News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Western Electric 501 1951 (mostly) - thoughts and cleaning advice please

Started by tubaman, June 15, 2018, 10:05:18 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

tubaman

I took a chance on this eBay auction (it was cheap!) from France as it looked like quite an early model 500.
The leather feet and what appeared to be a G1 Bakelite handset were what attracted me.
Well, it's arrived and it's a 501 with the chassis and body dated 1951.
The G1 handset seems a bit later, with the transmitter cap dated 1953 and the elements 1954/55. I can't find a date on the handset body and the one on the receiver cap is illegible.
The handset cord is held by prongs in the base of the handset which I think is another early sign?

I'm very pleased as it is pretty early for a 500 series and the G1 handset is a really nice thing.

The interior is pretty stinky as I suspect it's been somewhere a bit damp (it smells a bit like sick!!). Hopefully this will improve with time?
All I've done so far is give some of it a gentle wipe-over, as the case seems to be a really soft plastic so I'm scared to do much else in case I make more scratches than it already has.
Any cleaning (and de-stinking) advice would be much appreciated.
:)


tubaman

More pictures

Key2871

I've had a couple early sets, that smelled funny as well. What I did to cure the stink was to get a car freshener, cut a piece off about half inch square, put it inside, on metal such as the base. Put the housing back on, and left it for a week or two. Problem solved, it smelled like the freshener, but it didn't stink anymore. In time it went back to its plasticy smell, but never stunk again.
Another thing is to leave it open in fresh air and not direct sunlight but over time, it smelled better. The air freshener worked much faster.
But I've noticed that those old plastics had a very odd odor over time, that never really went away.

But that's a nice set, novus #2 polish would really make that look great.
KEN

tubaman

@Key2871 - good plan with the air freshener - I'll get one and give it a go as it smells none too pleasant in there at the moment!
:)

LarryInMichigan

That was a very good find.  That rare phone would likely sell for more here in the USA.  Keep in mind that the tenite plastics have their own possibly strong smell (like cheese).  I usually give the insides good cleaning with foaming spray cleanser and a careful rinse after removing the ringer and dial.

The 501 A/B was an early party-line set according to Paul F's site.

Larry

Key2871

Yes, cheese. If it's been closed up for ever, and not sitting in fresh air even then it takes on an odor of their own.
The mid fiftys one I had never smelled nice, I could walk in my display room and smell it.
It wasn't until much later I discovered the deodorizer for cars that worked wonders.
KEN

tubaman

Hi Larry,
I was hoping it would be worth the €10 BIN price, but I mainly chanced it for the G1 handset as I've not seen one in the flesh before. I couldn't even be completely sure about that from the single photo!
The chap had other nice phones at the same price but I refrained as I've been buying quite a few lately and need to slow down a bit!
With hindsight it's a good job I didn't go for any of his Bakelite models as his packing was very poor and I'm not sure they would have survived the journey.
He did sort of follow my packing instructions (in dodgy French courtesy of Google translate) in that the body and handset were in separate bits of newspaper!
The whole lot was rattling about in the box so it's testament to how strong an old 500 is that it's still in one piece.
:)

RotarDad

Nice find Tubaman!  The 501 party-line versions are not commonly found.  They have a unique 2-wire C3A ringer in addition to the 426A tube - fortunately yours retains both.   Your handset should have a date inside on the earpiece end.  It will either be an ink-stamp, or a 2-digit number molded into the Bakelite.  If I remember correctly, a molded number like "94" indicates September, 1954.  Yes, the cord retainer molded into the Bakelite indicates an earlier G-1, however that design was used into the mid-fifties.  When cleaning, be careful with those ink-stamps - they are easily dissolved, even by mild cleaners or light rubbing.  I use non-toxic Krud-Kutter which is mild and works well.  I am careful to not let it sit on the ink-stamps long;  I rinse it off quickly in those areas.

One other interesting thing about your set is the 1950-dated equalizer.  I've seen many early 500s with much earlier-dated networks, but the 6-months earlier-dated equalizer is something I've not seen before.
Paul

LarryInMichigan

It is most certainly worth more than €10 here.  There couldn't be very many of them in the UK.

Larry

tubaman

Quote from: RotarDad on June 15, 2018, 12:21:34 PM
.....   Your handset should have a date inside on the earpiece end.  It will either be an ink-stamp, or a 2-digit number molded into the Bakelite.  If I remember correctly, a molded number like "94" indicates September, 1954. ....

@RotarDad,

Have you looking in my handset as it does have "94" moulded in it!  That ties pretty well with the 12/53 cap and the 1954/55 elements.
Clearly the handset was replaced at some point.
:)

HarrySmith

Nice find! Not an easy model to get period, never mind across the pond! The smell is common from the old plastic phones. It is one of the identifiers of "soft" plastic phones.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

FABphones

Quote from: tubaman on June 15, 2018, 11:27:49 AM
Hi Larry,
....With hindsight it's a good job I didn't go for any of his Bakelite models as his packing was very poor and I'm not sure they would have survived the journey.
He did sort of follow my packing instructions (in dodgy French courtesy of Google translate) in that the body and handset were in separate bits of newspaper!
The whole lot was rattling about in the box so it's testament to how strong an old 500 is that it's still in one piece.
:)

Next time, prob not for this seller, drop me a message with what text you want and I'll do the translation for you. Google won't have translated it well so it prob didn't make much sense to the seller. That said, this seller sells enough phones to know how to pack.

Good find tho - if I'd have spotted that I would have bought it too.
A collector of  'Monochrome Phones with Sepia Tones'   ...and a Duck!
***********
Vintage Phones - 10% man made, 90% Tribble
*************

tubaman

@FabPhones, that's a very kind offer - thank you.

If you want a chuckle, the text I sent was:
"Lorsque vous emballez le téléphone, assurez-vous que le corps et le combiné ne peuvent pas se coincer dans la boîte. S'il vous plaît ne pas emballer avec le combiné assis sur le téléphone.
Cordialement "


It seems to translate back to English mostly ok via Google, but as it's well beyond my schoolboy level of French I really am taking Google's word for it!
:)

Google Translate:  "When packing the phone, make sure that the body and the handset can not get caught in the box. Please do not pack with the handset sitting on the phone.  cordially"

tubaman

One other point on this phone - the dial card backer (the actual card is missing) is just a plain shiny metal disk.
Is this usual, as I think it actually looks quite nice without a card in this format.
:)

FABphones

Quote from: tubaman on June 16, 2018, 03:59:48 AM
If you want a chuckle, the text I sent was:
"Lorsque vous emballez le téléphone, assurez-vous que le corps et le combiné ne peuvent pas se coincer dans la boîte. S'il vous plaît ne pas emballer avec le combiné assis sur le téléphone.
Cordialement "

:)

I showed the text to a native French reader. They didn't understand what was being asked.

From a French point of view, the translation back to English is:
When you package the phone up, make sure that the body and handset cannot get stuck in the box. Please do not package the handset sitting on the phone.

( our French reader laughed nicely, You have asked the seller not to sit on the phone to wrap the handset.   ;D  )

French language is very literal. Words change meaning depending on the sentence they are in, but Google doesn't understand that.

I've made many errors with my French. Years ago, when an older couple were pickling some Haricot beans I asked what preservative they used. They looked flustered so thinking my English accent must be strong I asked several times over. I didn't get an answer. I later found out preservative means a very different thing and I was actually asking them what type of birth control they used. I have many such stories!  ;)
A collector of  'Monochrome Phones with Sepia Tones'   ...and a Duck!
***********
Vintage Phones - 10% man made, 90% Tribble
*************