Since nobody has posted here I thought I would start it out on a positive note. Steve has repaired or cleaned lubed and calibrated a bunch of dials for me and has always done an excellent job. He always states the cost is $6.00 per dial plus parts if needed. He has had to replace parts on a few of my dials and still charged the $6.00. He is also a very nice guy!
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4384.0
Harry:
I can attest to everything you said. I have always had a positive experience with Steve Hilsz on any and all things I have purchased from him.
-Bill
Although I have never dealt with him personally, I have heard nothing but good things about Steve from other phone collectors, including another fabulous restorer of phones, Dave Johnson in CT.
If I ever needed to have a dial fixed, I would send it to Steve without a question.
Steve Also has a bunch of parts. Sometimes some obscure part that you think nobody will have, Steve can come up with. And he has had some nice NOS handsets, ringers and other things from time to time.
No doubt many of us would have had a a much more difficult time with our telephone projects without the kindness and generosity of Steve. He has bailed me out a few times. They don't come any better.
I can't say enough good things about Steve, he is the King of Dials!! But at $6 a dial, he is prices are outrageous! :o ....Doug
Steve is wonderful! I just wish he was in the same town that i'm in! he's really been a great help! John
I used Steve for a dial repair several years ago. Excellent all around.
Quote from: HarrySmith on February 20, 2011, 10:59:02 AM
Since nobody has posted here I thought I would start it out on a positive note. S
I mailed a 4H dial to Steve not long ago, and I swear he turned it around and had it back in the mail the same day. Good work, too! Can't beat that combo!
Bill
My only experience with Steve was VERY POSITIVE. The gentleman spent just under a half hour with me on the phone to correct a problem with my 233G that started after we changed over to Uverse.
He was very helpful even though this was my first call to him and a non revenue situation to boot.
It was several days due to work schedule before I could try out his fix. First one did the trick.
I phoned him the next morning to thank him for his help.
When I need a dial refurbed, I will definitely call him.
dues anyone know if he sells on ebay?? if so, whats his handle?? John
Steve has a sometimes partner that he occasionally works with on ebay but he does not have his own ID. He does take paypal though. The partners ID is celnout.
Quote from: HarrySmith on September 24, 2011, 04:00:57 PM
Steve has a sometimes partner that he occasionally works with on ebay but he does not have his own ID. He does take paypal though. The partners ID is celnout.
Harry...really?? I never knew that and know both of them. I thought Steve just sold from his Salvage website. Live and learn. See you can teach an old doug new tricks!!
Steve told me that himself a few years back when I started dealing with him. I dont know what things they work on together although I would imagine if Steve comes up with a large quantity of something ebay would be the way to move it faster.
I have purchased a few things from Cliff after the auctions end, which saves money ;D
Quote from: Babybearjs on September 24, 2011, 09:48:10 AM
dues anyone know if he sells on ebay?? if so, whats his handle?? John
Steve is on ebaY though he buys more than he sells.
His handle is jydsk
Terry (ebaY Handles list curator)
how interesting... I forgot they were in the same state. steve seems to be in calif. more then AZ... thanks for the update...at least I now know were cliff may be getting some of the stuff he's been selling on ebay... john
Another thumbs up for Steve! I checked with him about some gongs for my ashtray phone. Quick response and he happened to have some!
Steve always does an awesome job with dial repair. Prices are reasonable, and he is fast. He restored a sickly #2 (from a 51al stick) for me a few weeks ago.
I've got to chime in here.... Steve is just fantastic to deal with, period. I probally would have fell flat on my face getting into this hobby (obsession) if it wasn't for Steve. My very first phone was a Kellogg 1000 that I fell in love with on eBay and I had know clue what I was doing. It was Steve that walked me through bringing it back to life, and that was probably 8 years ago. I still to this day I shoot him an email for advise when I come across a phone I haven't dealt with before. It hasn't been until recently did I actually purchase anything from him, and even that went perfect.
Can anyone here post his phone number or email address or whatever means of contacting him? I have a couple of dials for him to work on, that are beyond my skills to repair.
Quote from: GG on December 04, 2011, 12:53:12 AM
Can anyone here post his phone number or email address or whatever means of contacting him? I have a couple of dials for him to work on, that are beyond my skills to repair.
Steve Hilsz
jydsk@tds.net
Here is some info from Steve Hilsz's site at http://www.navysalvage.com/ (http://www.navysalvage.com/):
http://navysalvage.com/dialrepair.html (http://navysalvage.com/dialrepair.html)
Just got my 4H back from Steve. He did an excellent job and I've already wired the dial into my D1 202 and it works great.
Steve was great.
I sent him about 4 or 5 dials to refurbush. His turn around was fast ! One dial was even missing a faceplate and he provided one. You can't beat that kind of service !
his ebay partner is Cliff. I've bought from him several times. he's currently selling a W.E. 212 KTU... want a set price for it... is in new condition... anyone looking for one?? John
I just had Steve do some work to two of my WE 202s and as usual, great work, unbelievable turnaround time and great communication.
Please do not hesitate contacting him for work.
BDL
i plan on using steve for one of my own dial repairs, just can t afford to right now. but still at $6.00 a dial you CAN NOT beat that deal.
Steve are doing a great job, and he has the most unexpected parts in stock. An as mentioned before in this thread, not exactly expensive. :D
Still, I like to do it my selves :) If nothing else works, I have to send it away, (and it may cost some more to fix my mistakes) :P but I learn a lot.
dsk
Does anybody know how I can contact him?
navysalvage.com
Thanks to Steve I got my f1 handset and he threw in a cord for me great price and fast shippping
Steve just repaired three dials for me. Super fast turnaround time!
Steve is awesome! I had a dial repaired ,as well as, a straight handset cord made from an old rubber line cord for my AE80. Can't beat his prices/service.
I sent him a #2 w/celluloid face. Came back in beautiful shape. He polished the fingerstop and the thing spun nice and fast.
Use the 151AL it is on at work every day.
Smooooooth........
Just got a couple of dials back from Steve, and they're in great shape now.
I also got an extensicord from him a few weeks back when he must have been on vacation. Not only did he reply to my emails, even though his website stated he was away, he got his wife to mail it to me.
A great guy to deal with.
I haven't been actively restoring phones for a while, but it looks like Steve Hilsz's VTS Industrial website has been taken over by a blogger. Is Steve still in business? With his web site now usurped I fear the worst.
I was in contact with Steve less than a month ago, and he was still doing his thing.
I've mailed him to find out what's happening.
I'll let you know what the response is.
ETA: His navysalvage.com site was active less than a month ago. This Frank J Miller announcement is from Feb 19th 2015. Seems not to compute.
I spoke with Steve this week and he told me he would be in touch when he was back.
Ms. Prewitt....welcome back to the Forum. You have been missed....Doug
Frank J Miller seems to be a new registrant sharing an IP address with Steve.
Someone might have made a boo boo whilst setting up Frank J Miller's account.
If that is the case, it is another strike against shared IP addresses.
Jack
Looks like you're correct, Jack.
I received this reply from Steve.
QuoteJonathan
I have been in contact with the person who manages the ISP for Navysalvage and Phonesurplus, and he admitted that he just put up that strange website but doesn't yet know why my sites are redirected to it.
Meantime, I seem to be a nonentity in the digital world.
Steve
Hopefully normal service for his website will resume shortly.
Steve's site seems to be working right now.
Jim S.
Thank you for all the replies and Steve's website is back up. Weird thing was that a Bing search would list his ship salvage and phone sites but both directed to the Miller blog. Glad it's resolved but mostly that Steve is quite well.
Does anyone know if Steve is still repairing dials? I have a few to be serviced. If not, then who is doing it now?
As far as I know. I just had 5 dials done a few months ago. You can email him at jydsk@tds.net
Same a s Harry, I got six dial back in January. They don't come any better than Steve....Doug
thanks. I'll contact him. I have a #5 and a #6 that need to be serviced. amazing how things in storage fail.... I took out the phones to use and the 5 line wouldn't dial out... fiddled with the F/W and the receiver cut out.... time to get serviced!
FYI: Steve is now offering replacement "round" feet for 500 sets.
Quoted below:
I now have new replacement feet (brown rubber) for most Western Electric style desk telephones that use the round feet.
They are 30 cents each, or 100 for $25.00 plus postage.
Steve Hilsz
jydsk@tds.net
Jim S.
Dear Jim S.:
I agree with you, that's a good deal on round rubber 500 type feet.
I get mine through scrapping out old 500 style bases where everything else is "junk" but the feet.
ITT rubber feet prior to about 2000 are also good for reuse; I use them on old AE 80D's that have round feet that wear out; I slit the inner part that goes over the stud or rivet and work it into place til it fits.
unless you really looked at one I replaced feet on this way, you'd think they were original.
Also, the feet I use are thick rubber that extends over the stud face where the foot is so I don't have "scratch" issues from the stud making contact on a surface.
Rototech99
Quote from: Jim S. on February 25, 2017, 08:15:59 AM
FYI: Steve is now offering replacement "round" feet for 500 sets.
Quoted below:
I now have new replacement feet (brown rubber) for most Western Electric style desk telephones that use the round feet.
They are 30 cents each, or 100 for $25.00 plus postage.
Steve Hilsz
jydsk@tds.net
Jim S.
i picked up 100 of them. I am going to get some poly bags to seal them up in. I probably have a lifetime supply!
I sent Steve my dial from my SC 1243-WA to him Tuesday and it's going to back to me on Monday. The dial base assembly was damaged, so he replaced that and sent it out Friday. He's very pleasant to deal with and only charged $6.00. I definitely agree with everyone who has recommended him!
They don't come any better than Steve.....super guy and a true friend to the collector....Doug
Another happy customer here.
I've a '49 302 that just wasn't reliable at dialling out, so I'd been using it as mostly an answer-only 'phone. So I took the '59 6A dial out of it and sent it to Mr. Hilsz. While I had the dial out, I figured I would replace the old, dried-out gasket as well, so I ordered one from OldPhoneWorks's eBay store for $3.95 and free shipping. Mr. Hilsz received the dial Monday and it was already in the post back to me on Tuesday. I received it back to-day, and it is eminently smoother. I've tested it by using it to navigate my voicemail menu (via an XLink BTTN), calling the two Mississippi time-temperature numbers I know, and calling a family member, and so far it's been one hundred per cent reliable.
Excellent work and the price can't be beat: $6.00 plus $5.40 for return postage to Mississippi.
I sent Steve an email on Wednesday telling him what I was looking for to complete my SC 1178 Project. Steve answered and said he would check his warehouse on Thursday.
Before I heard from Steve I get a Click & Ship from the USPS. Steve found the items I needed and just sent them out, sent me a bill the next day.
Steve is truly the Collectors Friend. These parts were as inexpensive as his dial repairs.
Email Steve jydsk@tds.net if you need something, he never ceases to amaze me.....Doug
Steve is definitely the best! I just sent him a 351F3 TT keypad from a White '69 2500 I just picked up and a 6A Dial from my 302 E/G, and they're just about ready to come back. He's definitely help keep many, many, many phones alive.
Contacted Steve about my Mercedes dial that was missing its ratchet pawl and he promptly replied.
I sent it out to him and in a matter of a few days I had it back in perfect working condition.
Very pleased with Steve's work and professionalism. He's the man to send them to.
I've sent several dials to Steve recently, including two 103A "pin dials". I've been extremely happy with the results, as well as his turnaround time. He's good people, and knows his stuff.
Is Steve Hilsz still doing dial and phone repairs?
Yep. He just recently cleaned and adjusted a WE 7C dial for me.