Northern Electric 500 part dates puzzle

[tubaman]

I've just got this Northern Electric 500 on eBay - £19.99 +£3.49 postage - about US$30 total. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-DIaling-Phone-Black/323888300234
The auction photos weren't great but I could see it was Northern Electric with a G1 handset and what looked like a soft plastic case. As it was on a Buy It Now and the price was ok I took the plunge.
It's my first Northern Electric deskset and I was hoping I might get lucky with an early date-matching set, but that was not to be.
However the range of dates strike me as a little interesting, so here goes.

Chassis, Ringer, Network, Transmitter, Receiver - 1957
Case (soft plastic) - 1959
Handset (G1 bakelite), Caps (ABS and darn hard to remove!) - 1960
Dial - 1968
All parts are correct Northern Electric with 'Made in Canada' on them. Even the Dial card is a correct British Columbia Manitoba 'VErnon' one. (thanks to @CanadianGuy for clearing this up)

What puzzles me is why I have a slightly later handset but with the original dated transmitter and receiver.
My hypothesis is that this had a mishap in 1960, where the case and handset were damaged, and the plastic parts, but not the inserts, were all replaced. The dial was then clearly replaced much later.

I'm still very happy with it as its cleaned-up nicely and works a treat - it even came wired for UK use. And it's soft plastic with a G1, so what's not to like!
It clearly has a story to tell though.
Any thoughts appreciated.

[.....]

Wow, you did good for being on that side of the pond. A jewel for your collection.   

[tubaman]

Wow, you did good for being on that side of the pond. A jewel for your collection.   

Thanks Duffy. Yes, it's a nice phone and quite how it ended-up over here I don't know.

[Dan/Panther]

Nice find. Is there any phone in the UK that has a similar design ?
D/P

[tubaman]

Nice find. Is there any phone in the UK that has a similar design ?
D/P

Not really, no. The nearest we had was the GPO 706 and 746 series - ie the standard UK GPO dial phones.
Until the 1980's the only domestic phones available were rented from the GPO (latterly British Telecom) so the selection was quite limited.

[Jim Stettler]

It may of had a heavy bakelite handset when it was built. When it came out of service they updated it to an ABS handset  and returned it to service.

The bakelite caps can chip easy and the bakelite handsets are heavy. You can find old bakelite handsets that have had the caps replaced with ABS caps.
Changing the weight of the handset may affect the hookswitch operation. this may be why the only replaced the caps on many of the bakelite handset.
This is only a guess,
Jim

[tubaman]

It may of had a heavy bakelite handset when it was built. When it came out of service they updated it to an ABS handset  and returned it to service.

The bakelite caps can chip easy and the bakelite handsets are heavy. You can find old bakelite handsets that have had the caps replaced with ABS caps.
Changing the weight of the handset may affect the hookswitch operation. this may be why the only replaced the caps on many of the bakelite handset.
This is only a guess,
Jim

Jim,

My bold above - yes, this is exactly what I have. The thing is the ABS caps don't seem to fit so well as they are really tight.
I believe I seen this mentioned on the forum before?

[andre_janew]

I was expecting the phone to have a clear plastic finger wheel and for it to be a #9 dial.  Instead, it has a #7 dial and a painted metal finger wheel.  The 1968 date threw me.  Apparently, Northern Electric must've held on to the #7 dial a bit longer than Western Electric did.

[FABphones]

......the thing is the ABS caps don't seem to fit so well as they are really tight.
I believe I seen this mentioned on the forum before?

I have a WE 500 with a G1. The end caps were incredibly tight. So tight a former owner had gouged one really badly trying to remove it. I struggled too until Mr F (ex-BT) could bear to watch no longer, came over and gave around the rim a quick spray with WD40. 10 seconds later, a twist with the wrench strap and off it came .

I now use this method for all tight end caps. My only word of caution is not to use the length of the handset itself as leverage, as I've heard these can break under the strain.

*You got in fast with that phone, 16 minutes I think that one was listed for before you bought it. Well spotted.

[tubaman]

FABphones,

Thanks for the tip for the handset caps. I do have a GPO tool for removing stubborn caps but these are too small for it to grip. The earpiece cap came off with hand pressure - a lot of it! The mouthpiece was not so obliging. I did try clamping it in my Workmate but it was having none of it and just slipped out. I then applied heat via a hairdryer for about a minute and it came straight off.
They are still tight though as the ABS caps and Bakelite shell are clearly not a perfect match.
I was lucky with the timing as you say. I only pondered for about a minute before hitting the BIN button!

[CanadianGuy]

I know I don't post here often, but has anyone ever tried using a rubber oil filter wrench to get the ear or mouthpieces off?

[FABphones]

...has anyone ever tried using a rubber oil filter wrench to get the ear or mouthpieces off?

These come in a few variations. This is my version, adjustable (to keep it clean and oil free it is not used for anything else but phones). It's nothing special, wasn't expensive and with a spray or two of WD40 (where necessary) it hasn't let me down yet.

[HarrySmith]

I use a similar tool, a pair of strap wrenches I got cheap from a plumbing supply place. Picture attached is the same as my 2. I have not yet run into a handset cap I could not remove with these. Usually just need 1 but the stubborn ones need 2, sometimes with a little help from the heat gun.

[Jim Stettler]

The sloan tool is made for high end plumbing fixtures. I feel that is a plus. You may be able to get one from a plumbing supply house.
Ray K. used to sell these. He gave me 1 at a show.
Jim

[CanadianGuy]

I just read the post in more detail (sorry, I often just skim posts) and saw the mention of VErnon. There may be a slight chance that phone is from here in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We have a Vernon CO here, and one of the prefixes is 582 832. Just throwing that out there

Edit: 582 is Inkster exchange. Brain fart.