Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Telephone Talk => Collector's Corner => Topic started by: TelePlay on April 07, 2013, 12:17:15 PM

Title: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: TelePlay on April 07, 2013, 12:17:15 PM
And, as usual, getting a phone from eBay is just like a box of chocolates, one never knows what what they will get until they open the box, and the phone.

On the bright side, it cost $9.99 plus shipping and it is very clean inside and it came undamaged even though the seller crammed the phone into a small box inside of a slightly larger USPS flat rate box with no padding used in either box.

On the other side, it's missing the ringer and the rubber wiring on the handset and line cord inside the phone are brittle and crumbling. Hopefully, I can shorten each a bit to get good rubber wiring.

The black paint came off with the red so I'm down to the grey metal and thinking black paint, but Harry's purple really looks good.

The inside shipping box, before and after pictures (with the after stripping picture having an old F1 I had laying around that isn't in the best shape other than being black).

Any suggestions?

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BTW: The seller listed the phone with this in the description - "i got this at a estate auction of a retired head of engineering at NASA he was head of moving  all shudles and missiles , i have a plack listed you my want to look at RARE .  He past away and family had a auction and these items i have listed came from it." IT Would be interesting to have a record of all the conversations made on this phone, as would on most phones we have collected.

The plaque is from the Marshall Space Flight Center and related to the Barge Palaemon, the barge used to transport missile components to launch pads and not the crawler used to move the shuttle. The plaque did not have any inscriptions on it identifying it with any person, project or time period, unfortunately. It sold for $5 plus $25 shipping to someone else.
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: zaphod01 on April 07, 2013, 12:30:24 PM
How did you get the old paint off these? I was considering bead blasting...

I have three of them sitting in my telephone hospital and don't even know where to begin. All three arrived this week. One has a dial blank. Only one has a handset cord and none of the have the correct, grommeted line cord. Handest elements look like they are from a F1 WE handset.

Any tips will be deeply appreciated!
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: TelePlay on April 07, 2013, 01:13:25 PM
I use Citristrip in the bottle, not the spray.  I have a spray can but use it rarely.

I apply it with a small nylon paint brush and set the phone in a plastic container that can be sealed. I put a small amount of water in the bottom of the container to keep the Citristrip from drying out onto the phone and let it sit for about 12 hours. Then use a wood or plastic scraper and an old toothbrush to get the first layers off, rinse with water, dry, and apply a second coat to any remaining paint and let set for another 12 hours.

This phone came clean with two applications.

Citristrip is water soluble and does not have the bad fumes of other paint removers. Others have used other strippers with success, I just got hooked on Citristrip. Home Depot carries it, as do other stores. Not cheap but works well.  http://tinyurl.com/bwbmvpj Works well on wood, also.

There are quite a few topic threads on the forum where others have posted how they strip paint off of metal, plastic, bakelite and other stuff. Keep in mind that some strippers will melt soft and/or ABS plastics.
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: zaphod01 on April 07, 2013, 02:32:09 PM
I'm trying to make two good ones from the three I have.

Just hooked up the dial blank one and it rings and works. Probably good to go as it is.

Dialer sticks on the one with the best original paint. There's a good dialer in the one with the worst paint. Current plan is to do a dialer transplant between the two.

Only two useable handsets between the three.

Do you want a ringer out of the one I don't build out?
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: TelePlay on April 07, 2013, 02:49:12 PM
Quote from: zaphod01 on April 07, 2013, 02:32:09 PMDo you want a ringer out of the one I don't build out?

Thanks for the offer but I'd suggest you keep it just in case you buy a phone in the future and find the ringer has been removed. This is the 3rd phone I've received without a ringer, a 554, a 302 and now this TP-6-A. Since I needed ringers, I bought a lot of 3 for a 302 some time ago and still have two left, one of which is dated 3/42 which is close to the dates on this toaster. Dates are all over the place but seems to date back to the mid to early 40's with work done to it over the years.

Also, that Citristrip is a thick gel/paste. I use 1 ounce medicine cups when pouring it out of the half gallon jug. I did the whole phone base with about 2/3rds of an ounce (twice) so 64 ounces goes a long way.
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: zaphod01 on April 07, 2013, 03:00:02 PM
I had a run of three phones with the ringers disabled. The two 5302's had the red ringer wire attached to GND. The 554 had all four ringer wires disconnected and wire-tied together. Go figure. Easy fix on all three and maybe I saved some money because they were sold as non-ringing.
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: Mr. Bones on April 07, 2013, 03:37:13 PM
Very cool 'toaster'! 8)

     If you wish to dispose of the red F-1 handset, please PM me. I'm sure I can find some (convoluted) purpose for it. ;)

Best regards!
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: TelePlay on April 07, 2013, 05:42:26 PM
Quote from: Mr. Bones on April 07, 2013, 03:37:13 PMIf you wish to dispose of the red F-1 handset, please PM me. I'm sure I can find some (convoluted) purpose for it.

Every new phone is like a box of chocolates, part II. After phase one handset paint removal, I discovered that not only was the handset chipped, which noticed right away when it arrived, but also a chunk of bakelite was broken off and glued back on and hidden under the paint. So, that's going to be a bakelite repair project for me.

Other than that, the handset is in good condition.

And, pushing the capacitor back into place let me straighten the coil/network making room for the ringer. Not much room inside that case when all the hardware is present.
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: Doug Rose on April 07, 2013, 07:16:09 PM
John is the handset a Western? The Connecticut handsets were plastic or I thought all were plastic. I found out the hard way stripping or should I say melting one into a pile of goop....Doug
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: TelePlay on April 07, 2013, 07:27:45 PM
Quote from: Doug Rose on April 07, 2013, 07:16:09 PM
John is the handset a Western? The Connecticut handsets were plastic or I thought all were plastic. I found out the hard way stripping or should I say melting one into a pile of goop....Doug

Doug,

Yes, I read at that on the other post where Harry Smith showed off his purple toaster.

Am taking the paint off of the handset now using Citristrip because it was a WE F1 bakelite handset. With the paint removed, it turns out to be an F1W. Couldn't see the W under the paint. Did CTE buy handsets from WE for use on their TP-6-A phones? Old Phone Works has several for sale in the hundreds and they have WE F1 handsets, not the CTE style I've seen elsewhere. The CTE metal base and North plastic case equivalents sure seem to have a lot of variations and cross over parts, including dials, for being the same milspec phone. This one I have has MFP dates in the 40s and 60s. One element is '41 and the other is '52. No other dates. Can you or anyone else lay out a history or which handsets were used and when or were not used and added after the phone left military service? That would help.
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: Greg G. on April 08, 2013, 01:08:52 PM
Quote from: TelePlay on April 07, 2013, 05:42:26 PM

After phase one handset paint removal, I discovered that not only was the handset chipped, which noticed right away when it arrived, but also a chunk of bakelite was broken off and glued back on and hidden under the paint. So, that's going to be a bakelite repair project for me.


I used this stuff on my AE 21 receiver, works like clay:  
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: zaphod01 on April 08, 2013, 03:00:01 PM
I have three handsets. All three are not F1 although I'm told an F1 will fit nicely. I'll get the exact markings when I get home this evening but I'm sure all are marked as CTE in some fashion or other. The elements and end caps look like they would interchange with F1 but I haven't tried it. I was afraid of cross-threading.
Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: zaphod01 on April 08, 2013, 06:15:05 PM
Here's a photo of the markings on a CTE handset and shot of my dial blank toaster. My wife's reaction was 'I thought you weren't going to buy any more ugly phones'. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: zaphod01 on April 08, 2013, 06:16:10 PM
Here's the handsest...

Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: zaphod01 on April 09, 2013, 07:25:55 AM
Here's the plaque on the back of the TP-6-A marked 48 on the bottom.

Title: Re: TP-6-A: My first toaster arrived Saturday
Post by: Mr. Bones on April 10, 2013, 08:16:38 PM
Thanks for the additional photos, I really appreciate it!

     Nice handset; too bad it is on such an ugly phone lol! ::) It's just art deco, turned sideways! ;) (Note: please, don't ask your wife if she is still the same width as in the 50's!) :o :o :o

     Best regards!