There's a thread in here about various people's desks, but I'm looking for ideas on how others organize the actual shop where you work on your phones, how you organize your tools, the work space, the areas where you paint, sand, and clean. In particular I need ideas on how to organize a small work space, what you use for parts storage, etc. I have a little alcove that I want to use that's 44" W, 55" Tall, 34" deep. I'm thinking an old library card catalog might fit in there, but even those are getting to be collectors items and hard to find. Not sure if those kind of drawers would be big enough anyway.
Only because I just cleaned my work area up this week. It was so bad I couldn't walk through it without tripping, I mean literally tripping Janet was ready to kill me....Doug
Thanks for the photos, Doug.
When I toured your facility a few years ago, I was amazed at the process you had for moving items from shelf to shelf as they progressed through the ebay listing and sale process.
I see years of flea markets and yard sales has your space looking more like mine. ;)
I had to work hard to focus on the tidy areas when posting the parts storage photos in this thread...
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=6995.msg79342#msg79342
The floor and most of the flat surfaces are stacked high with boxes of projects to be done someday.
Dave's workspace in that thread is a good model to work toward.
Wow! Your shop looks like Disneyland for a phone phanatic! I'd love to prowl there, lots of gems.
Quote from: paul-f on October 07, 2012, 08:36:28 PM
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=6995.msg79342#msg79342
That's part of what I was looking for. Still interested in seeing other work areas.
Thanks for the pics Doug, I don't feel so bad now. I finally cleared off my work desk and organized my projects starting with the easiest and will work my way up from there. First up is mounting a couple of phones on some backboards I found at an art supply store. The one on the left is for an AE 50 that has a backboard, but it's beat. The square one is for my WE Hotel phone. Need to order a decal for it.
my workbench on left. This is a test post. Still working on photo uploads.
My workshop looks exactly like my bedroom.... ;D
Ain't posting photos though cos it's a right mess... :D
Couple of photos of my shop over the years. It's changed a lot since I got into casting since I have to make room for the various machinery that I utilize.
Quote from: twocvbloke on October 16, 2012, 09:56:55 AM
My workshop looks exactly like my bedroom.... ;D
Ain't posting photos though cos it's a right mess... :D
That's ok, I was looking for ideas on being organized anyway. Mine used to look like this:
That is a great idea to hang the extra phones on the shop/garage. Now I know where I will hang my extra phones.
Quote from: Brinybay on October 16, 2012, 11:56:35 AMThat's ok, I was looking for ideas on being organized anyway. Mine used to look like this:
That's tidy compared to my bedroom... :D
Quote from: Brinybay on October 16, 2012, 11:56:35 AM
That's ok, I was looking for ideas on being organized anyway. Mine used to look like this:
I got some pictures of Briny's Shop more recent than the ones he posted above.
Terry
darn! I thought I had a pile of "to do" phones! That is incredible, where is that?
Quote from: HarrySmith on October 17, 2012, 12:33:36 PMwhere is that?
It's in heaven, I'd be so happy with a pile like that to play with.... ;D
Pictures from the Turtle Lake, Wisconsin "Hoard-O-Phones". This is just one small portion of them.
I'm taking the piles of phones posted below as a joke to another member.
But seriously, if someone did have this many ones, they could go thorough them and pick out the few good or exceptional items, and sell the rest at a phone show.
Even at $5 to $10 a piece they could realize a great deal of cash. Enough cash to buy some very rare pieces for their own collection. Gee, they can even load up a truck and do a "Pic-a-Phone" sale, they don't even have to display or set them up on a table.
Quite a while back I once visited a fellow collector (whose name will go unmentioned), he has a superb collection, it contains some of the rarest and best pieces I have ever seen. But in his "back rooms" there are thousands of old sets from all ages just in piles. Some piles as high as a person. So many phones it make me wonder why people keep thousands of extra phones sitting around collecting dust and not being able to enjoy them or have others enjoy them.
No offence meant to others (or the hoarders), but I am just flabbergasted at some of the hoarding I have seen in some "collections". I am not griping that others have so many phones, I am happy for them, for they are the ones that save the rare items for the rest of us. I just think of the hours we all spend cleaning, restoring and getting our sets in in the best possible condition and how long it takes me to even find and get a few phones. Only to see other some people waste their "collections" and let them sit in piles waiting for the elements and age to devalue them. Such lost potential......
Again, no offence meant to anyone that has piles of phones................
I'm off my soap box......
Quote from: AE_collector on October 17, 2012, 12:00:29 AM
Quote from: Brinybay on October 16, 2012, 11:56:35 AM
That's ok, I was looking for ideas on being organized anyway. Mine used to look like this:
I got some pictures of Briny's Shop more recent than the ones he posted above.
Terry
Yeah, I wish! Here's an easy way to clean that pile up: Just invite several collectors over and tell them there's a 49'r in the pile somewhere!
Quote from: Brinybay on October 18, 2012, 02:31:06 AMYeah, I wish! Here's an easy way to clean that pile up: Just invite several collectors over and tell them there's a 49'r in the pile somewhere!
Just invite collectors to clear it out and it'll be done in no time... :D
Heck, the red phones would sell well over here in the UK, for some reason they're a popular colour, regardless of make or model... :D
Quote from: twocvbloke on October 18, 2012, 10:33:23 AM
Just invite collectors to clear it out and it'll be done in no time... :D
Funny thing is if I remember correctly, it took a very long time to clear out Turtle Lake, WI - if I remember correctly, some wound up getting scrapped at the end. The photos Terry posted are only a small portion of what was up for grabs. It was some years ago that it happened, and I forget all the details. Sets were selling at a very low price, and there were some very fine phones came out of there.
Dave
It'd have been nice to go there and just load up a shipping container with phones to bring back to the UK, some of the prices basic $1 phones from over there can go for here is insane, I bid on a faded, yellowed blue AT&T 2554 and it shot up to about £30+ I think, my max was £20 as I didn't think that it would go for more.... :o
Still, I'm sure they're out there being resold, so that others can enjoy them for years to come... :D
Quote from: AE_collector on October 17, 2012, 04:59:17 PM
Pictures from the Turtle Lake, Wisconsin "Hoard-O-Phones". This is just one small portion of them.
Hehe;
Terry, it's a GOOD THING you didn't show them the piles in the BIG BUILDINGS! ;-)
Nothing special but this is where I do my tinkering radio repair and telephone refurbing since get tending back in to the hobby after a decade +.
can't tell if that's an HF ham radio in the back or an oscilliscope.
Nice shop.
It's a Motorola service monitor and an HP signal generator... Still working on building my shack in the room next door... Thanks
Quote from: cello973 on December 29, 2012, 01:10:56 PM
It's a Motorola service monitor and an HP signal generator... Still working on building my shack in the room next door... Thanks
I took your photos, turned them so you wouldn't fall off the stool, and sharpened them as much as I could... :)
Dave
Lol! Thank you
1A2 system on the wall. What are those "modular" 1A2 systems called again?
Terry
Looks like a heavenly place to me.
Some slightly stale photos of my workshop. Since these were taken additional shelves have been set up and filled... I need to take new photos - these were taken just following the workshop being rebuilt. Still as neat, though, but right now, the British Strowger switch is set up on the main workbench.
Dave
Terry, The 8 line KSUs are Western Electric 620-A2 I am set up for 16 lines but only have 4 wired to a few key sets.
Below the 1A2 is an Avaya Definity G3 which I have set up for 92 Analog (for 1A2 and single line phones + lots of future expansion) and 24 digital ports (for daily use phones). It is connected to the outside world via 2 POTS lines and a PRI to My company packet switch in Easton, PA (I work for a telecom contracting co/CLEC). The definity is great because I can easily use old rotary phones on the analog ports and plan to connect a few as a working displays in the very near future...
I knew that it began with a "6"! What is the right hand module that is half the size of the two 8 line modules?
I am in Vancouver BC and we used AE Key equipment here for the most part. AE's 10A2 is compatible with 1A2 but we only had two packages available. "13 Line Panels" for 23 inch racks and "6 packs" that were self contained with an intercom and a power supply all inside a fibreglass cabinet. I like seeing and learning about the other packages that WECo and NECo had available. I do have 620A2 module wit ha small power pack that Jeremy ("oldphon" here on CRPF) gave me years ago. I am just now putting together a small telephone workshop of my own in our old office so maybe the 620A2 will land on the wall soon!
Terry
Holy Moly! looks like someone is behind in his repairs! get those phones fixed!
What Shop? I don't have anywhere to tinker with phones other than to rip them appart in the Family Room and my wife is beginning to tire of that. BUT, that is about to change.
After both of my daughters moved out we comandeered the larger bedroom for our new office since it is easily twice the size of our old office AND it is upstairs rather than downstairs so it is warmer in the winter. My wife quickly laid claim to the other daughters bedroom as well now calling it her "Scrap Book Room"
Our old office has been dormant (IE: JUNK ROOM) for close to a year now so finally it was time for me to put it to use (lay claim to what no one else wanted). First it needed wall paper stripped and the 1970's spray textured ceiling scraped off.
Cat says "WTH"?
Terry
Then invite potential Future Son-In-Law over to do some drywall work
Some sanding, more filling, more sanding, then ceiling paint and wall paint and it is getting closer to being ready to go. This is where it stands at the moment but I am sketching and drawing and sketching out my "next moves" as we speak. It is only 9' by 10' approximately so not a lot of room to work with but a lot more than I had until now.
Outside looking into the Room and Inside looking Out.
Terry
that cat looks annoyed! ;D
The cat is patiently waiting for you to get his/her room finished. That sanding job is a dirty one. Been there, done that. I learned that the less "mud" one puts on means less sanding. The sanding screens work well. Is that what you used, Terry? Looks like a nice room in which to work on phones. Which wall will the work bench go against?
Automatic Electric Shop c. 1909
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281021982895
David:
My wife bought me that picture of the AE Workshop at Christmas to put on the wall of my new AE Workshop!
Dennis:
I just did the scraping off of the ceiling texture and then my daughters boyfriend did the muding and sanding. Then I took over and painted. Now I'm thinking, planning and measuring. Soon I'll be "procurring". I think I am going to "grid" the ceiling like a Central Office to set the mood.
I would like to start with the workbench but I havent found just what I want to use yet. I'm on the scrounge. I am leaning towards having it on the same wall as the door, opposite the window. For now I have the heavy duty table on a side wall because it fits well there!
I had my eye on a real nice workbench about a year ago that had been in the old Lenkurt plant here but I wasn't able to get it when they closed the building down so I am back to being on the scrounge. They started cleaning the building out when the lease was up and next time I saw the workbench it was upside down smashed in a giant garbage bin. Unfortunately they started cleaaring out the building with the corner of the building that we had been working in. Had I seen stuff getting loaded into the dumpsters in other parts of the building I would have executed my "rescue" of the workbench before they got there but it wasn't to be.
Terry
More Progress in the telephone Worksop. Since I intend on having some switching going on in my little phone workshop I decided I wanted to decorate sort of like a CO. I would like to have cable runway circling the room but I decided while not as old looking, Grid would be much more practical and more readily available to me.
For those who don't know what "Grid" is, check the pictures. This is what Telco's put in Telephone Equipment Rooms these days as it allows cable to be run "point to point". In large CO's this saves a lot of cable as compared to having to do square corners where runways intersect. The day I started with the Telco in 1975 I was hanging Grid in an addition to a large AE SxS Office that was preparing to have a GTE/AE #1 EAX Electronic Exchange Installed. The equipment had yet to arrive so we were hanging grid throughout the office so that the equipment could be bolted to the floor when it arrived and cable running could then commence.
In "My Office", Grid is hardly required but I thought it would look more like a small CO and it does make it easy for me to run cable between equipment and a wall frame that I will install. No doubt I will put a lot more cable up on top than is really in use to make it look more realistic!
I only have about 2 inches of space above my grid where as in most CO's you can walk around up there. I didn't want to lose any more height in the room than I had to while still allowing the grid to be usable.
Terry
And here are photos of a working CO grid - showing poor craftsmanship. I just wanted to share some photos of horrors I have seen in the past.
Terry, your choice of the grid sounds like a great solution.
Very cool looking, Terry! ;D
My shop (the messy one ugly one) pictures are first and my bedroom where most of my phones are stored.
Quite the fleet of "Mickey Mouse Phones" you have there WesternElectricBen! :)
Terry
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 03, 2013, 10:23:25 PM
Quite the fleet of "Mickey Mouse Phones" you have there WesternElectricBen! :)
Terry
Yes, Nick!
Is the center one, or the right one the eldest? I would guess RH side one. Just trying to develop some new wrinkles in the ol' brain, so thanks!!
Best regards!
Quote from: Mr. Bones on March 04, 2013, 07:37:25 PM
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 03, 2013, 10:23:25 PM
Quite the fleet of "Mickey Mouse Phones" you have there WesternElectricBen! :)
Terry
Yes, Nick!
Is the center one, or the right one the eldest? I would guess RH side one. Just trying to develop some new wrinkles in the ol' brain, so thanks!!
Best regards!
I would guess actually the center one is the oldest. This is the one I have in the museum. But I can't swear as to which is the oldest. I am just going by the dial. I stand to be corrected.
I got this a few years back to amuse the kids that see the museum, and it certainly has!
Dave
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 03, 2013, 10:23:25 PM
Quite the fleet of "Mickey Mouse Phones" you have there WesternElectricBen! :)
Terry
My mom likes them!!! I do too, though she buys them for me.
Ben
Quote from: DavePEI on March 04, 2013, 08:13:59 PM
Quote from: Mr. Bones on March 04, 2013, 07:37:25 PM
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 03, 2013, 10:23:25 PM
Quite the fleet of "Mickey Mouse Phones" you have there WesternElectricBen! :)
Terry
Yes, Nick!
Is the center one, or the right one the eldest? I would guess RH side one. Just trying to develop some new wrinkles in the ol' brain, so thanks!!
Best regards!
I would guess actually the center one is the oldest. This is the one I have in the museum. But I can't swear as to which is the oldest. I am just going by the dial. I stand to be corrected.
I got this a few years back to amuse the kids that see the museum, and it certainly has!
Dave
Looking over this topic again, never saw that it got replied too. Actually none of them are the eldest, a one I restored is. Here is a link to my YouTube video: http://goo.gl/A3Xzg
Ben
pictured below is not really a workshop but it is in my telephone room and is where all my refurbs and any other phone work takes place also in the closet is my phone parts box and the 3rd photo is some extra casings. the room is only a mess like this (1st photo) when a refurb is going on and in the 1st photo is the current refurb of my 302. ;)
Do you realise something different between the first and second photo?
A Bell System Do Not Disturb Sign??
Quote from: HarrySmith on April 15, 2013, 08:34:13 PM
A Bell System Do Not Disturb Sign??
Yea, it's a underground telephone cable sign actualy.
On vacation what do you do? Janet says we clean your workshop! Fun ;D fun :'( fun :o. In all fairness. I could not move or find anything. Lot of swearing, little work done. Work space no bigger than a 302. Six hours and I can find my stuff again. Threw out a lot of sh*t, but more will be coming back in. Take a look, its neat..................until tomorrow ??? ....Doug
Quote from: Doug Rose on June 19, 2013, 03:12:23 PM
On vacation what do you do? Janet says we clean your workshop! Fun ;D fun :'( fun :o. In all fairness. I could not move or find anything. Lot of swearing, little work done. Work space no bigger than a 302. Six hours and I can find my stuff again. Threw out a lot of sh*t, but more will be coming back in. Take a look, its neat..................until tomorrow ??? ....Doug
Come One, Come All! To Doug's Show and Sale - so he can find room to set down his screwdriver! :)
Dave
Dug, you know those white shelfs with the racks. If you wanted to store more phones I would buy more shelfs and lower the existing shelfs then you don't have lots of extra air space where phones could be stored.
Ben
WOW! and I thought I was messy!
no offense taken
Hi there,
Here's a picture of my workshop and assistant.
John
Now that looks like a great work Elvirament!
Thanks Dave, Cassandra said hello.
Here's my "CO" and a close-up.
John
Nice and neat, I really like it. I've never seen a fuse box mounted sideways.
Ben
Thanks Ben,
I just learned how to post pictures so here's a couple more.
#1 3 of my specialty Princesses
#2 My red Princess with beach glass collected on the shore of Lake Ontario close to where I live
John
Quote from: WesternElectricBen on January 20, 2015, 04:53:42 PM
I've never seen a fuse box mounted sideways.
Ben
That's how they're mounted in Canada. I have no idea why, though...
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on January 20, 2015, 09:58:34 PM
]That's how they're mounted in Canada. I have no idea why, though...
Huh? They've been mounted vertically in any house I have ever lived in.
However, in this case, I imagine it is because the box is so long, it keeps it high enough on the wall to keep kids fingers out of it and to prevent damage to it by furniture, etc. from sitting in front of it blocking access to the breakers, etc.
It also keeps the labels and breakers all at eye height.
Dave
Mine's horizontal as well
Quote from: DavePEI on January 20, 2015, 10:03:23 PM
Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on January 20, 2015, 09:58:34 PM
]That's how they're mounted in Canada. I have no idea why, though...
Huh? They've been mounted vertically in any house I have ever lived in.
Dave
i have watched many Holmes on Homes episodes on DIY Network, and every one that I've seen on that show (whether it was installed by Mike Holmes or was like that in the first place) was mounted sideways.
I don't know, but every one that I've seen that's mounted on it's side is in Canada, I haven't seen a single one in the U.S. When I saw that Breaker Box mounted sideways, I wondered if princessphone lived in Canada. Sure enough, Ontario.
Never thought I would receive comments about the orientation of the electric panel box. I never thought about it. I've lived here for over 40 years and had the services upgraded about 10 years ago. This is my starter home, and I still got my starter wife also.
I think that the panel box is a good fit (pun intended) because it's a Seimens. Werner Seimens is the German guy that developed the magneto in 1856 which was used in the early telephones.
Thanks for looking, John
PS Thought I would get questions about my phone wiring. Here's a before picture.
I have done some googling to try to find an answer:
"The CEC (rule 6-206) does not require panel or switchboard installations to be one way or another, just that it be accessible, meet minimum clearances and satisfy other rules such as ambient temperature, protection, etc"
CSA rules state: "Enclosures for overcurrent devices shall be mounted in a vertical position, unless that is shown to be impracticable. Circuit breaker enclosures shall be permitted to be installed horizontally where the circuit breaker is installed in accordance with Section 240.81. Listed busway plug-in units shall be permitted to be mounted in orientations corresponding to the busway mounting position."
Seems to me, most of the horizontal mountings I have seen have been on Holmes on Holmes. Now, I have seen both horizontal and vertical mounts in catalogues - I suspect that their contractor, Solutions Electrical uses one brand of box, and that he prefers horizontal mount boxes.
Horizontal mounting would offer an advantage in retrofit use, as the wires were cut for an older box, and the wires can all be brought in from the top. It is against code to place an unprotected splice outside a box, and indeed to hide a boxed splice, i.e. inside a wall where it can't be serviced, so as long as the wire is long enough to reach the box, it can be lengthened with a splice within the panel. So this may offer an expedient as compared to having to remove and replace whole lengths of wire .
I must admit, personally, I like the horizontally mounted panels I have seen, as they do allow much neater wiring around the boxes, but many, many homes in Canada do and still have vertically mounted panels.
Here is a link to a catalogue of Canadian Approved devices:
http://www.homedepot.ca/catalog/breaker-panels/173193
Many are approved for Vertical, Horizontal, and Inverted mounting
Much as I like Holmes on Holmes and watch every new episode as it airs, he isn't God. He tends to have HIS way of doing things which usually is very good, but I think some of the things he does may puzzle Americans.
Ha! Just thinking of Robertson screws which you will practically never see in the U.S. He tried to use them when he did one of his specials in the states, and it really surprised the guys down there who had never seen them!
Also, note: since many of the goods and services used on Mike's shows are donated (including electrical), done by the same contractor Solutions Electrical & Maintenance for over 118 episodes, it could also simply be a preference of Frank Cozzolino, its owner.
So, that's my take on it,, whether right or wrong. So sorry for getting this discussion somewhat off-topic. As they used to say in the Tea ads, "Only in Canada. Pity!"
Dave
Thanks for doing that research Dave.
I have also seen horizontal mounted panels on two other Canadian shows;
Love it or List it and Love it or List it Tooo
Not hard to determine that Princessphone is in Canada....
Whats a Robertson Screw you ask?.....
(See picture!)
Is you telephone protector located elsewhere now Princessphone? The carbons were missing from the old one, no ground either and now the entire protector is missing! Or do you not have a conventional (POTS) landline now? I am guessing that the old protector block was just being used to hook all of the phone runs together and that a new protector is elsewhere, possibly outside which feed to this old block and now feeds your new block.
Doing Telco "Installation & Repair" here in Vancouver for years I have seen many times where someone thought that that the only purpose of the protector was to hook all of the wires together so they neatened things up by throwing it away and hooking everything up to some sort of bunching block leaving their line unprotected from lightning strikes or other high voltage contacts.
Also, alarm companies favourite hit and run way to get their alarm jack between the telco feed and the station runs was to lift the drop off of the protector and connect their alarm jack directly to the drop and then hook the return side of the alarm jack run to the set runs directly on the protector. Saves a couple of minutes of install time with the added bonus that high voltage will now travel through the house and the alarm panel in its search for ground at the protector!
Your setup looks much neater now on the multiple strip thingy (I still call them bunching blocks) though I have always preferred either 66 blocks or BIX strips for their flexibility. If you hang around here long you might be looking for a PBX to connect your phones through and those bunching blocks dont allow you to hook different ports or station extensions to each run separately.
Terry
Hi Terry,
Thanks for comments, I really welcome them.
In the before picture the inside protector was used as a connector box and therefor no "fuses" nor ground wire were installed. The system was always protected at the demarcation point on the outside. If you look closely in the after picture, the old protector is now fused and grounded. I guess I'm sort of double protected now.
I wanted to clean up the phone wiring when I started collecting Princess phones. I wanted to eliminate all the separate transformers (about 12 working princesses) and filters (Bell provides internet services via phone line).
I've rewired using 22AWG, installed a Ringer Booster, use only 1 filter and a single 20VA transformer. To avoid the the weakening of light output of the phones, I basically had to "home run" to every station.
I'll definitly look into BIX strips, 66 blocks and PBX's to see if I can improve my "CO".
Thanks, John
Hi John:
Terry is right = using a 66 block or BIX blocks could help you out... You would also need the appropriate punch-down tool. It is basically a matter of placing the plastic of the wire over the terminal and punching it down.
I use a number of 66 blocks and also BIX blocks in the museum for the KSU and switchboard wiring... I forget the name of the newer block which I use as the distribution point in the museum. It was given me by our local telephone guy. It needs no wire preparation or tool. Place the insulated wire in the hole, and snap down a lever. It is gel filled and prevents problems with dust or water. If I can think of its name, I will let you know. I find it really great. Its advantage is if you want to remove a line for testing or to move it, with no tools, you unsnap the lever, pull the wire out, and you can then plug another in. Bell Aliant down here now uses them pretty well exclusively.
If any of you can think of the name for these, please post it and refresh my memory.
Dave
Speaking about Mike Holmes:
I get a kick out of what I call some of the common Holmesisms...
"Don't touch the buss bar - there is full power on them!"
I suppose it is easier than explaining that if someone touches them they could be hit with the full potential of 200 amps depending on conductivity, grounding and the path through the body!
And he loves to talk about "asbestos spores"!
Of course, asbestos doesn't have spores - it has fibers. Of course mold does have spores.
I still love the show - it is one of my favorites. I particularly loved the Holmes Ultimate Garage series. <G> I'd love to have that building for the museum!
http://makeitright.ca/tv-shows/mug/videos
So while this is on the verge of becoming very off-topic, it really isn't. That is Mike's workshop!
Dave