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E1 HANDSET SERVICE TIPS

Started by bingster, September 09, 2008, 04:42:57 PM

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Bill

#75
Update:

As reported above, I have had four E1 handsets on my workbench. Two came apart nicely, but I broke two of the caps on the others, trying to get them apart. And wouldn't you know it, the ones I broke were the early unseamed caps. I've used two strap wrenches, a vise, a pipe wrench, numerous chemicals and lubricating solutions, ice, ice water, my oven, a hair dryer, a heat gun, plus baking, chilling, rappin' and tappin', a burly neighbor, and a full-blown exorcism by a Belgian priest. Two of them still wouldn't come apart. This can't continue. So with the somewhat skeptical blessing of my good wife, I ordered the two-piece pin wrench set from OPW. It took a month for it to arrive, and two minutes to prove that - THEY WORK better than anything so far! No more broken E-1's for me! Hallelujah!

So now I am left with two broken caps. Not smashed to bits, but a chunk broken out of each by an over-zealous strap wrench. Has anyone had success  using some kind of epoxy (I imagine) to rebuild the missing piece? Or am I dreaming?

Bill

cihensley@aol.com

That chip can be fixed with JB Weld.

Chuck

Bill

#77
Aha! Seems to me you did some work like that on a broken something. I'll dig up your thread and see what I can do. Since I don't have the broken-out chip, I will be rebuilding the missing piece from the ground up. That will be exciting!

Edit:  Found it! My search on "epoxy" didn't bring up anything I recognized, but "weld" did it. Thanks, Chuck.

Bill

HarrySmith

Since today was a holiday I, of course, spent part of the day working on a phone. I disassembled and cleaned a customers E1 handset. First of all if you are going to disassemble one of these you need to get strap wrenches! I have fought with some in the past and even given up on a few, only cleaning from the outside. I recently purchased 2 from an ATCA member who was offering them cheap because I could not get the mouthpiece loose on this one. With the strap wrenches it was loose in seconds! The member who offered them sold out quickly but I did a quick search on Google and found they are still offered by the manufacturer, Sloan, here:http://www.sloanplumbingparts.com/sloan-ebv-22-strap-wrench
This handset came from the customer with an extra mouthpiece since the original was chipped and when I got them both apart I noticed something I had not caught before. Both have F1 elements dated less than a year apart but they are made totally different. Frome the front they look identical but the back is made completely differently, see pics below. The 1940 one is smooth and the 1941 has cast ribbibg. I am assuming this was done to save weight as the 1940 element weighs 2.2 ounces and the 1941 element weighs 1.8 ounces.
A few notes on cleaning to follow in another post.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

HarrySmith

In continuation: I spent several hours cleaning this handset. After the usual wash in warm water and dish soap I did the also usual wipe down with an alcohol wipe. I could not belive the amount of crud that came out of the grooves and the tool pin holes! I spent hours and used a bunch of wipes, first with a toothpick followed by a small pocket screwdriver scraping the grooves and holes until the alcohol wipe remained clean. My wife says it is OCD. Has anyone else here spent time cleaning the grooves and pin holes of a handset? Am I crazy?
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

paul-f

Yes.   And Yes.   ;D   (Aren't we all?)   ;)
Visit: paul-f.com         WE  500  Design_Line

.

rp2813

I visited a parts site recently but can't remember which one, and as I recall they provided the option of choosing an earlier type smooth-backed F1 capsule or the later cast ribbing type.  Your 1940 is the latest dated smooth-backed type that I've seen.
Ralph

ESalter

I know exactly what you mean Harry.  I remember in-particular an early G1 handset I was cleaning that had the grooves so caked with gunk they were almost completely filled in to the level of being flush with the rest of the handset!  It takes a lot of patience to get them cleaned out to look good while not scraping up the handset.  I use acid brushes with the bristles cut off short, those work very well for a lot of different things.  ---Eric

Stephen Furley

#83
I've got one of each type, the smooth type in my 302 (1938), and the ribbed type in the WE handset (date unknown) which used to be on my SC1242 until I got the correct type.  I can't remember which type were in the two Leichs.

I recently ordered one of the new unused ones from Oldphoneworks, and got something quite different again.  Note the two small projections on top.  The sealed packaging was quite an art; it seemed a shame to open it, but now it is open at least the inside can be seen.  There seem to be several different versions of the T- 1 as well

Edit:

I've just looked, and the Leich 90 (1951) and 615 (1952) both have the ribbed type.  The dates are from the elements, but in both cases the receiver and transmitter match.  Do these dates sound reasonable for the telephones as well, or have the elements been replaced during refurb at some type?  I believe that Leich made their own transmitter at one time.

Interestingly, the HA-1 receivers are different; one connects via spring contacts, while the other has spring terminals.

HarrySmith

OK guys, fess up!
How many of you read this and went right to your collection to check the grooves on your phones? ;D
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

Greg G.

Quote from: HarrySmith on September 08, 2011, 09:14:33 PM
OK guys, fess up!
How many of you read this and went right to your collection to check the grooves on your phones? ;D

Well, I at least looked over to my left at the 3 seamed E1s sitting here.  The grooves used to be invisible, now they look dirty.   ;D
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Bill

An associated question. I have 2 or 3 seamed (grooved) E1 spitcups, and 2 without seams. In all cases, the seamed ones have the tool holes, while the unseamed ones do not. And the aluminum pieces that are threaded into them follow the same pattern. Was this a luck-of-the-draw thing, or was there a design change at some point that added the tool holes at the same time it added the grooves?

In order to get one of the spitcups apart, I was planning on drilling tool holes since nothing else worked including strap wrenches. But if this is an authenticity thing, I may have to rethink.

Bill

GG



I wouldn't drill tool holes; a) you might not get them quite right and then they look nasty, b) they might not be sufficient to enable you to unscrew the handset and thereby lead to breaking something, and c) some of the folks here who are strong advocates for not damaging original equipment will think you're a barbarian who should be avoided.

Instead try this.  It sounds a little scary but it worked for me with a stuck F1 handset:

Get a hairdryer.  Turn it on to the 1000 watt or 1,200 - 1,500 watt setting and blow the hot air all around the outside of the stuck part.  Do this until it begins to get warm and then try unscrewing it by hand or with the strap tool.   If still no-go, keep up with the heat, EVENLY applied around the entire outer circumference of the part, until it gets hot but not too hot to touch.   Try unscrewing by hand or strap tool again. 

After that, if it still doesn't come off, keep up the heat application but NOT to make the parts get hotter, only to keep them the same "not too hot to touch" level of heat, but with that level of heat applied for a longer TIME so the parts have a chance to stay at that level of heat for a longer time.   Keep trying every minute or two, to unscrew by hand or using a strap tool.

Another thing to try during the heating process is to occasionally stop heating the parts, and take a screwdriver with rubberized cover on the handle, or some similar tool or a small piece of wood, and GENTLY tap on the stuck part, all around its circumference.  This can break the bond of dirt or film that got into the screw threads.   Gentle repeated tap-tap-taps are better than stiff knocks, because you don't want to shatter the bakelite. 

I was skeptical of the heat method at first, but it worked.  However, use it on bakelite and on metal parts only.   Do NOT use it on "soft plastic" components or on the later thermoplastic components, because it can cause them to warp and that is non-recoverable damage.   Also do NOT put phone stuff in the oven to heat it, because that is not something you can control very well and you could end up with burned or melted components.   And do NOT use one of those "paint removal guns" that looks like a souped-up chrome hairdryer, as those put out much too much heat for this purpose. 

Bill

I just disassembled another E-1 handset today. This one was really tough, but eventually yielded to the pin wrenches, one of which was held in my bench vise. When I got it apart, I saw why it was tough. The threads on the aluminum insert had been partially coated with what looks like blue Loctite! Why?? Who?? Dunno. Anyway, I got it done.

Bill

GG



Bill- Possibly it was used on a payphone, and the blue glue was a means of preventing mean people from tampering with it?