WE Dial Question

[Doug Rose]

I have had this for awhile. Got it a box of dials. I have no idea what it is made of. It is a silver color and appears to be made of whatever the silver color is?? I am sending it to Steve to get working. Any ideas?.....Doug

[Dan/Panther]

Can you post a closeup of the imprints on the back.

D/P

[Doug Rose]

Dan....here you go. 4H?..Doug

[Butch Harlow]

It looks like a 4h to me, based on the markings. I think that's been painted, looks to be long ago. I can't think of any raw metal that appears that way. Its definitely not aluminum. The governor housing is always brass. Could it have been painted to match one of the early color sets? Is there any rust or corrosion on the inside of the dial that give any clues?

[Doug Rose]

This dial has NOT been painted.  A magnet sticks to it. It was never painted as the inside is the same color.  The governor is the same color, I ran a drill with a wire brush over it.  It is not painted but a magnet does not stick to it....Doug

[Butch Harlow]

Very odd.

[poplar1]

4H would not have the "running board" for the pulse pawl, as seen on the front of the dial in the first photo. That was added on 5H for quieting the dial.

[Jim Stettler]

In the past I have asked Steve H. about oddball dials. He has always had a reasonable  answer regarding the characteristics  and probable purpose of the dials.
JMO,
JimS.

[Doug Rose]

It's heading to Steve tomorrow....Doug

[Doug Rose]

4H would not have the "running board" for the pulse pawl, as seen on the front of the dial in the first photo. That was added on 5H for quieting the dial.

David...any thoughts on this dial? Never been painted. Same color throughout. Magnet does stick. No vermillion. Never seen anything like it....Doug

[Ktownphoneco]

Doug  .....   You may have come across a production prototype 5H dial.    Since you checked it with a magnet, and it was attracted, then it's a ferrous material (contains iron), which means it's probably steal.      The coating however, may be aluminum.    The finger stop resembles one that I have, and it's aluminum.    The normal, or most common finger stops were nickel, but I did find "one" Western 5H with an aluminum finger stop.   They are slightly thicker than nickel.      I've also found nickel plated brass finger stops as well.   
But the dial case finish appears to be aluminum.   The aviation industry came out with a process for protecting steel parts on aircraft from corrosion.     The process was called "Ivadizer", for "Ion Vapor Deposition.    It applies aluminum to a number of different materials, steel included, and it's done in a vacuum container.      That may be the coating on your dial.    If the governor drum isn't attracted to a magnet, it may have been made out of aluminum, or it's the usual brass with a coating a of aluminum and done at the same time as the rest of the dial.
Western did try other materials in the manufacture of dials, like their experimentation with brass dial cases in 1949. 
My theory might be all "wet" here, but I thought I'd throw it out as a possibility based on the color I see on the case.

Jeff

[Doug Rose]

thanks Jeff....I do appreciate the insight....Doug

[shadow67]

Looking at these photos reminded me of the backside of a dial I picked up a few years ago. I have been told it would have been painted from the factory, but to me it appears not to have been. However I am by no means an expert. I found this in a basement junk room at a telephone central office I worked in a few years ago. Thoughts appreciated.

[Doug Rose]

I got my dial back from Steve today. It is now a working #5 as David had said.

The Dial King of Az has no idea so I guess we will never know. It is kinda cool.

All I know is I got in a group of WE dial and dial parts on eBay. I got a lot for a little, so This was an afterthought after I got the others fixed up. I think I will just display it as a completed dial....Doug