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Restoring a G1 handset

Started by EMpire-3, April 24, 2011, 05:17:14 PM

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Jim Stettler

Quote from: GG on May 03, 2011, 08:33:57 AM


When using a highspeed buffer, ALWAYS wear safety goggles, no exceptions.  And always be sure your clothing has no loose ends of any kind and if you have long hair it's tied back safely.  Otherwise one mistake can blind you or kill you.  No exaggeration. 

I use one of those wheels in a thingie that goes in my variable-speed electric drill.  This lets me work at slower speeds that are helpful for getting into the tight spots that might otherwise be missed with a highspeed wheel. 

Slow speeds work as well as fast speeds, they just take longer.  But they are also inherently safer. 

Safety is always a good idea.

"No job is so important and no service is so urgent, that we cannot take time to preform our work safely"
Bell System safety creed
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

EMpire-3

Thought I should post a couple pictures of the completed restoration. I used D/P's method for coiled cord repair and that really brought it back to life. The earpiece and mouthpiece came out nice but I'm pretty sure they're not the same material as the handset. They must have been replaced at some point.

(Click the thumbnails to see a larger image.)








HarrySmith

Looks good, nice job. I have noticed the same thing on my G1's, most have plastic caps on them with later dates than the handset. I have one handset with the original bakelite caps and one that has a single bakelite cap. I guess they must hve been an easy thing to break if you drop the handset!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Dennis Markham

EMpire, what I do to remove the polish from the cap holes is use those thick square tooth picks.  They fit perfectly inside the cap holes.  You can twist them as you move them through each hole.  Then I use a pipe cleaner with some cleaner (409 type cleaner) on it.  I move that through each hole then blow with compressed air.  You might have to repeat the process a few times to get all the gunk out of there.  Jorge Amely once recommended a small drill bit, I don't remember the size that fits through the holes without damaging the plastic.

Your handset looks very nice.  Yes, those caps are plastic as opposed to the earlier Bakelite caps.

~Dennis

Dan/Panther

GG;
Use caution with high speed buffing. It is very easy to burn a plastic shell.
D/P

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

GG



Hi Dan-   Thanks; yeah I've made that mistake more than once when I was a kid and ended up with nasty marks in the plastic (or worse yet, the highspeed wheel grabs a housing and throws it across the room: this cost me a 746 housing once, though I bought new spares & replaced it).  One more reason I use low speeds these days.  Also low speeds more easily deal with things like G-type earpiece caps and the space behind handgrips on 500s: the wheel is soft & flexible and can get into the tight spaces easily at low speeds.   -GG

EMpire-3

Dennis M: Thanks for the tip. I'll give that a try tonight.

HarrySmith: I'd imagine those caps were one of the most frequently replaced parts. They'd get abused every time someone dropped the handset... or whacked their husband over the head. ;D

Jester

EMpire-3,
I think the plastic caps are original to your handset.  Reason being your handset handle is dated 64, & WE started making the black caps in plastic beginning 1958.  The first ones were soft plastic and had no center hole in the receiver/transmitter grill arrangement.  They later switched to ABS plastic & even later--@ 1960-- added the center hole, which would be period correct for the date on your bakelite handle.
Stephen

Ed D

Quote from: GG on May 03, 2011, 08:33:57 AM


When using a highspeed buffer, ALWAYS wear safety goggles, no exceptions.  And always be sure your clothing has no loose ends of any kind and if you have long hair it's tied back safely.  Otherwise one mistake can blind you or kill you.  No exaggeration. 
Amen to that, GG.

My father related the story to me about a woman who worked at the machine shop where he had worked just before WWII.  Dad was headed into the lathe area and saw her lean over to get a closer look at the work being done by a coworker.  Her long hair swung forward and was caught by the moving spindle.  It all happened in a flash, but Dad had the presence of mind to quickly run to, and hit the emergency shutoff switch.  But it was too late to prevent severe injury.  Let's say that it was not a pretty sight, and Dad really did not like to talk about it much.

Ed

EMpire-3

Jester:  Thanks for the info. So, in 1964 Western Electric would've been making handsets with Bakelite handles and ABS caps? That's interesting. Regarding materials, let me see if I've got the chronology straight:

Beginning of Time – 1958:   Bakelite handles with Bakelite caps.
1958 – 1960:   Soft plastic caps with no center holes.
1960 – End of Time:   ABS plastic caps with center holes.

When did they stop making Bakelite handles and start making them from modern plastic?

My earpiece is clearly marked "2-64," has a center hole, and was probably original to the handset, as you say. But I think the mouthpiece was replaced. It has no center hole and it feels like a different material. When you tap on the earpiece with your fingernails, it sounds "clicky." But when you tap on the mouthpiece, it's more of a "clunk." Also, the mouthpiece is a very difficult fit and I need to use a hairdryer to heat it up almost every time I remove it (consequently, I avoid removing it). Unfortunately, the inside of the mouthpiece is pretty scratched up and the date stamp is illegible. It looks like a four character number, and if I squint really hard and look at it cross-eyed, the last two characters might be "58."

Here's a picture I took of the earpiece shortly after I got the phone. It's a little fuzzy, but you can see "2-64," "5G," and "C."