreciate it?  It needs a dial, transmitter, receiver, and all of the internals but I thought building this from scratch with original equipment would be a cool project to do.

Thanks to all for any feedback you can provide.

Dan

[rdelius]

this could be a 50AL,51AL, 151AL etc.I cannot tell if it is real though. If you do not care about matching parts, you could buy a non dial WE set and move the parts over to this one. You would have to find another bottom cover to fit properly though.
Robby

[djtownsend]

Since I want to build this phone w/ the parts that are supposed to be in this candlestick phone, it does matter to me what goes into it which is why I'm trying to identify this base.  That is the first step.  Thanks for giving me your guess as to what this base is.  From there I am trying to find the parts that will complete it.  I'm in no hurry to do this and I just don't want to throw pieces from other models into it.  I want to make it right.

Thanks for your feedback.  I really appreciate it.  If others can also chime in about this base and the models of the parts that I need to install into it, I would appreciate all feedback I can get.

Dan

[rdelius]

Look for a WE #2 dial for this set, it might be expensive though.
Robby

[djtownsend]

Robby,

Thanks for the info.  With the info above, I looked up in the Ralph Meyer book and also saw that a #2AA or #2AB dial is appropriate.  I also saw on ebay a 40AL part that might work.  See picture below.  I also saw that a HA1 receiver and a F1 transmitter would work here.

Can anyone verify this info?

Dan

[djtownsend]

Nevermind about rebuilding this candlestick phone from scratch.  I think I was getting in over my head and have my eye on a built 51AL that need reconditioning which is something I can handle.  I spent lots of time trying to find the right parts for this base unit and found it near impossible to be sure I got the right parts to build it correctly.

Thanks everyone for your feedback anyways here.

Dan

[rdelius]

Before you buy a 50 AL on Ebay, look very carefully or you might be buying a reproduction. Somewhere on the net is a FAQ to show the differences.
robby

[djtownsend]

Robby,

Thanks for the heads up.  The one I am looking at has '50AL' on the back of the neck and has other WE markings on the dial.  I'll take a look at FAQ like you indicated.

Dan

[djtownsend]

A question I do have is for a 50AL, what model subset would be appropriate for it?  When I mean appropriate, I don't mean what will work with it, I mean what model would have come with it originally.  I do want a subset with anti-sidetone so I may have to substitute.

[Phonesrfun]

A 50AL was a sidetone stick.  The antisidetone version would have been a 150.  The subset to match with that stick would be a 534 for sidetone.

[djtownsend]

Are there any candlestick phones w/ a dial that are anti-sidetone?

[Phonesrfun]

Yes, the 151AL.  It would have mated with the 634 subset.  The 151AL has a switch that has 4 leaves to accomodate the antisidetone feature.

[ESalter]

The 151AL would have had a later transmitter and receiver like an F handset would have, as well as a #5 dial.  I have one of those I'm currently trying to obtain parts for to turn it back into a 51AL.

[Sargeguy]

For every day use I would go with the "Bulldog" transmitter and 706A receiver with a 684 or 634 subset.  I use a #4H dial converted dial that still has the patent dates on the rim.  151AL perches show up often enough on eBay.  It is a pretty easy and sounds great.  Once you've tackled that you can move to older solid-back transmitters, OST receivers, etc, which are a little more difficult and pricey.  If you are looking for a bulldog receiver and 706A transmitter I may be able to help you out, I have a couple spares.

[djtownsend]

Sarge,

I just purchased a 151AL.  It needs a transmitter and receiver so I'm willing to buy the 708 transmitter and bulldog receiver from you.  My regular email address is djtownsend@wowway.com if you want to sell them to me and we can discuss prices.  I'll still need a dial for it but found a refurbished 5H dial on OldPhoneWorks for $80.  I also need a base plate for it and it looks like it needs the kind with one offset hole in it so I'm still searching for that.

Let me know about the transmitter and receiver.

Dan