B1/E1 2HB Dial

[LarryInMichigan]

I bought this phone last week for about $38 (incl shipping), and it arrived this Monday.  The seller stated that this phone had served as a stage prop for many years.

The finish is in excellent condition, but it appears to have been repainted at some point.  The paint job is so good, that I suspect that it was a factory job.  The base, dial, and receiver capsule are all dated 3 30.  The F1 transmitter is from 1939.  The handset is in mostly great condition, but there are a few cracks and chips in the transmitter cup and a small chip in the receiver cap, and the receiver cap spacer ring was full of gouges, so I replaced it with a moderately better one.  The cords were both repros and tattered, so I replaced them.  The bottom plated is covered with (moth eaten) wool felt.  I added some cork pieces to keep the phone from sliding.

The dial has "2HB" on it finger stop.  The face plate is non-notched and in good condition, but the numbers are somewhat worn.  The '1' is barely visible.  The dial turns smoothly and clicks loudly enough to bother the neighbors

The phone is now connected to a subset and works well.  I think that I got a good deal on this phone.

Larry

[wds]

Wow!  that's a $200 phone easy with that dial.  Nice catch!

[LarryInMichigan]

I forgot to mention that the phone was missing a dial center card retainer, so I added one.

Larry

[GG]

Yow! I'll second that: yeah you sure did get a good deal!

Dial numberplates that have gone unreadable can be touched up using a fine-tipped permanent marker.  Red for the numbers, black for the letters.  Best to work under a magnifying glass with bright light.  (One of those artist's work lamps with a magnifying glass in the middle of a fluorescent light tube, all mounted on an arm you can position as needed, is a great aid for this.)  If you make a booboo, a small piece of cotton fluff or toilet paper dipped in strong rubbing alcohol will wipe clean the area with the booboo so you can try again.

After retouching the numberplate, cover it with self-adhesive clear Contact plastic ("shelf paper") which is inexpensive in any hardware store.  Peel and stick, and smooth it down and gently rub over the surface with a finger.  You won't notice the Contact material when the dial is reassembled.  I just did a Federal Telephone & Radio dial that way, hard to tell it was retouched & covered in protective plastic.  (This treatment is good for all old numberplates, to prevent the numbers being worn away over time.)

Or you can buy one of those self-adhesive new plastic overlays from OldPhoneWorks.  Buy a few so you have spares in case of mistakes while applying the first one. 

Wash your hands w/ soap & water before working with any self-adhesive overlays or protective layers, so natural skin oils and any dirt on your fingers won't mess up the self-adhesive material. 

[JukeboxRick]

Larry,
Santa came early & generous! Wow!  What a deal for only 38 bucks! I seem to always get out bid on E-Bay & forget CL ( nothing ever turns up except 2000 miles away!) I think I,ll start looking for deals in OZ! I just need to find that darn yellow brick road!
Beautiful phone! Enjoy!                                                                              JBRick