Tell me your secrets, NE-2236QC

[poplar1]

topic 8640, reply #37 (kleenax):

For NE and WE vault locks:
1\4" x 28 screws, 3\8" long

Upper housing locks, AE, NE, WE:
#6-40 x 1\4" long

AE 10-L locks for AE vault doors:
#8-40 x 1\4" or # 8-40 x 3\8"

[Payphone installer]

I have Northern Electric lower locks. I have the correct screws which are slotted screws not hex screws. They also come with star washers if I can find them. If you decide to put a box in the phone first go in and make sure all the lower screws holding on the bottom of the phone are in from the outside only not the inside out. If you loose the lock key to the lower housing then you just take it off the backboard and pull the box out. However the box will not pull out with a lid on it from the back. I recommend no lid. But if you must put the lid on you can at least access the phone from the back. Never put screws in the bottom when you mount the phone on anything,because if you lose the vault key you are screwed. Only the 3 screws in the top. I have real 3 slot boxes for 35.00 with a lid. Older lid. The lid in order to operate once pulled out is locked. To unlock it turn the spring loaded slot underneath the lid in the middle you will feel it cock. It then goes in the phone and locks again when you pull it out. 

[Fushigi Ojisan]

Okay picture time!   Bummer I can't put these inline


#1   Here is the package, vault door lockset and an extra B21 for the upper unit

#2   The new lock allows the upper to be set back properly; you can see its been without a key for a looooong time

#3   The good news is that I had some screws that fit left over from a big-screen TV wall mount kit.  The bad news is that the threads were wrong.  Still, it went for a test fit.

#4   Better shot of the vault, it looks like it still has the upper rails for a coin box.

[Fushigi Ojisan]

So my quest today was to find the correct screws.   The Home Depot clerk tried U.S., then Metric, then gave up.   

Gotta give props to Clark's [Ace] Hardware of Ellicott City MD  http://www.clarkshardware.com/
Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks.  The young man assigned to the hardware figured out that it had a different thread pitch, and fond bolts that fit, even if a bit long (3/4").  His solution was to add nylon bushings to make up for the space.  So I had a solution for under a couple of bucks out the door.   Got home, snugged them up, and tried the door.   Its pretty solid

More pics

#1  The bolt-and-bushing solution

#2  The vault door is now an assembly!

#3  Close-up of locks and keys

#4  The bolt heads + bushings are flush with the lock, hopefully that means it won't interfere with a coin box

#5  The key works fine

[Key2871]

Yea, home depot is not really the place to look for something's.
The screws are 3/8" long, looks like you had to get 1/2". Thus the spacers needed to take up the length.
But glad you found the right thread pitch that's the hardest part.

[RotarDad]

Even if you had located the correct length of that bolt (or cut the extra length off those), you may have found that the heads interfere with the side of the lock as you tightened them.  Although they are not period-correct to your phone, the cap screws I pointed out will clear the side of the lock with no issue.  As long as you don't have coin box interference, your solution certainly holds the lock fine as well.

[Key2871]

Correct, on mine they were about 3/8" long.

[Fushigi Ojisan]

Correct, on mine they were about 3/8" long.

Mine are 3/4", or 6/8" long.  The nylon bushings are either quarter-inch or 3/8" so that works just fine.

[Fushigi Ojisan]

Just got my Surf City Garage "Killer Chrome" polish in from Amazon.


 

Will post before-and-after pics.

[Nick in Manitou]

This reply is a bit off-topic, but my head spun a bit when you mentioned Clark's Hardware in Ellicott City, MD.

I lived in Ellicott City, off Rodgers Avenue two different times (in the '70s and '80s) and have an old yardstick (probably an antique) that we have had around forever that came from that hardware store!

After moving exactly 20(!) times since last living in Ellicott City, we still have (and use) that yardstick here in Tucson.

Now, back to telephones...

Nick

[Fushigi Ojisan]

Looping it back, I moved to Arbutus to attend UMBC in 1991 and never left.

I recall going to historic Ellicott City in the early-mid 1990s when Caplans still had a kick-ass antiques store.  In fact there were a lot of little antiques and artsty shops, it was just a fun place to hang out but wasn't yet the cool/hip place to hang out it became before the floods.

Anyway, on Main, on the right-hand side coming from Rogers, was a little shop that sold vintage telephones.   On the wall was a gorgeous chrome three-slot payphone.   Thats when I decided I totally wanted one.  IIRC, the price was $300 (roughly $500 today)

Sometime after, I picked up a "Frankenphone" from the Chicago Old Telephone Company (I have a thread about it in the Automatic Electric forums) but chrome was still a bit too expensive.

It was not until the Lancaster show that I managed to land TWO Chromed paystations for less than a regular one would've cost (well, maybe not after I get the shipping bill on the WE)

Google told me that Surf City Garage Killer Chrome is one of the better brands out there.  So going to try it this weekend.

[rdelius]

Original wiring harnesses and ind coils/networks are on eBay and might cure your frankinphone.You have all the important parts such as keys locks and coin chutes that were not  on some Phoney set .All your other parts except ringer are AE.If you post a photo show showing the back of your set, I can tell you what series your paystatin is                                                   

[Fushigi Ojisan]

Check out the thread here for my AE Frankenphone

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=20661.15

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Okay, got done polishing.

The instructions called for shaking the bottle vigorously for a full minute, and then spreading it around with a towel and buffing it off.   It comes out as a pink liquid and doesn't smell too bad.  I would get some on a towel, rub it in, then rub it off with another.  I was getting a lot of dirt off going by how the towels got discolored with the buffing.   

The good:  It wipes on and off easily and works reasonably well as a cleaner
The bad:  Its not aggressive like a polish, so it leaves scratches and pitting
The ugly:  It really dirties/stains up the towels

I found it worked on the stainless steel as well as the chrome.  As an experiment, I cleaned some copper pipe with it, it worked, but it turned the polish on the towel into a green sticky goo.

Here are the Before and After pics, with more to follow

[Fushigi Ojisan]

More pics

Pic 1.  I removed the bezel to better clean the front of the machine.  I noticed the plastic was scratched-up, hazy, and had crud under the frame.  I cleaned it all up with Zaino Z-14 Plastic Magic which really brought it back.   The plan now is to print out the correct NE dialing card at work and fit it in before putting the frame back on

Pic 2.  The chrome hook cleaned up splendidly, as did the shielded cable.  Given the amount of dirt that came off the latter, I'm guessing its stainless steel.

Pic 3.  Pitting on the front.  Again, I think this was stainless or even brushed aluminum, definitely not chrome.  It cleaned up reasonably well.

Pic 4.  The top of the unit with the mix of chrome base, stainless coin receptor, and some kind of alloy front.   I used an old toothbrush to get the polish in and really clean out the hard-to-reach places.   

Pic 5.  The other side of the unit.  The base did not clean up as well as the rest of the unit, not sure if its that the plating didn't take as well, or if it was polished stainless to begin with.

I would recommend Surf City Garage Killer Chrome with the caveat to be careful since that stuff goes everywhere.

[Fushigi Ojisan]

The good news is I have completed the last of my cosmetic restoration

The bad news is that I have an issue with the receiver cradle.

First the restoration:

(not pictured):  I used Zaino Z-14 "Plastic Magic" on the receiver.  Like the Killer Chrome polish, it removed the oxidation and brought back the shine, but it did not remove scratches.   I was able to unscrew the caps and found the internals to be far more substantial than my AE.  Everything cleaned up nice.

Photo #1:  Along with the cleaned-up bezel and plastic, I printed out a correct Northern Electric dialing instruction card from here on a color laser printer.  I kept the original cardboard backing

Photo #2:  Was much easier to mount it horizontally

Photo #3:  The finished product.   I did not update the number, that can be left to the future owner.

----------

So now here is the problem, when I put the upper case on, even without locking, the cradle won't lift without help.  It feels like its binding on something.   With the upper off, the cradle pivots just fine.

Photo #1   The cradle assembly inside the housing, so far so good

Photo #2   The corresponding area in the upper housing, what is it hitting?

Photo #3   Thought this was just an odd sensor near the bottom, not sure what it is

In the spirit of "plug-and-play" I want to nail down this problem.   It feels like its rubbing/hitting something, Wondering if something was knocked loose.

Need some help here!