500 Case Repair

[bingster]

It looks like a slow news day on the forum, so I thought I'd post about a repair I made that might help people save an otherwise bad telephone case.  Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of the whole process, because, quite frankly, I didn't think there was even a remote chance that the repair would work.  But here's what I have.

It all started with a 1958 pink 500 that arrived with a smashed case:



Luckily, Dennis had an early 1960s case in pink, but it had the front screw mount
broken off.  I was very happy with it, though, since anything less serious than a smashed side was a tremendous  improvement.  With a bit of care picking it up (since the front wasn't connected), a lost phone would at least be made workable.

All the while I held on to the broken plastic pieces from the old case.  I don't know why I didn't throw them away, but I just couldn't bear to part with them.   Finally, I decided that I'd throw the pieces away, and as I sat looking at them one last time, I tried to think of a way to reuse anything left of the case.  And then it hit me:  cut the front screw mount off the old case and glue it to the inside of the new case.



So I took a Dremel tool and sliced the portion of the old case that had the mount attached, and ground the front wall of the case off, leaving the mount with it's stabilizer piece of plastic attached.  Then I ground off the broken mount on the new case, smoothing out the inside of the case to receive the old mount.  A little superglue, and the screw mount had found a new home. 

I cut a couple small slivers of plastic from the old case to glue alongside the mount to secure it further, and to my surprise, it's rock solid, and will provide a secure means of attaching the case to the base plate.



So the lesson of the day is, don't throw away those old cases.  You never know when they will come in handy.

[McHeath]

That's a very clever fix, and made a silk purse out of a sows ear.  (so to speak)  I must admit that I like the smashed pink case in your first picture, very anti-establishment, sticking it to The Man and all.

[Dennis Markham]

Bingster, that was a very ingenious repair.  I knew there was a reason why I hang on to everything---like that broken pink case.  Eventually someone can use the stuff.  Good deal with that phone!

[Dan/Panther]

I've learned that lesson Many, Many, Many times, NEVER throw anything away, If you do, I guarantee that you will need it the very next week. If not sooner.
D/P