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Beautiful Red AE 40

Started by Doug Rose, October 18, 2018, 05:39:45 PM

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Doug Rose

I was never going to own the real deal and this was painted wonderfully. Got it today and the phone was moving and sliding in the box.  :'(  It was in a well used med priority, which are free!! The phone has the back cracked right off. I have never seen Bakelite just break lit this, usually a chip or a crack.

I asked them to use plenty of newspaper so the phone did not move

It just came on eBay and I saw it for BIN $36 and $13.95 shipping.

What a drag! I already had a spot for it...Doug

     https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Automatic-Electric-A-40-Desk-Telephone-Painted-Red-/163313620202
Kidphone

LarryInMichigan

AE40s really crack easily.  It is always an awful shame when they do.  I would ask for a refund and glue the parts back together with super glue.

Larry

HarrySmith

darn! That is a shame. I would agree with Larry. Get a refund and glue it. It is already painted anyway and when displayed the back won't be seen. If you have some experience with super glue you can make it so it won't even show from the outside.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

Ktownphoneco

That's a "crying shame" !   The priority mail system that the USPS came out with, from my perspective, is one of the major problems for eBay sellers and buyers, and any other online business that sells and ships items through the mail system.      As soon as anyone mentions "free boxes and shipping supplies", the stampede is on.       The fact that the USPS fully insures shipments, also creates a problem.    It's created the "throw the thing in the box and send it on it's way" philosophy among a handful of sellers.    "If it gets broken, who cares, the USPS will pay for it".     If the item is still in production somewhere, well, OK, refund the money and / or ship the customer another one.
I'm in Canada.     We don't have a flat rate priority mail service with free boxes and packaging supplies.     We have to go out and buy boxes, but hey, a 16" x 12" by 12" "new" cardboard box is like $2.50.     Bubble wrap and shipping peanuts don't require going out and getting a second mortgage on the house.      But the main reason I use a quality box, and make sure the telephone is packaged properly, is the fact that Canada Post doesn't insure for poor packaging.      They insure for lost or stolen packages, or, if the plane carrying the mail shipment slams into a mountain, and there's nothing left.     If something I ship gets damaged, our post office says  .. "too bad, you didn't package it well enough, have a nice day".    So you can be Da---- Sure, I package my telephones properly when I ship them to someone.    I also factor my packaging costs into the selling price, or at least a good portion of it.
The U.S. mail system is great for conscientious sellers and shippers, but breeds contempt amongst those who aren't.    We "whine" up here about our post office, but when push comes to shove, they actually make better shippers out of us, whether we like it or not.      If the U.S.P.S. decides tomorrow, that their insurance coverage only extends to loss / theft or an act of God, you can be absolutely sure that the packaging habits of sellers would increase by 500% overnight.

Jeff Lamb

FABphones

That's a shame. From what I've learnt these are prone to breaking in transit.
I've bought two AE40's. First one arrived with the rear cracked just like yours.
A few weeks later, I found another for sale. Bought that one too - it arrived with the same style crack, this time across the front.
Neither of mine had too far to travel, and the packing on mine wasn't as poor as your description.
:(
A collector of  'Monochrome Phones with Sepia Tones'   ...and a Duck!
***********
Vintage Phones - 10% man made, 90% Tribble
*************

rdelius

From the looks of the crack, the set had bakelite repairs and then painted red

Doug Rose

Thanks everyone. I have not heard back from the seller yet. Paint is one of the best jobs I have ever seen. Obviously, I could not tell just how good it was until I held it. It's really nice.

It is not the fault of USPS and I told the seller as much.  It was sliding in the box when I asked to please use lots of newspaper so the phone does not move. At least the handset was in bubble wrap away from the phone as I had asked.

If seller refunds I will open as check the phone crack. Robbie, I thought the same thing.

Sh*t happens, certainly not the end of the world as it is not real. ...Doug

Kidphone

Stubbypylon

Doug, I saw that one too and the paint job was spectacular.  I kept looking and looking as I didn't believe it was painted.  The colour match was spot on.  Never say never as you can't predict what might come your way.  I picked up a red Bakelite AE40 a few years ago for a $120 BIN.
Craig Stanowski

Doug Rose

Seller gave me a full refund, BUT is putting a claim in with the USPS. This is why postage is so high, this was not a USPS issue and I told her so.  She said I was looking for a fight, which I am not. Just trying to educate.

I will try to see what I can do this weekend. It is a great looking phone. Any idea what I can use for chrome bands as this is not a handset that will take the chrome bands.  I know it's painted.

I was very disappointed when I opened the box and saw the crack through a sheet of bubble. At least it's in the back....Doug
Kidphone

Jim Stettler

Quote from: Doug Rose on October 19, 2018, 12:05:05 PM
Seller gave me a full refund, BUT is putting a claim in with the USPS. This is why postage is so high, this was not a USPS issue and I told her so.  She said I was looking for a fight, which I am not. Just trying to educate.

. Any idea what I can use for chrome bands as this is not a handset that will take the chrome bands.
Old phone works might have something. I think the have some bands for F handsets. They may have some for bandless AE handsets.
Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

rdelius

If the paint is thick, the Oldphone works bands might be tight , assuming they are the COT bands. I think all factory AE molded colored sets had bands so any colored AE sets with no bands would be painted

TelePlay

Quote from: rdelius on October 18, 2018, 07:36:19 PM
From the looks of the crack, the set had bakelite repairs and then painted red

     Regular Member Post

For a crack like that, that large or long, after gluing the two pieces back together, I would back the crack from the inside using a strip of aluminum screen mesh (as long as the crack and about a half inch wide the entire width and the magic water thin super glue and baking soda cement.

Once glued, I would attach the mesh to the inside of the crack getting the mesh tight against the Bakelite using water thin super glue. Once that is in place, I would pack the mesh with baking soda and completely wet the soda with water thin super glue. It hardens almost immediately to a concrete like material adhering to the Bakelite below the mesh, the mesh and fills in the mesh squares.

I would then put another layer of baking soda on the mesh to absorb any excess super glue.

I would then blow off any excess baking soda and wet the mesh/soda surface with a generous amount of water thin super glue and immediately sift on another layer of baking soda. This will bond the second layer to the first layer and harden in seconds.

For a crack this big, I would repeat the last step 2 more times to build up a very hard backing batch which will add strength to the originally glued crack.

It does not look pretty being a white concrete like material encapsulating the aluminum mesh but this is the inside. It's like placing a reinforcement bar or strap behind a wood crack.

The intent here is to add strength to a crack that is glued.

Google baking soda and super glue to find many uses of this technique.

Doug Rose

Two concerns with this phone. The first is the seller is putting in a claim with the USPS, they might just pay her or they might want the phone back. Always a crap shoot with this.  I love the phone and it looks great from the front, but do I want to pay $50 for it like this?

Second, how would I keep the glue off of the paint. Normally, glue....set....steel wool off the excess. Paint is pristine and will show any kind of cleanup....which would be just as bad.

I have a nickel retainer and a red cloth cord. I will sleep on it...thanks for all the help and suggestions...Doug
Kidphone

oldguy

That is a beautiful phone Doug. I hope you get to keep it & find a way to repair the crack.
Gary

Doug Rose

thanks Gary....I will look at it today....Doug
Kidphone