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AE34 project

Started by finlover, March 28, 2010, 12:59:10 PM

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finlover

I love my AE40 and 50 so much that I just had to have a 34.  Little did I know the unpleasant surprises that awaited me with this one!  Apparently it had been "refurbished" by some company in the '90s with a coiled cord, AE80 dial with a paper decal for a number plate >:(, and the ringer and receiver capsule from a W.E. mini wall phone.  Luckily the correct parts were fairly easy to track down.  I decided that a military number plate with its white numbers on a black field would look pretty slick.  The brass parts were polished and clear coated so they wouldn't tarnish.  The first three photos are the "before" shots from the auction.

To my eye, the 34's brass accents, blockier housing and curvaceous handset makes it such a nice contrast to the 40.  Now if only I could find a matching Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am...

finlover

more pix

finlover

last ones

JorgeAmely

#3
I see you are deviating for plastic phones and moving into bakelite phones. Very nice.

Any chance we can see under the hood pictures (not the car, the phone)?
Jorge

finlover

#4
Mil gracias, Amigo!  I really like the weight and the "grain" of bakelite.  I sure wish I knew what Frank "mcmurdosilver" is using to polish bakelite.  His phones have a gloss I haven't been able to match.  Maybe it's partially the lighting he uses for his amazing photos.  Anyway, the slightly lower luster of bakelite has its appeal too.

Dennis Markham

Beautiful Greg!  That is an awesome phone and great job you did to make it look so nice.

Did you have to paint the bottom?  New decal??  It looks very nice.

I would also like to see inside, Por favor.

finlover

Quote from: Dennis Markham on March 28, 2010, 01:33:07 PM
Beautiful Greg!  That is an awesome phone and great job you did to make it look so nice.

Did you have to paint the bottom?  New decal??  It looks very nice.

I would also like to see inside, Por favor.
Thanks, Dennis!  I did repaint the underside.  Surprisingly it came from the factory painted a flat gray--I expected flat black.  The new decal may or may not be correct for the 34, but it looks nice.

I didn't take any underhood shots because it's not really presentable.  When the first refurbishers replaced the dial mechanism and ringer all the cloth-covered wiring went with it.  I have a spare AE40 that I may steal the wiring from. 

Here are a couple of questions for you guys.  There doesn't appear to have been evidence of cloth behind the vents.  There is absolutely no glue residue.  Do you suppose the early 34s didn't have the cloth?  Also, the bells of the 34 ringer I found are tuned to the same pitch.  Should they be different or is this correct?

Jim Stettler

I would of expected cloth, Since it was "rebuilt" I think the cloth was ommited.

Regarding the gongs,

I think all early phones had different pitches between the gongs. This may of been swapped at rebuild as well.

These are just my opinions. I can't back them with paper.
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

finlover

I got the ringer from Phoneco to replace the mini wall phone single gong ringer that was in there.  I'll call the guy at Phoneco who pulled it for me to see if I can get a replacement gong.

Wallphone

Greg, You did a very nice job on the AE 34 but that seems to be the norm on anything that you touch.
What kind/color paint did you use for the bottom? That looks sharp. My 34 came without a ringer and didn't have the cloth for the vents either. Did you get an original ringer from Phoneco? Another option for this phone would be an "Extensicord". I bought a couple of them from Steve Hilsz about a year ago. He might still have some but they don't come cheap. They are about $60 each.
Dougpav

Doug Rose

Greg.....utterly amazing. I don't think I'd be complaining about the shine on that bakelite. Looks perfect to me. great job....Doug
Kidphone

finlover

Quote from: Wallphone on March 28, 2010, 03:11:34 PM
Greg, You did a very nice job on the AE 34 but that seems to be the norm on anything that you touch.
What kind/color paint did you use for the bottom? That looks sharp. My 34 came without a ringer and didn't have the cloth for the vents either. Did you get an original ringer from Phoneco? Another option for this phone would be an "Extensicord". I bought a couple of them from Steve Hilsz about a year ago. He might still have some but they don't come cheap. They are about $60 each.
Dougpav
Thanks, Dougpav!  I used "Battleship Gray" enamel by Tamiya from my local hobby store, but I imagine you could use any flat gray and it would look fine.  You could even use a dark gray primer followed by a flat clear.
The ringer from Phoneco is original AE and cost me $25, which I thought was reasonable.  It's a heavy sucker with nickel plated gongs.  I bought Steve's last NOS Extensicord for my AE50 a couple months ago, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for one for this phone.

finlover

Quote from: Kidphone on March 28, 2010, 03:55:30 PM
Greg.....utterly amazing. I don't think I'd be complaining about the shine on that bakelite. Looks perfect to me. great job....Doug
Thank you, Doug!  You are the authority on older phones around here so your approval makes me happy ;D.  Jorge pointed out that the brass trim on this phone probably left the factory painted black, but people subsequently stripped it off and polished the brass behind it.  AE ads only mention chrome and gold plated appointments.  Oh well, maybe someday I'll have the parts gilded, but for now it's close enough for government work.

JorgeAmely

Fin:

An extra AE40 ringer I found has gongs tuned to different frequencies.

Jorge

Wallphone

YW Greg. I know that Ray Kotke makes a real nice reproduction Extensicord. Except for the tag, you probably couldn't tell the difference between his and an original. I think that he worked with Odis developing it. You might try him.
Dougpav