Some ten days after I began this project the Western Electric Model 354 wall phone is finally ready to hang on the wall. I had ordered some replacement rubber dial gaskets so that I could put a new one between the dial and the housing of the phone. They apparently got lost in the mail but eventually reached me and the project could go forward. Read the rest of this post »

This Bakelite Western Electric F1 handset and associated parts are all dated similarly to the rest of the telephone—September of 1952. I have cleaned and polished my share of Bakelite handsets and this one is one of the nicest handsets “as removed from service.” As always I wash the plastic in warm sudsy water and then apply liberal amounts of Novus #2 polish. Read the rest of this post »