Restoration of an old rotary phone

[Isaac]

Would any of you all happen to recommend someone to do a refurbishing on an old rotary phone? I have my grandfather's phone that weighs a few hefty pounds. I would have to say it is probably pre 60's, and has the old bell style ringer. I would love to get this back into working order.

Might any of you have any recommendations?

 

[morganjg]

You could definitely find all of the parts you would need from Mike Sandman "Chicago's Telephone Expert." He has all the necessary parts to fix just about anything. He may do repairs, though I have never seen him advertise. Very respectable in the Telecom field. Best of luck. 630-980-7710, www.sandman.com.

 

[luvmysuper]

I just went through all of this searching before I finally decided to just get a bluetooth rotary phone. It's paired to my cell phone, so when I walk in the door it connects and then incoming calls ring on the rotary dial, and you can call out on it, complete with dial tone and rotary dialing.

I'll see if I can find the names of the guys I looked up that do phone restorations.

 

[luvmysuper]

Here's a site that has a lot of great information on old rotary phones. I used their resources to make my own personalized phone card (the little round card that goes in the center of the dial with your number on it)

http://www.telephonearchive.com/

Here are two repair shops that I considered contacting that seem to have decent reviews from other users;

Out of Ontario
http://www.chicagooldtelephone.com/

Out of New York and Ontario
http://www.oldphoneworks.com/repair-and-upgrade-services.html

I had finally decided I was going to use this guy. He just seems like the kind of guy I'd like to talk to while he fixed something. His website isn't professionally done, but you can tell he knows well what he's talking about.
He's in Kansas.

Repairs page

http://www.oldphoneman.com/AntiqueTelephoneRepair.htm

Here is the bluetooth rotary phone I have;

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9803

Here is a version that isn't bluetooth, but is a cell phone. You insert your cell phone SIM card in it and it's good to go.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/286

 

[Isaac]

WOW...I like that bluetooth version. I would have to ask him about converting my phone to that bluetooth. It would be very handy, especially since I do not have a hardline. I had just planned to restore it for the sake of it.

 

[luvmysuper]

If the phone you have is just for display purposes, it's not hard to clean them up and make them look snazzy.

Remove the dial

Then remove the housing. There are two screws on the bottom that hold the housing to the phone base.

Clean the plastic parts with hot soapy water and then dry thoroughly. Polich the phone housing with Flitz Plastic Polish. It works wonders.
Try to avoid the numbers and letters because you can polish them off.

Put it all back together, and before you put the dial back on, make yourself a custom Dial Card using the first link I gave above.

Put the Dial Card in the dial and re-attach the dial.

Done.

 

[Isaac]

Thanks for the video...

Its already nice looking, but my grandfather had actually tried spray painting it once upon a time to make it look new again, so the housing and receiver need to be redone.

I really do like that bluetooth connection you said you have. It makes me optimistic that Ill be able to use the phone again.

 

[Isaac]

Like I had said, the phone isnt in bad shape. I want it cleaned up and in working order. Bottom says manufactured by North Electric Manufacturing Company

 

[luvmysuper]

Thanks for the video...

Its already nice looking, but my grandfather had actually tried spray painting it once upon a time to make it look new again, so the housing and receiver need to be redone.

I really do like that bluetooth connection you said you have. It makes me optimistic that Ill be able to use the phone again.

The bluetooth phone comes ready to go as a new phone. It isn't that they turn an existing phone into a bluetooth model.
So if you get the bluetooth phone, it will be a whole additional separate phone from the one you have now.

I believe that they have the parts for someone to "do-it-yourself" along with all wiring diagrams etc. But that was way more than I wanted to undertake.

 

[luvmysuper]

Yeah, that's not the Western Electric 500 model like the Bluetooth version. That looks to be a late 30's or 40's model.
It's a great look.
The bad news: It isn't compatible with todays phone lines without modifications internally to the ringer at minimum.
The good news: It can be made to work on modern phone lines, but it's probably going to cost a bit more than purchasing a working WE500.

Can you read any info on the bottom of the phone, letters numbers etc? A manufacturers name?

 

[Isaac]

Yeah, we will see. I only have it because it reminds me of my childhood. My grandfather kept it in the garage. That monster sat on a shelf and would ring so loudly. It is quite heavy. He was tossing stuff out over eight years ago, and I asked to keep it. In fact, if memory serves me right, the phones rotary was not working and he replaced it.

 

[Jim]

Isaac you are looking for a cosmetic rebuild primarily? I don't think its 30's Phil as the cord is curly. The cloth wrapped cords were still in use through the early 50's as I remember it. You may be surprised if you wire it up, they are pretty bullet proof. I have the Number stamp if you want a # card for the phone.

 

[luvmysuper]

Good point Jim.

Looks like maybe a North Electric H6 from the 40's into the early 50's

View attachment 263811

http://www.telephonearchive.com/phones/north/north-h6.html