B1 / Handset Cord

[FABphones]

I found a nice B1. I know very little about these phones as prior to getting this I had never even seen one.

I am in the process of tidying it up and what a lovely little phone this is, very nicely designed and put together. A pleasure to work on.

The cloth base is ok for its age and the paintwork is good, although when cleaning it the black just kept coming off, I'm thinking it was a garage phone. The dial (marked 1941) was I thought, a bit too 'clumpy clackity', and when checking it a few pieces of dust blew out so it had a clean up and a touch of oil and now it sounds and moves better.

I've removed the cut cord from the base, but I have a query re the handset cord. As you can see from the photos the cord has frayed and I would have liked to hide this by moving it up inside the handset if possible as the cord looks to be original (still has it's little label on the other end). However, I don't have a tool to do this and looking closely there appears to be a couple of fine hairline fractures near the holes. I think any attempt by me to remove this will result in shattering of the Bakelite. It's a nice seamless handset. It therefore looks like I may have to settle for a cord tidy up instead.

How would you guys do that? Right now I can only think of using a fine dab of glue to prevent the fraying from moving any further down the cord. I could wind the area but I don't think that was done on cords over there? It is an old phone, I can live with the cord but thought it a good idea to check with you guys who are familiar with these.

Thanks for any tips, and any other info about this phone.

Photos of the phone below.

[Doug Rose]

Nice B1 CJ. You would want a 4H or 2HB Dial to have it correct. A 4H and a 5H look just the same from the outside....Doug

[Ktownphoneco]

Fab  ...  What I would normally do with that handset cord situation, is open up the transmitter compartment by removing the spit cup, and aluminum transmitter assembly, which will give you access to the termination and connection points for the handset.    Once you have it open, you will see, or should see, that the cord has a brass strain relief / anchor clamp which is crimped around the cord.     Remove the screw that holds it, and remove the 3 connectors from their respective terminals, (red, white & black).    Removing the cord makes it a whole lot easier to work on.     If your careful, you can use the tip of each jaw on a pair of electrical side cutters to get into the top and bottom of the "saw tooth" seam of that restraint, and force it open enough to remove the cord.     Once the restraint is out of the way, carefully trim back the "frayed cloth threads".     You can use as small amount of glue to keep the cord from fraying again in the future, but if you just re-install the strain relief and re-crimp it back so that it tightly grips the handset cord in the same fashion it did before you removed it, it will stop any further fraying of the cloth cord.      Re-install the cord through the cord opening in the handset, re-install the 3 conductors and strain relief, re-assemble the transmitter assembly and your good to go.
     
This process will create a little more slack on the 3 individual conductors, but with a little patience, you should be able to tuck them back into the transmitter cavity without too much trouble.      Any questions, just ask.

Jeff Lamb 

[HarrySmith]

I use 2 strap wrenches to open them up. There are special tools but they are expensive and they can damage the bakelite. There is a topic on here about different types of strap wrenches.

[Key2871]

Even though it has a slightly later dial, that's a nice set you have, replace the cords, and it will be a beauty.

[Pourme]

~

A B-1 is a rare find in the States let alone in the UK. What a great find for you! It couldn't have found a better home, congrats!

[rdelius]

I hope the receiver is OK . It appears to have gotten wet. Clean the rust off of the pole pieces so the diaphram will move freely

[FABphones]

Thanks guys.

I will make a start on the rust and the cord tomorrow.
Does the spitcup just unscrew, nothing else I need to do to remove it? I have a strap wrench if needed.

[HarrySmith]

There is an in depth topic here about the E1 handset with lots of posts & pictures:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=27.0

I have attached a picture from it showing all the parts in the handset.

[kleenax]

There is an in depth topic here about the E1 handset with lots of posts & pictures:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=27.0

I have attached a picture from it showing all the parts in the handset.

For those of you that might be in need, I have MANY E1 handset parts available, with the exception of the original spit-cups. I DO have my own reproduction spit-cups that work perfectly and look VERY good.

[Pourme]

I will add, E1 handsets can be difficult to disassemble. I have several that I have yet to be able to take apart. I have seen handsets that broke in two during efforts to unscrew the caps.

[FABphones]

I will add, E1 handsets can be difficult to disassemble. I have several that I have yet to be able to take apart. I have seen handsets that broke in two during efforts to unscrew the caps.

Thanks to everyone who has replied to this thread. I have learnt a lot, which will come in useful. Great info and photos via the link to the other thread, and good detailed info above which has helped me understand this handset better.

However, the handset is having the last say. I have dealt with the rust ok, but the spitcup refuses to budge. Applied WD40 and it won't yield. I'm not going to try heat etc now as I think the hairline fractures aren't taking it too well and I am in danger of shattering it, so I am surrendering gracefully whilst I still have a handset that remains intact.

The cord is not ideal but could be worse. It is a shame, but maybe this time better to have an intact handset. It's a seamless bullet E1 and spares over here are none existent.

I will be putting a bit of a shine on it next, and will take some photos to add later.

Thanks again. 

[Doug Rose]

CJ....Not every phone has to work. As long as they display well, that is my top concern.

Shine it up and put it on a shelf, much better than shattering your spit cup.

I would invest in an E1 tool. They can be pricey, I have  a nice repro set and sold my original ( I only had one)  to cover the repro set and a nice dinner...Doug

[HarrySmith]

CJ - That is a nice early example E1, you are making the right choice, it's better to not take a chance in damaging it. As stated earlier, a little glue to keep the threads together is the best idea. Were you able to get either end open? Curious as to the dates. Is there a date on the inside of the bottom of the phone? I would say the handset is probably original. A great find, especially over on that side of the pond! Congrats!

[FABphones]

Thanks again all. I appreciate the encouragement and advice to do or not to do, you guys have a vast amount of experience between you, so thanks for sharing.

Harry, I didn't know to look for a date on the bottom, I will check tomorrow.
I can't quite read the info in the earpiece on the above photo.

Photos below after shining it up. Playing with my little light cube again. Still trying to get the lights in the right place.