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Look what I've just bought (A Kellogg 1000).

Started by Stephen Furley, August 03, 2009, 09:11:55 AM

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Stephen Furley

http://tinyurl.com/lupwkd ( dead link 08-04-21 )

It was sitting at $9.99 last night; even now at double that, and with $33 postage it's still cheap.  I don't know if it works, but it's good enough for display even if it doesn't, and it's another make added to the collection.

foots

Cool, those Red Bar's are good looking phones, I hope to eventually add one to my collection.
"Ain't Worryin' 'Bout Nothin"

HobieSport

#2
I really like the curves in the Kellogg 1000 Redbar design, plus the unique modular inner components where they could "mix and match" different components according to the phone subscribers' needs and situations.

I have one Redbar and I think I also paid about $20 for it. Nice phones!

I posted this Kellogg booklet before, and I know that you've read it, Stephen, but here it is again for anyone who might be interested:

http://www.strombergcarlsontelephone.com/kellogg/PDF/1947_BRCH_1000_XRAY.pdf
-Matt

Dan/Panther

Nice find.
You know what probably made the phone stay low priced, was the fact that its signature feature isn't even shown, or mentioned,  THE RED BAR......???
D/P

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

Stephen Furley

Quote from: Dan/Panther on August 03, 2009, 01:03:43 PM
Nice find.
You know what probably made the phone stay low priced, was the fact that its signature feature isn't even shown, or mentioned,  THE RED BAR......???
D/P

Maybe it's missing!  :(

Seriously, I really can't tell what sort of condition this is in, but at that price it's worth risking it.  Even if it proves to be unusable, it's got to be worth that for the parts.

There are a couple of very cheap Galions on Ebay at the moment, but one's got modern cords which would need to be replaced, and the other, which looks tatty but I'm sure would clean up, and has the original cords, has the wrong handset; :( again.

There are also several SC 1243s at varying prices.

There's also somebody over here who seems to restore American 'phones; he's got a 202 type with the oval base, can't remember the name for it, and a 'Toaster' listed at the moment.  Look nice, and not expensive for what they are, but too expensive for me.

Dennis Markham

Stephen, that looks like a nice "Red Bar".  I don't remember seeing one with the steel finger wheel before but looking at the document Hobie provided it looks like one in the drawing.  Yours has what Kellogg called a "standard" dial plate.  Those are also called "Rural" plates.  They seem to be more rare. Looks like you got a good buy.   

Stephen Furley

#6
The Kellog has arrived; unfortunately, it did not survive the journey.  It wasn't very well packed, 'phone and handset each wrapped in a thin plastic carrier bag, and many more such bags stuffed into the box as packing, but even if it had been, I doubt that it would have survived what happened to it.  Whatever that was has even bent the steel baseplate, as can be seen in the picture.  The damage is much worse than the pink 500 which somebody recently posted pictures of.

The body is in seven main pieces, plus a number of small ones.  The hook switch button had been pushed down further than it was designed to go, and was jammed.  The switch leaves have been bent, and the switch no longer operates correctly.  The capacitor and coil had been pulled partly out of the main board, and the pins bent.  The capacitor housing itself wasn't broken, but the lid of it has been forced upwards. The ringer was bent.  That's about it.  Oddly, the box wasn't too badly damaged.  It looks almost as if it had been deliberately broken open, but the only people who might have done that would be  Customs, and the box didn't seem to have been opened.  Also, Customs normally put a label on any items they open, whether on not they have damaged them; there was no such label.

Other than the missing line cord, and perished handset cord, which I was aware of, it seems to have been in good condition before it was broken.  The dial is spot on for speed, and both sounds and feels right; no wear, scratches etc.  The baseplate can be straightened, I've repaired the switch, and most of the other damage is repairable, but the body may not be.  If it is it will be a very long job.  I'm not even sure if all the parts are there, though some of the missing ones may still be in the packaging somewhere.  I'm going to fix all of the other problems, and then have a go at the body, but I'm really not hopeful.  It's always possible that another body will turn up from somewhere, but I doubt if it will be in as good condition as this one was.

Interestingly, it hasn't got a red bar, it's clear plastic.  Is this a later version or something?  It does seem to be original, it's got the Kellogg name on it.

HobieSport

Ouch! Double Ouch.

That is very sad news indeed, Stephen, and the amount of damage does seem rather mysterious, considering that the box itself wasn't very damaged. I won't speculate about how the damage occurred, but just as you described, it does sound like a poor packaging job to begin with.

Gosh, I really don't know what else to say...it's not a very tactful time to repeat in general that one should always request the best packaging for phones, but I gotta say it anyway.

I'm just so sorry to hear about the poor Kellogg, and it must be awfully hard for you, after all your expense and anticipation.

Sigh.
-Matt

Stephen Furley

#8
I'm not likely to find another unrestored one in such good condition, and certainly not at that price.  I suppose that if I can't repair it then it would be worth having it on display to show the internal construction; very unusual.  My best guess as to what happened would be that something heavy fell onto it, possibly knocking the handset into the body with a sharp blow; that might have been able to bend the baseplate without crushing the box.  It might have stood more chance if it was better packed, but I'm still doubtful; something hit it pretty hard.

I've got another Bakelite 'phone in the post at the moment, and I'm thinking of bidding on another that ends tomorrow.  I've only ever had one other thing broken in the post, a 35W SOX lamp several years ago.  There's a Galion on its way, but I was outbid on a SC 1243 which went for a fair amount mre than I bid.

HobieSport

#9
Wellsir, I'm trying to see a bit of a bright side to the dreaded Kellogg 1000 shipping mishap.

I hope you do at least end up with a bevy of good parts, and if the casing is not worth the repair, but the base can be straightened and the rest can be reassembled without too much bother, I like your idea of maybe setting it up as an open display of the inner functions, if that works. Whatever the case, it doesn't sound like a totally lost cause.

The "clear bar" (rather than the classic Red Bar) also sounds interesting. Since it still has the Kellogg name on the bar (I assume we call it the "plunger") I'm just wondering if it may be an earlier 1000 model before the Red Bar became a feature.  And I'm also unsure about the steel dial; and wondering if it was made that way, or if someone stripped the paint off the dial at some point.

As for the shattered case, I guess if it was me, I'd at least glue it back together, yet not try to hide the cracks/repairs, and just set the case alongside the exposed innards as part of the display.

It would be nice to see a photo of the entire beastie, damages and all.
-Matt

McHeath

Tragic.  Another survivor from the past bites the dust in an inglourious way.  Shipping of phones is a true Mystery, I've had stuff arrive fine that was rattling around in the box all by itself, and other stuff packed well and broken.  My 706 came from Israel in a too small box and was okay, while I bought a 500 from my home state of California that arrived busted and yet was better packed. 

It's weird.

And sad. 

Stephen Furley

#11
Well, the rebuilding of the Kellogg has to start somewhere, so here's the straightened out baseplate.  I've also repaired the hookswitch, but that's at work.new cords should be here soon, the line cord was missing and the rubber in the handset cord is perished, so I've ordered cloth ones with plastic inner insulation, as the nearest thing there is to rubber now; they might also last a bit longer.  Most of the works should be back in place within a few days, I'll post more pictures, plus one of the broken body before I start trying to put it back together again.  I'm not going to rush that, and I'm going to be too busy at work with clearing, exam results and enrolment to do anything for the next month, Plus major changes to the telephone system this week before that even starts.  In late September I'm hoping to get to Yorkshire for a few days; I wanted to go back to New Jersey, but with the pound in the state it's in at the moment I just can't afford it.  It's probably going to be October before I get started on it, and I doubt that it will be finished this year.

Stephen Furley

Some good news on the Kellogg, work on it is proceeding faster than expected, but will have to stop soon.

Ringer, network, capacitor and coil have been re-fitted.  Ringer worked with the generator connected directly to to, but not when connected to the line terminals.  Damage to the capacitor repaired, and ringer now working properly.  the lid of the capacitor housing is almost back where it should be, just slightly high.  I put the whole thing in a carpenter's vice, and slowly pushed the lid back down into the potting compound.  Took about four hours of slightly tightening  the vice every half hour or so,  Remains of old handset cord removed.  modern plastic cords which were previously on my 302 fitted temporarily so I could test the thing, and it works.  Strange handset; strange telephone altogether.  Wiring harness removed from dial, the wires will have to be replaced, the rubber is rotten.  I'm hoping that I will be able able to run new plastic ones inside the original cotton outer sheath since they will be thinner.  New cords should be here in about a week.  Rubber insulation on ringer wires is also rotten; they will have to be replaced.

Break in Bakelite ring on back of dial repaired; thought I'd do the one that didn't show first.  Will probably make up some coloured resin, and join the first two parts of the body tomorrow evening.  The last major part of the body has been found on the packaging, that makes eight pieces in total.  Most shouldn't be too difficult, but one doesn't quite fit, there seems to have been some stress built into the body, and one piece has straightened slightly when it broke off.  There's also one piece which is going to be difficult to repair; I can't see how I'm going to hold it in place while the glue sets, but I'm going to do the easiest join first.  I'd like to get at least one done before work has to stop for a while.

The 'phone is at work at the moment; I'll post some pictures of the progress tomorrow.

The dial card has been replaced by a piece of plain white paper, which looks like it's got damp at some time, though there's no sign of water damage on the dial itself; it's in excellent condition.  I have a reproduction Kellogg dial card which I'd like to fit, but I can't work out how to remove the retaining ring.  At one point around the edge of it there is a tiny hole, too small for a paperclip, a sewing needle might just fit, and next to that a slot just about the right size for a small screwdriver blade.  I thought that inserting such a blade would either enable the ring to be levered off, or release some sort of clip, but no luck.  Any idea how to get this thing off?

The first picture shows the 'phone as it was this morning.  The second shows the eight main pieces that the body was in, there are also several very small ones, and the third the big problem area on the left side; these two sections don't fit each other, the top one had straightened slightly when it broke, so it didn't fit the parts above and below it.  The feathered edge is also very fragile, and is going to be difficult to hide.

Edit, several hours later:

The body is now all back in one piece, though there's still a lot of work to to on it, and work now has to stop for a few weeks.  I'll post a picture tomorrow; I don't want to touch it at the moment.

A bit later and another edit.  The resin has cured enough to handle it with care, so I've taken some more pictures. it doesn't look too bad in the first one, with the handset on.  The next two show the two sides; the joins on the right don't show too badly, except where there are small chips missing.  The left side is not so good, but it isn't actually as bad as it looks in the picture.  Still a lot of work to do, but I think it will be difficult to see the repair when it's finished.

Stephen Furley

This will be the last update on the Kellogg for a while; I've had to stop work on it for now.  Clearing starts tomorrow, so I've got to be in by 8, and in the evening part of the PABX system is being replaced, so I won't be out much before midnight.  After that it's enrolment for about the next month or so, and there won't be any free time until after that's finished.

I've just polished the handset this evening; it's come up quite nicely.  The left side of the body isn't as bad as it looks in the last photograph yesterday; most of that mess is just surplus glue on the surface; it will look much better once that's been cleaned off.

Reading the Kellogg booklet yesterday, I realise that I've ordered the wrong cords.  The old hahdset cord was brown, and the 'phone looks rather brownish, it's certainly dark brown when compared to my AE 40, so I ordered brown ones, but in the booklet it says the originals were black.  I think the brown ones will actually look better, so I'm going to keep with those, at least for now.

All of the joins have been re-enforced with epoxy on the inside.

The hookswitch was still sticking slightly, so I've attended to that.  There's something slightly odd; when the switch button is fully up, it doesn't seem to lift the plunger quite as far as I think it should.  Somebody else seems to have thought the same thing, as they've put a folded-over 'plaster' as we would call it, I'm not sure what your word would be, sticky dressing that you put on your finger when you cut it, on the bottom of the plunger as packing.  Should there be something between the bottom of the plunger and the switch button, a thin piece of cork perhaps?

Anyway, that's it until I can find more time.  Hope the other two 'phones currently in the post are ok.

gpo706

Wow quite a transformation from that pile of bits!

I would have binned the body and looked for a replacemnt junker.
"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"