Proper 202 disassembly procedure?

[Greg G.]

I'm finally getting around to my long-neglected 202.  I replaced the handset and cord, everything functions fine, now I'm getting ready to strip and repaint.  I just need to know the proper disassembly order, particularly for the switch hook and cradle.  The switch hook looks like it's held in place with a big screw, and the cradle appears to be threaded onto the body.  I could use the "by guess and by golly" method, but I don't want to screw anything up.

[Kenny C]

To remove the switch contacts you remove the screw and the cradle is threaded like you said the cradle on mine was very hard to remove I used a pair of needle nose pliers and some wd 40 to remove it. hope I helped
Kenny C.

[Phonesrfun]

Greg:

What Kenny says is true.  The Hookswitch plunger is being held on by just that one screw that is in the very end of the T-bar plunger shaft.  Once that is out, the phenolic cross-pieces that activate the switch contacts come right off and the plunger is free to come out the top side of the cradle, with its spring.  There are two fiber bushings; one on the top, and one on the bottom that the plunger shaft slides through.  They may come out, and they may even break because they are usually brittle.  I was able to get a couple extras from a guy in Arizona that has repro bushings and they work well.  I sent Kenny a set of them for his 202 not long ago.

Make sure that if you take the hookswitch pile-up off, that you thread some wire or string through the holes and tie it together like a key-ring.  Otherwise you may be guessing or working from photos to get the pile-up rebuilt.

Just in case, though do take copious photos.

As far as the cradle going into the body of the phone.....

No easy task there.  As you can see, it is a special notched nut that is otherwise perfectly round and is impossible to get a bite on it without engaging the notch.  And they are usually in there very tight with age.

The easiest thing to do is just don't go there, and paint it without completely disassembling it.

The guy you met at the Seattle show from Portland, Chuck Irwin, has actually modified a deep socket wrench just for the purpose.  The wrench size is big enough so that the points inside the wrench slide freely over the shaft body.  The outside diameter of the socket is roughly the diameter of the outside of the nut.  He then had the wrench ground down in a way that leaves two squared-off tips for engaging the notches in the nut.  Unless you know of someone with a good machine shop that can grind into a hardened steel socket wrench, you might want to pass on this, or the next time you're down in Portland, give Chuck a call and see if he'll do it for you.

[bingster]

I agree completely about the removal of the cradle.  The collar that secures the cradle can be easy to remove or impossible to remove.  I tend to use needle-nose pliers like Kenny does.  Be aware though, that you can easily chew up the collar and threaded shaft that way.  If it really appears stuck, it's best just to leave it attached.  I had to do that with the ivory one that I painted.  It was painted as one piece, and you can't tell, even with close inspection.

[HarrySmith]

Not being an owner of one I do not know how big this collar is but there are sockets made for car antenna collars with 4 prongs that may be adaptable. If one is found that is the correct size simply grind off 2 prongs.

[Greg G.]

From what y'all have said so far, it sounds like it's not going to be worth breaking it down as far as separating the cradle from the body.  It's not that bad.  The plunger, ok, that doesn't sound too difficult and would probably look a lot better once I've cleaned it up.  Since this is one of my "keepers", I've even contemplated sending it to a pro to get painted, but again, it's not really that bad.