Western Electric's use of oak

[poplar1]

WESTERN ELECTRIC ? Oak 2 box type 21 Telephone ,Wall Phone, turn of century nice

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251367827649

It would be nice if they had made TYPE 21s in oak I suppose.  Verdict:  Frankenphone

What year did WE start offering Oak as an option? The 1908 Catalog shows some oak phones but the Type 21 was apparently already "manufacture discontinued."

[Sargeguy]

Sometime in the early 1900s.  I think they started with the 124A compact wall phone, then introduced the 293A in oak as a replacement for it.  The oak magneto boxes and ringers seem to be mostly later issue, with the 124A being the only oak phone I can think of that has the stamped patent dates.  I think my oak 293s both have decals and paper tags with the patent dates.  The TYPE 101 subset also came in oak and features stamped dates.  I cannot recall if they made a 295A subset in oak or not.  There are some smaller intercoms and other boxes that were also available in oak.  These include the 273 subset, like this one I recently purchased on eBay:

telephone oak tongue + groove parts repair restore BOX antique vintage OAK bell

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141099200775

[Sargeguy]

I cannot recall if they made a 295A subset in oak or not.

I found this one in the basement:

[Sargeguy]

How's that for precision stripping and sanding?   Did not use a mask.

[AE_Collector]

Not bad at all.....you didn't slip even once!

Terry

[Sargeguy]

Thanks.  The Fein MultiMaster sure comes in handy when restoring old wood.

I split this topic because poplar1 hit on a subject that has been on my mind lately.  3 out of the last 4 phones I have bought off eBay have been Western Electric phones made of oak, and I have been thinking a lot about them as I have been refinishing them.  In recent weeks I have obtained a 101E subset, 293A that was painted black and converted to a 295A subset, a 273F single gong subset, a 124 hotel phone (in transit).  I also found a 295A on the subset pile that, when stripped, turned out to be oak.

A few observations:

Different finishes were used on oak.  Some were lighter to show off the grain of the oak.  Some were darker to hide the grain.  The 295A is made from a plank that had two pieces dovetailed together, and the grains do not match.  This subset was stained to look like walnut.  See the pics above.


When doing a partial restoration of one area of an oak phone, use a lower grit sandpaper than you would with walnut, anything over 180 grit  and you will get shiny smooth patches in an otherwise rough surface.  

Oak is a little more difficult to work with because of the open grain, so the sides of some models of oak phones are often blocked, where walnut phones would have been routered.

The top and bottom edges of doors and backboards of oak phones that have been routered tend to darken.  It is difficult to sand this out.