Western Electric Model 591

[Dennis Markham]

I recently picked up an Ivory soft plastic Model 591 off eBay.  It was a relatively low priced phone so I couldn't let it pass.

Here is the eBay link:    http://tinyurl.com/koklea

The A/B 591 was manufactured by Western Electric and sold to the Independent phone companies.  They were shipped without a ringer and those were added later by the purchasing Telco.  This one, like most of them has a frequency ringer.  I will have to put a C4A inside if I want it to ring.  The markings on the plastic do not contain the words Bell System.  This one is still in the dirty stage, or as some people say it is in "as removed from service condition."  There doesn't appear to have any yellowing.  I'll know more when I get the 5 pounds of dirt off of it.   I like the dial card.  The seller was from Colombus, North Carolina.  I believe this phone was used in area of North Carolina known as Thermal Belt.  Jsowers may be able to add more about that area of the Country.

The dates are from October of 1958 therefore the footpads are Neoprene and not leather.  A nice soft plastic phone for a reasonable price.

Paul Fassbender show an A/B 591 on his site here:
http://www.paul-f.com/we591.htm

[bwanna]

nice phone, dennis. did not know about the 591. i have certainly learned quite a bit since joining this forum. thx to all for sharing their knowledge.

ps that is pretty close to a birthday phone for someone

[Dan]

Great buy Dennis, especially since Ivory ones don't come up too often.

[jsowers]

Thermal Belt is on the border between NC and SC, according to Google Maps. It's near Asheville and the mountains of NC. This phone has an 803 area code, so I guess it's from SC, near the NC border. That's a very unusual card and I had never heard of Thermal Belt until I saw this card. It sounds more like a weight reduction device "as seen on TV." 

And if anyone cares to know, that's my soft plastic ivory 593 wall phone pictured on Paul's site, and my pictures of the logo shots and the phone leaning against my living room windowsill. The 593 was the wall equivalent of the 591. Both models aren't too easy to find. Most independents used non-WE phones.

Yes, Bwanna, that's a close one to 8-58. I've found that sometimes phones can have slightly earlier handset parts, so be vigilant!

[McHeath]

jsowers, that's a nice ivory wall phone you got there. 

Thermal Belt is a great name for a place, one of those bizarre names that you can see actually might have some meaning behind it. 

[Dennis Markham]

I began working on the Model 591 last night (actually I got side-tracked from another project).  I decided to remove that hideous decorative cover from the handset.  In the past I have been able to remove these and polish away any sign of the adhesive that holds the cover onto the handset.  This time I wasn't as lucky.  I did use some WD-40 which is good for removing stickers and other gummy substances without harming the plastic.  But it looks like the sticker worked right into the plastic.  I buffed it with the Ryobi and Novus 2.  The evidence of the sticker seems to be blended right in with the top of the handset.  I'll hit it with some 1,000 grit sandpaper and should be able to remove all signs of it.

Meanwhile while buffing the housing I discovered a crack on one side.  I just hate when that happens.  It's one of those cracks that isn't all the way through the plastic yet.  It is  not visible from the inside but if I pinch it and wiggle it back and forth it is evident.  I thought I'd bend it open and flood the crack with Krazy Glue and then sand that area when it dries.  That may keep it from breaking further.  Bummer.

[Phonesrfun]

The discoloration from the adhesive on the back of the handset can be sanded out, as I am sure you know.  Fortunately, the back of the handset is probably the easiest surface on the whole phone to sand and polish.  That is, until it starts looking much better than the rest of the phone, which usually cascades into a full-blown project.

The crazy glue and sanding is good for the crack.   I seem to remember a very large thread on one or both of the club forums regarding the use of the base solvent used in arcrylic fingernail filler, which is available at any store.  He used this to repair hard plastic cracks, and even to replace chunks or holes in the covers.  Seemed to work very well.  Perhaps it has been discussed here too.

-Bill

[Dennis Markham]

Bill, you're right about it turning into a full blown project.  Once the sanding begins then as you said, the true color comes out and doesn't match the rest of the phone.  Initially I thought the phone had minor discoloration but once cleaned and polished the slight discoloration is noticed.  But not as bad as many I've run across.

[Phonesrfun]

I am curious to find out if anyone here has tried the M. Scola approach to crack repair that was discussed on the other forums.  I know we have had quite a good run of discussions here on plastic bleaching and of cord dying. 

I did a search on this forum for Acrylic, and did not see anything. 

In reading through those posts months ago on the club listserves, it seemed that the approach has a lot of merit and he seems to have a great deal of success, not only with crack repair, but also in replacing entire missing chunks of hard plastic, and of matching the colors.

Dennis, if I have put this question in the wrong category, you may move it or even delete it if you want.

-Bill

[Dennis Markham]

Bill, Mark lives near-by me and he and I have done some work together with his method, although mostly I've been a spectator.  His acrylic repair works best for large damaged areas as opposed to repairing cracks.  Did you  happen to see my album where we replaced the cradle ears of the 302?  I have a couple photos of Marks showing some work he did on several phones that belong to members of the ATCA/TCI.  I thought I had posted some of those on this Forum in the past but may be mistaken.

If you haven't seen the 302 cradle ear job, I'll re-post the link.

[Phonesrfun]

Dennis:

I have not seen that link.  I, too have a 302 with an ear problem.  I glued mine on,but there is a definite seam, although on that particular phone I am not too worried about it since the rest of the phone is kind of ratty.  By all means please redirect me to the link if you have it handy.

[Dennis Markham]

Bill, here is the link to my Google Picasa album that shows what was done to a restore a W.E. 300 Series phone.  I usually don't use the word "restore" in favor of "refurbish" but in this case I think it was more of a restoration project.

https://tinyurl.com/y7q9bet3

I also made a posting on my blog site here:

http://www.vintagerotaryphones.com/?p=113

You can listen to the #4 dial and also hear the ringer on this particular phone.

[blackcap95]

From some research I did on the Web, Thermal Belt Telephone eventually became a part of Alltel, then Windstream, the current incumbent telco in Landrum, SC (originally 803-457, now 864-457), where the phone bought by Dennis was originally used.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

From some research I did on the Web, Thermal Belt Telephone eventually became a part of Alltel, then Windstream, the current incumbent telco in Landrum, SC (originally 803-457, now 864-457), where the phone bought by Dennis was originally used.

Welcome to the forum! Friendly word of advice, this topic was last active in 2009, until now