We are having a big problem with folks sending telephones with out any paper work inside. Email me before you send a phone to receive a form to be included with the phone. If receive a phone without the paper work We will not repair it! Also make sure your name is on the outside of the box! If it is from mail boxes and more I will have no idea who sent it!

Another problem Some cable telephones do no allow rotary dial telephones on their systems. Call your telephone to make sure a rotary dial phone will work. also some of the new telephone companies only put out enough power to ring small ringers. these wood wall phones take a lot of power to ring. Ask the phone company what your ringing power should be. then send this information on to me before you send your phone!

You will also need to let me know before you send me your phone if you want to keep the old parts I remove. There is a place on the repair form I will send you.

We can repair almost any telephone that was made in the USA. We do repair some character phones and some novelty phones. With our large assortment of parts, we have on hand what we need to repair your old phones. We can convert your old telephone without damaging the phone. Prices very so contact me  with your problem. Another option is to trade your phone in for one that has already been reworked and redone. If it is a family heirloom I understand. We have many ourselves.

Telephone repair is not an exact science. Some telephones take a little longer to do. We try to get phones done as soon as we get them, but sometimes we get behind. Please be patient. We will hurry but get the job done right.

My telephone needs fixin!
first Check and see that it is not made in china or Taiwan. These countries make phones that are made to break down. Once fixed or repaired they will continue to break down until you buy another. I will only work on character phones and I am very picky about which ones I do and what mode I am in! 
    If it is an American made phone we charge $75.00 plus parts and shipping to look at and if possible repair your phone. $75.00 is our labor charge and covers most phones. If at all possible send me a picture of your phone to make sure. This labor charge does not cover cleaning, polishing, striping, refinishing, parts or shipping. 
    When shipping your phone pack your phone very well. UPS and USPS hate phones! I think they play foot hockey with most of them so pack them as though they do! Putting your phone in a box and sending it off to me with out no packing is bad news. I like to use Styrofoam, Double box, Styrofoam peanuts, Unused diapers or anything light. Another great item I found is go to the grocery store and ask for apple box cushions. They are cardboard that is wavy and will cushion your phone well! Do not let the phone touch the side of the box! and separate the loose parts of the phone. Add your name, address, phone number and a copy of our emails so I will know what we have been talking about!
    As Soon as I receive your phone I will determine what is wrong, and email you an estiment. Then you will need to give me the "ok" to continue or what you want to do!
    I will complete the work then sent you an Email bill with the total and a link so you may pay with  a Postal money order. With  I will send it out the next shipping day. With a postal money order I will ship it the day I cash the money order. Please we do not take personal checks. Do not send payment with the phone!

Converting: The art of converting old telephones to work on today’s system is very complicated. The simple systems of yesterday can be updated to the higher standards of today. We have tried in earnest to keep the old telephones in their original configuration. We do not remove any old component. We will use it with the functioning telephone. If it is not required it is disconnected and left alone. We are not able to use some of the original receivers with our conversions so we offer a $50.00 charge if we can not use your old receiver or you do not have one. The cost of a wood wall conversion is $200.00 plus shipping.  We will also replace the old cord with new old brown cloth covered cord (so we can guarantee that the telephone will work for a long time). We will not drill any holes. We will run the cord out the door (It does not look as good, but it does not harm the telephone) if you have no original holes through the back of the telephone. As for dials, we will not put dials inside old wood wall telephones. The telephone did not come this way and the stress on the old telephone is too great. The door was designed to open once a year to change the battery. If you look closely at your old telephone, the screws that hold the door on are very small. They will work loose in no time and your door will fall off. If you would like to talk to other people that this has happen to please let me know. I will put you in touch with them.
Our converted telephones will ring on an incoming call (If your bells work or have been repaired) and you will be able to crank the telephone and make the bells ring (on some telephones). You will talk over the old telephone just like you (or some distant relative) did years ago. This procedure will not harm the antique value of your telephone. It makes your telephone worth more because you have an antique that you can use.

    When shipping these phones please remove anything you can from the outside of the box. The shelf, black cone mouthpiece, crank (remove this by turning it counter clockwise) and batteries you need to keep! Please do not send them. If you plan to keep the original receiver keep it too! All of the rest of the parts you removed should go inside the wood telephone case. or can be packed in the shipping box for shipping.

For those that want a touchtone pad added inside I can offer that for $100.00 with the conversion above.

Due to the time and area it takes to work on the wood telephones we are no longer working  on wood wall telephones, That is no converting, refinishing, polishing or painting. I sell a kit so you can convert your old telephone! I will still have parts.

Candlestick telephones repair

Candlestick telephones with dials cost $155. This will allow the phone to ringer and I will clean and calibrate the dial and replace the receiver cord. I will add a 6' black modern plastic cord but we can add a 6' cloth covered cord.

Candlestick phones with out dial can cost from $80 - $155 (most cost $155). Please send a picture for a true cost!

Polishing the brass parts at $90-$150 Bead blasting and painting $100 - $200 Polishing the bakelite $20-$50

Western 202 repair    

For Western Electric 202b1 (round base aka 102) or 202d1 (oval base) these sets require a subset or network box. Many customers have approached us with a 202 that they claim works with out any external network-bell box. If these phone do work it is not very well and with many problems. ALL TELEPHONES REQUIRE A NETWORK TO FUNCTION!!! Originally with these phones the network and bells (ringer) are in a separate metal or bakelite box. We can install a special Mini network inside the phone but the ringer must be outside the phone to ring correctly. Network with no ringer $105.00 plus shipping. Add a white outside ringer that plugs into the line $34.95. This is the best way to convert the phone. You can use it anywhere with or without a ringer. 
    Or we can add the original subset box and wire them together or with a modular coupler (add $10.00). If you supply the good working subset wiring cost are $75.00 If I supply the subset the cost is $75.00-$125 for the subset plus $75.00 labor. These will be wired with black flat plastic cord same as that used for line cords. Old or original style cords are available from time to time. Check the parts page or send an email for what is available. 

Western 302 repair    

Western Electric 302 and similar phones cost $75.00 plus parts and shipping to repair. This will include a 5' flat black modular cord to plug in the wall. If you want the case buffed the cost is an extra $80.00

Converting later model black desk and wall sets. To convert these sets we need to reconfigure the wiring and add components to make it compatible with today's system. Commonly this also will require us to rebuild the dial and calibrate it to function correctly. We will add a 6' black modular cord so you can plug it into most any wall out. This service costs $75.00 plus parts and shipping. Common parts that need replacing are handset cord ($18.00 - $40.00), Ringer ($25.00-$45.00) and Network ($15.00 - $125.00(candlestick network)). When we receive your telephone we will inspect it and give you an estimate before we start. We will not add any extra cost to the final price with out seeking your OK first.

Refinish: 

We are not doing any refinishing of any telephones at this time.

 Due to the time and area it takes to work on the wood telephones we are no longer working  on wood wall telephones, That is NO converting, NO refinishing, NO polishing or NO painting. I sell a kit so you can convert your old telephone! I will still have parts.

When we refinish your old telephone, we will completely disassemble your telephone. Remove all hardware and components down to the bare box. We then remove the old finish being careful not to loosen the box joints. Lightly sand the wood till smooth. Then add a coat of stain, Golden oak for fine perfect original telephones, a warm darker stain for those telephones that have seen harder days or might need a wood part replaced. Then we give the old beauty two coats of good polyurethane. This will seal the wood to preserve the telephone for years to come. We bead blast the metal parts and repaint them in a soft black. The brass parts are striped and polished to a brilliant high mirror finish. Then lacquered with the toughest finish we could find. The cost to have this done is $225.00(We only offer this service on a limited basis) I now do about 40 or 50 a year by appointment. we were getting too many to be able to keep up) plus shipping. There is usually a wait of 3-12 months. Nickel plating is another option. Originally most brass parts were plated to protect them . Replating is very expensive and is very slow (an extra 3 months). Repainting the brass black is another option and was used often on the older phones.
If your telephone is a metal telephone we will remove the components of the telephone and thoroughly clean it. Then carefully bead blast to remove the old paint. We paint the cases with a powder coat epoxy and bake them till the finish is hard like the originals. Before reinstalling the components, we inspect each part for any possible defects. We install each component in its original place and check it for possible failure. At this time we can convert the telephone to work on today’s system or back to it’s original configuration. The price for this goes for $65.00-$150.00 depending on your telephone. If a ringer box is necessary see ringer boxes.
If your telephone is a plastic or Bakelite we remove all removable parts and thoroughly clean and disinfect it. Then the telephone is polished to its highest luster. We check all components for proper function. Then we reassemble the telephone to its original configuration. We then hook the telephone up to a tester specially designed to help configure old telephones to work on today’s system and add what components are necessary for proper function. This cost from $35.00- $125.00  If a ringer box is necessary see ringer boxes. Old dials are also rebuilt to a usable state. Most all telephones can be made to function on today's system. There are some that we will refuse to convert because of rarity or incompatibility. We do almost every type of old and some new telephone repairs and converting to function on today's system. If you have any questions please email me at r@oldtelephone.com.

These are some telephones in the condition that we find them. We completely disassemble the telephone and remove the finish. Then we refinish the telephone, paint the metal parts and polish the brass. Then we completely reassemble the telephone. If they need parts we add them. When we are done the telephone is a beautiful piece of history. We also convert some phones to work on today's system. If you have one that needs a loving touch send us a e-mail .

Questions and answers!

Q. Why does my bell ding when I dial my old telephone?

A. You ringer may be unbiased (without a spring to deflect the clapper to one side) in which case it will tap when other phones seize or release the line or use a rotary dial.

My phone does not work and I need help.
1. Test the receiver element. Take a 1.5 volt battery and tap the + to one screw on the element and the - on the other you should hear a tap or click in the receiver element. if it test ok move on if not replace it!

2. now lets test the in coming line. remove the modular line cord ( remember where these are hooked up as they will need to go back!) and touch the red and green lines to the working receiver. if you hear dial tone then you have a good incoming line. if not check the wall socket with another phone if it does not work you will need to move to a working jack.

3. next we will need to check the hookswitch. Track down where the hookswitch wires are attached to the network and remove them ( remember where these are hooked up as they will need to go back just like they where!) Take a ohm meter and test the line. with the hook down or hung-up you should read 0 and with the hook up or off hook it should have a high reading. if this is correct then replace the wires if not you should call and I will have to step you through what to do depending on the phone and I will need you to send me pictures.

Back to the top

Send e-mail to
The Phoneman Now