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Felt for base of phone.

Started by Dan/Panther, November 06, 2008, 03:36:23 PM

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Dan/Panther

Where might one find quality felt, like found on the bottom of Candlestick phones ?
No supplier sells it that I can find. They sell the entire base, but not just the felt.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

benhutcherson

I bought some at Walmart. I got enough to do two dozen phones for a about $3.

As far as I can tell, the quality is the same as what WE originally put on theirs.

Dan/Panther

Ben;
Does your felt have a backing on it, or just strictly felt ?
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

benhutcherson

What I bought is just plain brown felt-it's the same on both sides, with no adhesive or anything like that.

Dan/Panther

Were you able to get it smooth and tight all around the base ?
If so how did you do it. Glue double stick tape, or nothing ?
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

bingster

The problem I have with using modern felt is that it's synthetic, rather than natural, which causes a few problems.  It's fibers are shiny instead of completely dull, it develops pills, and it gets "hairy" after a while.  Also, the original felt I've seen isn't what people generally think of when they think of felt.  It's actually a heavy woven wool fabric with a felted finish.  If you pull at the edges, or look closely at any moth holes, you should see the weave of the fabric.

If it were me, I'd replace any bad felt with suede.  But that's a personal decision.

As for putting any material on the base, it's held in place by clamping it with the inner ring that fits snugly inside the base.
= DARRIN =



benhutcherson

Hmmm, perhaps none of my candlesticks have the original felt. Like I said, what I bought at Walmart and recovered it with is a dead-on match.

I ended up using a sparing amount of contact cement on mine, but truthfully it wasn't necessary. What I did was cut a piece about the right size. I then wrapped around the base, and, using a utility knife, cut it so that there was a minimal amount of overhang.

After that, I put a bead of contact around the inner rim, pressed the fabric in tight with a screwdriver, and the put the spring ring in place. I then cut small holes through to the screw holes. As I said, though, I think it would have been fine without the contact cement. 

Honestly, I was very proud of how it came out. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

bingster

Quote from: benhutcherson on November 07, 2008, 12:05:20 AM
Hmmm, perhaps none of my candlesticks have the original felt.
If your felt is in good shape, you won't be able to tell.  It'll look like solid felt, with no indication that it's woven, then felted.

Here's a pic of one of mine that's really moth-eaten.  You can see in the grooves that have been carved by the moths, that there's a pattern there--that's the weave of the fabric that's been revealed by eating away the felted surface.
= DARRIN =



JimH

Quote from: benhutcherson on November 07, 2008, 12:05:20 AM
Hmmm, perhaps none of my candlesticks have the original felt. Like I said, what I bought at Walmart and recovered it with is a dead-on match.

I ended up using a sparing amount of contact cement on mine, but truthfully it wasn't necessary. What I did was cut a piece about the right size. I then wrapped around the base, and, using a utility knife, cut it so that there was a minimal amount of overhang.

After that, I put a bead of contact around the inner rim, pressed the fabric in tight with a screwdriver, and the put the spring ring in place. I then cut small holes through to the screw holes. As I said, though, I think it would have been fine without the contact cement. 

Honestly, I was very proud of how it came out. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.
Do you cut the holes after the fabric is put on?  How do you cut the holes so that they look perfectly round?
Jim H.

Shovelhead

Instead of contact cement, how about a 3M product, Spray Trim Adhesive.
It's used in automotive soft trim repair. It doesn't seem to be very "aggressive" to soak through cloth. Just a thought....

McHeath

The Civil War reenacting folks make cloth that might be worth a look.

http://www.wwandcompany.com/csfabric.html

These cloths are all natural fibers, often woven on 19th century or early 20th century looms to give a time period weave, and the colors are dyed with natural dyes as well.  Of course they are expensive, and it would take a textile expert to tell us if they are the same as the original fabrics used on the phone bases, but they might be pretty close.