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A.E. 1A Monophone

Started by BDM, April 10, 2009, 04:58:52 PM

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BDM

Quote from: wds on May 11, 2011, 06:54:08 PM
Updated picture with a new gasket, the correct ring, and an old number card.  I think I like the looks of this phone better than my B1/E1

I agree, love mine. They're elegant looking, while I find the look of W.E. variants more utilitarian. Nice ;) I need to get busy and order a gasket ring from Gary.
--Brian--

St Clair Shores, MI

ntophones

Hello,
Just bought an AE 1A. It is all black like yours was. I was wondering how you removed the paint from the brass, and how you shined it so well?
Thanks
ntophones
--nto

wds

Paint stripper to take the paint off the fingerwheel and bands.  Then I put them on the buffer wheel to make them shine like gold.  The bakelite I just polished up with rubbing compound.  And lots of elbow grease. 
Dave

ntophones

#33
Thanks, but, what particular brands of those things do you use? Your phone looks so wonderful.
Also, your phone has the bakelite cradle? Wow, I just realized those were not metal.....I was planning on using the phone, but, if it comes in one piece, I may have to rethink using it. Right now, I'm using a WE D-1 model that I thought I'd like to change out with this model, since I really like AE phones.

Also, if you don't mind, where did you pick up your brass finger stop for your dial?
--nto

wds

I agree - my least favorite of that style phone is the D1, I really like the B1/E1, and of course this A1.  The D1 seems like it sits too low.  As far as the rubbing compound, I just use the Turtle wax Polishing Compound - green can with the white paste.  It does a real nice job - there are posts here about how to use the rubbing compound, but I rub until my white rag turns from black, to brown, and then to yellow.  Then you know the bakelite is coming clean.  Remember, there's 75 years of dirt on those old phones, so you usually have to rub out the same spot several times before moving on to the next spot.  

There are also posts about the paint stripper - I just use what's on sale that week.  It won't hurt the bakelite, but it will melt any plastic it comes in contact with.  I use the paint stripper or Goof Off to remove any paint or hard to remove stuff from the bakelite before I start with the polishing compound.  

Be sure you post a before and after picture!
Dave

wds

I forgot your last question - I picked up the brass center ring off of Ebay.  I contacted one of the Ebay sellers, and they had a couple they sold me for a pretty good price.  There's usually some on Ebay almost all the time. 
Dave

GG



Re. metal handset cradles:

Per AE catalog 4055-C, page 13, under "condensed specifications and catalog listing," we find:

"Metal base and cradle: If desired, desk stand [AE 1A Monophone was also called a "desk stand"] can e furnished with black-japanned brass base, and aluminum alloy cradle, instead of molded plastic."

This would indicate that both types were available at the same time, and the operating company could choose which to order.   (That is, there's no implication that either type was discontinued and there were some left in stock to use up.)

wds

#37
Does that mean that my "bakelite" A1 is not bakelite, but rather plastic?  If so, then I guess you should be careful about using paint stripper on the base or cradle.  

And I misunderstood that last question - again.  The fingerstop is nickel.  However, if you put that fingerstop on a power buffing wheel, you can polish off the nickel, and expose the brass. 
Dave

Wallphone

It looks like it will be up to you to determine if it is Bakelite or plastic. In Bulletin No. 1015 - Central Battery Telephones and Telephone Parts (page 10) it says that the case is made of Bakelite. And as GG posted in Catalog 4055D it says that it is plastic.
Doug Pav

AE_Collector

I guess that technically the colored ones are plastic and the black/walnut/mahogany ones are bakelite. However Bakelite was considered to be "the first plastic" to the best of my knowledge. While it is very different than what we know as plastic it does have resin in it like plastic does so it can be considered a plastic.....I guess...

Terry

GG

#40

Black ones:  AE 1A Monophone cradles were definitely bakelite, as were AE 40 Monophones, as were the handsets for both types.  

Other colors, I don't know for sure:  The 1A seemed to use a hard plastic, possibly bakelite with a light-colored filler material for the lighter ones, but don't count on it.  The 40s were definitely not bakelite, because you see examples of these that have shrunk and warped, which does not happen with bakelite.

The term "plastic" was used for bakelite back in the day.  "Plastic" was originally an adjective meaning "capable of being molded into any desired shape."  You also see the word used to describe concrete from an architectural standpoint: it can be molded on-site into any desired shape in a building, which some architects in the late 19th - early 20th centuries considered "cheating" compared to using e.g. brick or cut stone.  

IMHO I don't recommend using cleaning chemicals that react with any types of plastic.  Lukewarm water with soap or dish washing liquid, and a dedicated medium or soft toothbrush, will take care of almost any grime accumulation.  If the grime is heavy, dip the toothbrush in the water and then in the dish liquid, to get a "concentrated dose", and scrub patiently but gently.  This treatment may result in a shiny surface coming out dull-ish, but that degree of dull can be shined up with gentle buffing using white buffing compound.  

Shortly I'll find out if this is sufficient for 90-year-old grime, on an AE step-based desk stand whose receiver is pretty well covered with a heavy deposit of grime that's so thick it even has a texture.  I'm going to be taking & posting pictures of the entire refurb process on that one, because it basically works like new even now, and only needs a decent cleaning, and I want to document the project.  

AE_Collector

Quote from: GG on September 29, 2011, 12:47:11 AM
The 40/41/43 were definitely not bakelite, because you see examples of these that have shrunk and warped, which does not happen with bakelite.

AE 41 & 43?

41 is a handset but if it is a telephone set maybe it is the 40 with just the little button up top like the AE 47 has?

43 is the pot metal space saver wall phone that is painted black (only color available) that preceeded the 83 (same phone but available in all the AE colors equipped with 81/810 handset) that preceeded the 183 plastic cased spacesaver with swivel mounted dial and cradle that is adjustable 180 degrees.

Terry

GG



I'll confess to getting the AE 4x codes wrong:  I've heard 40-series phones referred to as 41 and 43, and the numbers on the baseplates of the ones I have around here haven't often helped.   So I just went back and edited my comment to remove the questionable ones.

Now speaking of odd AE numbers, here I have one with:
H 870661-3  dated 8-57-8.

And another with
L 4111ESL on one side of the screws holding the ringer to the base, and 
KN-3 on the other side of those screws in the same font.  However this one has no date on the baseplate that I could see.   

Those are both 2-line versions of the type 40 Monophone.  They have the expected sets of line & hold buttons below and to the left & right of the dial: H and A1 to the left, and A2 and H to the right.   Both have the push/pull type button in front of the cradle, pull for extension exclusion or optional intercom line, push for signaling a buzzer.   

However:  H87215-CSLA is what's on the bottom of the three-line version of the type 80, in turquoise (of which I have two; I should post pictures in the turquoise topic).  One of them is dated 9-59-12 and the other 3-60-6.   

I'm used to thinking of an AE type 87 as the latter: the 3-line set.  Yet there's that number 87 in the code on one of the 2-line sets, while the other begins with 41!

What'up with all that? 


AE_Collector

#43
Quote from GG:
I'll confess to getting the AE 4x codes wrong:  I've heard 40-series phones referred to as 41 and 43, and the numbers on the baseplates of the ones I have around here haven't often helped.   So I just went back and edited my comment to remove the questionable ones.

No problem GG. Now that you mention it AE 40's DO have 40xx and 41xx codes on the base. Of course no one has ben able to decipher much of the coding on these phones.

Now speaking of odd AE numbers, here I have one with:
H 870661-3  dated 8-57-8.

And another with
L 4111ESL on one side of the screws holding the ringer to the base, and  
KN-3 on the other side of those screws in the same font.  However this one has no date on the baseplate that I could see.    

Those are both 2-line versions of the type 40 Monophone.  They have the expected sets of line & hold buttons below and to the left & right of the dial: H and A1 to the left, and A2 and H to the right.   Both have the push/pull type button in front of the cradle, pull for extension exclusion or optional intercom line, push for signaling a buzzer.

That is odd having the 87 code on a 47. Of course 47 is the predecesor of the 87 and then came the 187 still later. Strange that they would code a 47 as 87. I wonder if there was some overlap in construction of both sets. There likely was and I wonder if the coding of a 47 with 87xxx code have literally been an error.

Pretty much all 40 & 47 sets have the two seperate sets of codes on them and rarely a date on them or any AE's until the 80/90 era when most began getting a date code. All 47 sets have the little "multi function" button up top and occasionally I have seen this same button on AE 40's which I wondered if it might actually be considered an AE 41 or not.  


However:  H87215-CSLA is what's on the bottom of the three-line version of the type 80, in turquoise (of which I have two; I should post pictures in the turquoise topic).  One of them is dated 9-59-12 and the other 3-60-6.  

I'm used to thinking of an AE type 87 as the latter: the 3-line set.  Yet there's that number 87 in the code on one of the 2-line sets, while the other begins with 41!

What'up with all that?  

AE 87's are as you describe....3 lines and 3 holds and available in all or most colors. Not sure what the 87 coding on the 47 is about.

Terry

dencins

If anyone is looking for a nickel finish on the A1 parts, I can plate the A1 parts like the AE34 in this posting.  Same prices.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=5093.msg63400#msg63400

Dennis Hallworth