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Finally finished our Northern Electric 717 in White / Brass

Started by mazda_matt, November 10, 2017, 11:53:24 AM

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mazda_matt

If you remember awhile back, I was in the process of restoring a Northern Electric 717 that had some wood damage and the varnish was peeling off. Instead of just taking the parts out and tossing to the side, we wanted to see how the phone would look in white. We have around 50 717's in various states from almost new to cracked and chipped. I chose one that I knew would sand up well, and tried it out. After sanding and filling in a small crack, we spray painted it with a couple coats of Krylon gloss white and clear coat. The finish turned our exceptional! We stripped the parts of any black paint and buffed what we could back to a shiny brass finish. We had to send out a couple parts for plating (Hook, hinges) and then reassembled it. All the parts are present inside, but still need to be hooked up to get it working.

Overall, for a phone that had little to no life left, I think it turned out great!

Thoughts?

-MM
oldphoneworks.com
1-800-843-1320

Coupon Code - CRF10 (10% off)

HarrySmith

Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

RB


19and41

That is a great result!  Especially considering the silly things that happen to some of these old phones. 
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

Doug Rose

Kidphone

.....

That's a sharp looking phone. I'm in the process of doing one in gloss black, but now you have me thinking outside the box. :)

mazda_matt

oldphoneworks.com
1-800-843-1320

Coupon Code - CRF10 (10% off)

Doug Rose

For reference, this is how they looked originally looked before the refurb. Really a beautiful telephone. Notice the Northern Electric burned into the wood, sharp looking. Made in 1957, one of my favorite phones!!..Doug
Kidphone

.....

Quote from: Doug Rose on November 12, 2017, 08:52:33 AM
For reference, this is how they looked originally looked before the refurb. Really a beautiful telephone. Notice the Northern Electric burned into the wood, sharp looking. Made in 1957, one of my favorite phones!!..Doug

I have the same phone Doug, but 1958.  :) Plus 5 more of the same model with one of them in black.

RotarDad

Very nice phones, gentlemen!  Why was NE still building magneto, manual, wood phones well into the '50s???
Paul

Pourme

Quote from: RotarDad on November 12, 2017, 10:42:38 AM
Very nice phones, gentlemen!  Why was NE still building magneto, manual, wood phones well into the '50s???

Good question.....
Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

WEBellSystemChristian

Quote from: RotarDad on November 12, 2017, 10:42:38 AM
Very nice phones, gentlemen!  Why was NE still building magneto, manual, wood phones well into the '50s???
I'm not sure of the exact reason, but one observation is that NE was pretty far behind WE in terms of telephone technology and trends. The 302 was still being built well into the '60s, and the darker WE 500 colors that were phased out in '57 were still being made a few years later by NE.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

TelePlay

Quote from: RotarDad on November 12, 2017, 10:42:38 AM
Very nice phones, gentlemen!  Why was NE still building magneto, manual, wood phones well into the '50s???

Quote from: WEBellSystemChristian on November 12, 2017, 10:45:53 AM
I'm not sure of the exact reason, but one observation is that NE was pretty far behind WE in terms of telephone technology and trends. The 302 was still being built well into the '60s, and the darker WE 500 colors that were phased out in '57 were still being made a few years later by NE.


     RE:  http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=18458.msg190377#msg190377

Pourme

Very interesting....I learn so much on this forum!

Thanks John for the link!

Benny
Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

Doug Rose

Quote from: Duffy on November 12, 2017, 09:46:19 AM
I have the same phone Doug, but 1958.  :) Plus 5 more of the same model with one of them in black.

They are such cool looking phones,  especially with the mottled brown F1. These are one of my favorite designs, I like the way the door drops down instead of swings open. ...other Doug
Kidphone