302 Arrived today. Step by Step Cleanup. With photos.

[Dan/Panther]

After I cleaned up my dial plate I realized it wasn't that bad, and decided that I would keep the phone intact.

I got these foam sheets for $4.99 at the local crafts store, and used the black for my dial gasket.
Forty sheets of different colors for $4.99 seems reasonable.

Here is the gasket without ther rivot holes. The shape says these gaskets were also used in earlier phones, looks like way back to candlestick.
I punched the holes into the gasket after I got it cut to size, then I installed a small rubber "O" ring over each rivot then mounted the dial into the case.

Remember this is the bargain basment cheapo refurburation.
I'm trying to get a phone that will look almost as good as the high dollar phones, and hopefully work as well also.
I believe that you can have as much fun, in a hobby as anyone, without spending the kids inheritance doing it.
I'm not cheap, just clever, and thrifty.

D/P

[bingster]

The original gaskets are molded in three dimensions, rather than being a flat sheet.  At each hole, there was a very short "tube" that went through the hole in the plastic.  On the other side there was a flange which fit over the back side of the plastic, around the hole.  Think of a firewall grommet, and that's what they were like. 

They make flat repros (minus the flanged grommet bit), but your solution is an elegant fix to a common problem.

[Dan/Panther]

Here is the original dial all spruced up, and reinstalled onto the phone case.
Minus the Number ring, which I will make a repro dial card and new plastic insert, as soon as I finish painting the ring.
All things considered, so far excluding thinner, and paint, which most people will have around, I've invested about $30.00 so far, including the price of the phone and shipping.
If I'm making any mistakes don't hesitate to jump in and correct me. I'm learning here just as well  as anyone.
If the truth be know, This is the first phone I've taken this far apart. Also the first I've attempted to refurbish. I don't say restore actually because most mechanical parts are just cleaned , lubricated and inspected to insure they are working.

D/P

[Dan/Panther]

I noticed when I had the dial apart, that the finger wheel felt very light, at first I thought it was plastic, or maybe a fiber of some sort, but after cleaning it up discovered it was aluminum ? I expected a heavy metal wheel, I was quite surprised.
The dial cleaned up very nicely, as did the finger stop, I was concerned that the nickel finish had worn off, but under the paint was shiney nickel plating.
Sitting here now looking at the phone case, it appears to be a very highly polished black lacquer finish, it's amazing how well the thermo plastic polishes up.
And with not a lot of effort, light years easier than bakelite.

D/P

[bingster]

Brilliant job, Dan!  And quick, too.   

[Dan/Panther]

Bingster;
Thank You, I think I'm as shocked as anyone, It's coming together rather nicely.
I'm very pleased with the results so far.
But please anyone that wants to add anything, please feel free to speak up. I swear I'm learning here also.

Dan

[BDM]

Dan, very nice. It's a whole 'nother phone Those aluminum finger wheels are quite common. Like everything else, they were used as replacements when the steel ones ran out. Also, just like our radio collectors sometimes do. Phone collectors will cherry pic the parts off. Ma Bell did the same thing, so that can make it tough to say what your particular phone came with or not. A brass wheel is the most desirable, though it was out of production by the time the 302 came around. The steel wheel is next in line. Then came the super light, and super cheap alloy wheel.

I've found many sets , even B1 mounts with alloy wheels. It amazes me how many "stick" phones show up with alloy wheels. Geeez, where did the brass or steel wheel go. Along with the #2 or #4 dial? Notice many of the Ebag stick & B1/D1 phones have #5 dials. Amazing! Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine. Kind of like the guys who cherry pick out the "G" style tubes from pre-war radios, right Dan?

[Bill Cahill]

Nice job, Dan.
Looks like dial mechanism is possibly a later replacement??
Case came out beutifully. Nice job.
I think I'll finnish restoring my case on my WE 500. Remember? The one that was badly scratched? Not any more, of course.
Bill Cahill

[Dennis Markham]

Dan,

You did a great job on that phone.  Congratulations!  You know, 50 years from now someone is going to take it apart and look at that gasket you made and argue with another collector that Western Electric made some of those phones with a foam gasket inside.

If you watch eBay you will see those dial card rings listed from time to time.  Be careful when buying one though as there are a lot of plastic ones out there.  They look OK but not a nice as the metal ones.  Oldphoneworks has decent generic reproduction cards.  They also have the celluloid covers.

I bought a dial plate from them with the overlay as opposed to paint on Porcelain for a person that wanted to save a couple bucks.  They don't look bad at all. 

There is some shadow here but you'll get the idea.  The finger wheel is original brass as is the dial card retainer ring.  The card is an Oldphoneworks reproduction.

[McHeath]

Wow, fantasmical job on this phone!  It's inspiring really, how you have managed to take a real dog, I mean painted silver fer gosh sake, and turn it back into a joy to behold.  (Who would paint it silver?)  So far I've only added a quick modular connector to my 51' model 500 so I can use it at my desk, this weekend I will start seeing if I can do it justice as you have with your 302.

Quote from my wife when I showed her your resto work, "That's an amazing phone!"

[BDM]

Dennis, that's an E1 handset. Is that truly an original with the rear vent 302?

[Dennis Markham]

Brian, this set is unusual.  It was sent to me from a woman in Pennsylvania to be refurbished.  It was her parent's telephone when she was a child.  I don't know how old this woman is but I'm guessing my age (25----ha ha) in her early 50's.  When she was a small child she said she used to play "operator" and played with the phone often.  She dropped it and broke off the rear ears on the back--both of them.  When she sent it to me she didn't expect the ear to be repaired.  When I return from vacation I will post an album of the process my friend Mark Scola went through to build ears on this phone.  He uses an acrylic substance with some type of hardener and powder that dries like Bondo in a few minutes.  Literally five minutes after putting a blob of junk where the ears should be you can use a large file on the material.  But I digress....

So this phone must have had the case replaced someone during it's day.  It is an H1 case dated 11-24-45.  The base of the phone is dated 12-1941 (Remember Pearl Harbor?), as are the bells.  Then there's the E-1 handset with internal dates from 1937.    The 4H dial is dated 11-46 (I showed a photo of the back of this dial).  So no, there are no vents.  So this is a real Heinz 57.  I'll post a couple of photos under a new topic under Trouble Shooting & Repair.

[BDM]

Ahhh, didn't know it was thermoplastic. That takes it out of the running. Well, at least as an original piece. I've seen them at shows. Most are the very first run sets dated 37. Cradle ears are slightly wider to allow the use of the E1 handset. Plus they all came with(not meaning they'll still have it) #4 dial. The #5 wasn't quite ready yet.

They also have the rear vent just below the handle(lack of a better word). Now, I was told by I believe Larry Wolff some time back that those sets do show up with #5 dials and F1 handsets. Either replaced by a collector, or more than likely updated by Ma Bell.

[Dan/Panther]

I fjinished the number ring, and made a new celluloid insert for it.
The pictures really don't do the phone justice.

D/P

[HobieSport]

No Dan, the pictures don't do the phone justice...YOU do!  Really very inspiring. 
Still really interested in seeing pictures of the inside,  how the dates compare on the components, etc..