News:

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

Main Menu

Restoration of a 1920 Kellogg Wooden Phone

Started by FirePro911, January 26, 2015, 12:04:29 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

FirePro911

I have found the time to finally clean up and restore this phone that I received from my parents. It originally came from my Grandma's house. I remember as kids, (all the cousins), we would play with it as it hung in her kitchen.

At one point all the brass was painted black, so I restored it all back to it's original shine. It is now hanging up on our wall. My Daughter likes it because it is Steampunk looking.

This is what it looked like when I first got it


This piece was pretty damaged, so I replaced it with a copy




The schematic was destroyed, so after finding a photo of one, I made a new one and aged it.


Last serviced on 04/23/43


No batteries


Stamped markings that correspond between the schematic and the connections


Is this the model number?


Heavy coat of paint on everything


No receiver wire


Cut marks where all the wires run. They are also filled with a waxy substance


Holes that were filled in at one time




More stampings


A lot of wires were missing


At one time the shelf was modified, or maybe added? You can see the original water decal still.


Dis-assembly time








Both pieces were actually steel, so I ordered brass replacements


Ringer assembly




I always take plenty of close up pics to refer back to when putting everything back together


Pretty dirty over the years




More stampings


Steel parts that were sandblasted and then painted


This piece is brass




Another photo to help me match the screws to the parts later on


I'm wondering what sat in that center hole?




Two wood screws hold the top of the magneto


Two machine screws hold the bottom


Dirty




Ringer assembly machine screws










More stampings








The hinges were steel, replaced them with brass


Painted brass


I look all over and finally found out how the hand crank is removed


Breaking the magneto apart








This is how far I tore in down the first time. I sandblasted the magnets and back plate. Then cleaned the main body. Though once back together, it was not putting out the required voltage (60 to 80) to ring the bells. So later on I had to completely tear it down and clean it.


The new schematic I made and aged for the inside of the door.


Sandblasted parts, then treated with Prep and Prime before shooting black


Polished brass parts I was able to save


Ringer assembly break down








Sandblasted parts. The two ears on the brass ringer curled up on me. So I had to actually superglue them back down in place.


The magneto reinstalled the first time


Replaced the screws with brass screws


Reattached the coil above the magneto


I was considering sending this piece and the cup piece it bolts to off the get refinished to shine like new brass. Though I decided I liked the old polished look.


New brass crank before I polished it


Used this floor stripper to removed the paint from the Bakelite. Afterwards, the Bakelite turned green and no amount of polishing would remove it all. I'm thinking this is why it was painted in the first place.


This is what I use on all my projects for bare metal or even rusted metal.


You can see how I tried to polish it out


You can really see the green here. This is after I polished it.


Added new brass screws and polished out the hole that the cord goes through


Ringer assembly going back together




I still need to order the brass part that goes between the bells. You can see at one time that the holes were filled in.


Ordered a new Kellogg plate and used small brass nails to hold it down


Now to disassemble the magneto again






This is why it didn't supply enough voltage






















Cleaned and polished every piece just as I do with the fishing reels I restore or hot rod for use.












Used Reel Lube on all moving parts


Also I use White Diamond on my projects


Getting it back together


Also used Reel X on the gear teeth






Looking good






Applied a new water decal and also put the original parts I replaced inside it.









HarrySmith

WOW! That is an awesome restoration! I love your attention to detail. Talk about great pictures, how did you get so many posted at one time??
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

FirePro911

Thanks!

I don't know. I first tried ten of them, then hit preview. They all showed up, so I just kept adding them.

I'm thinking maybe because they are all on my Photobucket Page.

HarrySmith

Did you replace the mouthpiece or restore it somehow? If you restored it, please,  detail how you did it. There are literally many thousands of those out there that could use a restoration like that.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

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

FirePro911

I replaced it with a copy. I put the original inside the phone. I couldn't find anything on restoring them since they are bakelite.

Welsh

Quote from: FirePro911 on January 30, 2015, 09:52:22 PM
I replaced it with a copy. I put the original inside the phone. I couldn't find anything on restoring them since they are bakelite.
the following is the answer to your prayers if you haven't found it yet :)
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=3690.msg48867#msg48867

DiaLen

Very nice restoration! And thank you for posting in such detail. Your photos make me want to get started on mine.
How long did this project take?
Be faithful to the commitments of your life.

Welsh

Really great job. What did you use to remove the rust on the inside of the magneto?
And where did you find parts for it. I have one that if the magneto is salvageable i might be bale to salvage it. But its a real mess.

TelePlay

#9
Very nice job on this restoration!

------------------------------

Moderator's Note:  The restoration of this phone is indeed interesting and well presented/documented. To do so, links to an external site were used for the images and as such may not be available years into the future. As such, I have printed the topic to this date in pdf format and attached it to this post so that the images can always be viewed.

unbeldi

#10
Quote from: FirePro911 on January 26, 2015, 12:04:29 PM

At one point all the brass was painted black, so I restored it all back to it's original shine.


When do you think it was painted?

Your workmanship is certainly fantastic.

But to me, the brass look looks very strange and not authentic.

Drawn brass was used for its mechanical qualities, not for looks. It is subject to corrosion which in most practical applications leads to ugly looking components unless protected.  It was either plated with nickel, or it was surface-oxidized and painted.  I think the black look is the proper and authentic look.


Sargeguy

Very nice.  Does the magneto still work after all that?  If you are restoring it to 1940s era when it was modified, then I would go with black, and I would put the original crank back on the magneto and paint the bells and hook black.  If going for an earlier look, I would go with nickel.  Going for a restoration to original factory state opens up a whole can of worms, however, and you should probably quit while you are ahead.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

TelePlay

Just noticed Firepro911 has not been on the forum, or at most logged to the forum, in since early February 2015 so getting a reply to the last few posts may take a while, if at all.

Russ62

Hi,  If you look at the 1921 telephone sets bulletin #25 on this page;  http://www.strombergcarlsontelephone.com/kellogg/kellogg_main.htm    you will see that there was a transitional period when this model came new from the factory with some nickle parts but with black bells.  I also have one of these with the black bells. I carefully cleaned the original finish, polished the nickle parts with Blue Magic, and left the bells black.                           Russell