Skills For "Living The Era"

[LizzieMaine]

Exactly. Tie a headcloth over your hair because the steam from the water will put an end to any set you have going. Also get rid of any dangling jewelry, and wear short sleeves and an apron, because you're going to get splashed.

And take off your watch. You're going be plunging your arms into the water to pull out the items for wringing, and your watch won't like it much.

 

[LizzieMaine]

How to Start A Vintage Car

This article applies to a typical, conventional American car of the 1930-1955 period with a manual transmission and a manual choke. Most cars from the mid-1950s forward are little different from modern cars in the basic operational respects. Many cars at the earlier end of this range may have model-specific differences -- if in doubt, see your owner's manual.

Seat yourself in the car and look over the instrument panel. You'll see several gagues somewhere around the speedometer -- the most important being the ammeter, usually labeled AMPS, and the oil pressure gague. You'll also see control knobs labeled THROTTLE and CHOKE. Look on the floor to see if there's a pedal for the starter -- if there is, it'll be located just above and slightly to the right of the accelerator pedal. If there isn't a floor pedal, look on the dashboard for an obvious push button. If there is no push button there, the starter switch is part of the key ignition switch as in a modern car.

Once you're situated, insert the ignition key and turn it to the right. In most cars prior to 1950, the only thing that'll happen is that the ammeter needle will kick slightly to the left, toward the "-" symbol. This indicates that the ignition circuit is closed, and power is flowing from the battery. So good so far.

Shift the car into neutral -- the center of the standard "H" shifting pattern, and depress the clutch. Pull the choke knob all the way out. Tap on the accelerator pedal once -- do not hold it to the floor. Press the starter pedal or button and hold it until the engine catches. Immediately push in the choke knob about two-thirds of the way, and allow the engine to run for about two minutes to circulate the oil. You should see the ammeter needle move to the right of center, toward the "+" symbol, indicating that the generator is working. You should see the oil pressure gague settle at around 30. Watch these gagues carefully to make sure nothing unusual is going on.

If the engine doesn't start easily, you'll probably end up flooding the carburetor. To clear it, push the choke all the way in, floor the gas pedal and crank the starter for fifteen seconds or so. Let it rest and then crank again until the engine catches.

Once the engine has warmed up, push the choke knob all the way in, release the parking brake, shift into reverse -- the upper left of the H pattern -- and you're on your way. Keep an eye on the oil pressure gague -- it should stabilize around 40 once the car's been running for a while. The temperature gague should stabilize around 160-180 degrees when the car is fully warmed up. The ammeter gague should stay on the + side while the engine is running, although as you drive it'll move closer to the center line. If you turn on accessories, such as headlights or the radio, you should see it jump further toward the + side. If the ammeter moves toward the minus side while the engine is running, you may have a problem with your electrical system, and should have it checked as soon as possible.

If it's an especially cold day, it might help to pull the throttle knob out about one third before starting the engine, and then let it run for a bit -- push the throttle knob back in once the car is warmed up.

Generally speaking you'll only need to use the choke control with cold starts. Once the car's been running for a while you can usually start up again without using the choke.

Many vintage cars lock using the door handles. Pull the handle up as far as it will go to lock the doors. Many vintage cars don't have key locks on the driver's side door -- there is no way to unlock that door from the outside. You were expected to exit your car from the passenger's side -- the side nearest the curb. Lock your car by first pulling up the driver's door handle, slide across the seat and exit thru the passenger door. You may then use your key to lock that door from the outside.

 

[vitanola]

I'm pretty good at banking the fire in the furnace, and setting the clock-work damper to bring the fire up in the morning. I don't end up with TOO many clinkers. However at the current cost of coal, delivered, the modern natural gas furnace which I installed in the house when we restored it (separate duct system from the old "octopus") is actually slightly cheaper to run. The hot water coil in the furnace provides copious amounts of heated aqua for bathing and washing, but in frigid weather the unit produces TOO much heated water, the excess of which must be run down the drain. This was all well and good when city water not metered, charged by the tap, but in these days when water and sewerage charges add up to dearly a cent a gallon, running superfluous hot water down the drain seems to be rather a waste.

 

[rue]

This is an absolutely fantastic thread Lizzie! And just in time too.... I have to defrost my fridge for the second time and your post on it will save me time and help me a great deal.

If I can think of anything to add, I will

 

[LizzieMaine]

All input is welcome -- think of this as an ongoing How To Do It encyclopedia, and any skills anyone can contribute are welcome.

 

[LizzieMaine]

How To Install a Telephone

This article will focus on the installation of a basic Type 302 Western Electric dial telephone, widely used by the Bell System from 1937 into the 1960s. Other models may differ in specific details, but the basic principles are the same. These instructions presuppose you already have a functional copper-wire land-line installed at your home.

Tools needed -- flathead screwdriver, diagonal wire cutter or electrical tape.

Turn over your telephone. You'll see two screws at opposite ends of the base. Unscrew these, and lift the base out of the casing of the phone. The casing will remain attached to the base by the dial wiring and by a short, thick woven fabric hinge, but you should be able to rest the base on its feet with the casing opened up enough to work on the insides.

You'll see three basic elements mounted on the base of the set. The ringer is obvious -- that's the part with the two brass gongs, a wire clapper with a brass knob on the end, and a pair of coils. The long lead-colored object is the condenser. The square transformer in the center of the base is the heart of the telephone, the induction coil. You'll see that the framework of this coil is studded with screw terminals, each clearly labeled. Don't disconnect anything that's already connected.

Take a length of standard modular telephone cable -- you can use the common stuff you can find at any hardware store, or you can order original-style cloth-covered wire from speciality telephone suppliers, the difference is merely cosmetic. Either type will work. The type of cable you want will have a modular plug on one end and a series of colored smaller wires tipped with metal spade lugs at the other.

Locate the terminals on the induction coil labeled "L1" and "L2." These are the connections for the incoming telephone line, the points at which your phone connects to the circuit. Using your flathead screwdriver, attach the RED wire from your modular cable to L1 and the GREEN wire to L2. You don't need to use the yellow or black wires from your cable -- cut them off with your diagonal cutters, or just tape the lugs with electrical tape. This will prevent accidental short circuits inside your phone.

While you have your phone open, examine the existing connections to ensure all is as it should be. The red wire from the ringer coils should be connected to L1 on the induction coil. The black wire from the ringer should be connected to the terminal on the base marked K.

The RED wire from the handset should be connected to the terminal on the induction coil marked R. The WHITE wire should go to the terminal on the back of the dial marked W. The BLACK wire from the handset goes to the terminal on the back of the dial marked BK.

The GREEN wire from the hook switch goes to the G terminal on the induction coil. The YELLOW wire from the hook switch goes to L2 on the induction coil. The BROWN wire with PURPLE markings from the hook switch goes to the terminal on the back of the dial marked Y. The RED wire with BLUE markings from the hook switch goes to the terminal on the back of the dial marked BB. The YELLOW wire with PURPLE markings from the hook switch goes to the terminal on the back of the dial marked Y.

The GREYISH WHITE (SLATE) wire from the condenser goes to the terminal on the base marked K. The RED wire from the condenser goes to the C terminal on the induction coil. The YELLOW wire from the condenser goes to L2 on the induction coil. The BLACK wire from the condenser goes to the BK terminal on the dial.

If all the wiring matches this description, your phone is correctly wired.

Plug the end of the line cord you installed into an active modular telephone jack connected to your house telephone wiring. You should hear a dial tone in the receiver. Tap the hook switch and you should hear an interruption in the dial tone. Dial the dial and you should hear a series of clicks as the dial contacts make and break. If the dial seems sluggish, a drop of sewing machine oil into the gears at the back of the dial can smooth out operation. Talk into the transmitter and you should hear your own voice coming back thru the receiver, just loud enough that you know it's there.

If you hear static in the receiver, unscrew the caps of the handset. You'll find "capsules" for the transmitter and receiver, with electrical contacts on the rear. Burnish these with a pencil eraser until they're perfectly clean, be sure the clips inside the handset that make contact with the capsules are firmly connected to the handset wiring -- tighten screws as needed -- and reassemble.

Make note of any dates stamped in red ink on the interior of your phone -- these indicate the date of manufacture. You may see multiple dates on various components -- this is common, the Bell System replaced faulty parts in the field rather than replace the whole phone.

Reassemble the telephone by routing the cord you installed thru the notch in the back of the casing, and re-tighten the two screws you loosened before. Your telephone is now ready to use.

To test the ringer, try this: dial 981-XXXX, the XXXX being the last four digits of your phone number (land-line phone number, that is.) Tap the hook switch once as soon as you finish dialing, and you should hear a high-pitched tone in your receiver. Hold the hookswitch down. Within a second or two your phone will ring. Release the hookswitch and you'll hear the tone again. You may now hang up the phone -- your ringer works fine, and your phone is ready to use.

(Note: 981-XXXX is a standard "ringback number" used by many phone companies formerly part of the Bell System. Depending on your specific phone company this number may not work - if not, consult this list for other numbers that may work in your area.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Lizzie! Now THIS is what the Lounge was ALWAYS supposed to be about! Congrats and thanks!

 

[MPicciotto]

The hot water coil in the furnace provides copious amounts of heated aqua for bathing and washing, but in frigid weather the unit produces TOO much heated water, the excess of which must be run down the drain. This was all well and good when city water not metered, charged by the tap, but in these days when water and sewerage charges add up to dearly a cent a gallon, running superfluous hot water down the drain seems to be rather a waste.

Sounds like you need a tempering valve at the heater. A tempering valve mixes cold water with the outflow side of your hot water coil so that the water that reaches your faucet isn't scalding. They have a knob on top and are customer adjustable so you can turn it hotter or colder to your needs.

Matt

 

[tonyb]

Anyone got a tutorial on replacing the cord that runs between the base and the handset on a Western Electric 302? Mine has one of those coiled cords, the covering of which is breaking near the handset. The cable that plugs into the wall was replaced with an authentic-looking cloth covered unit several years ago, and I don't know if I'd prefer replacing the handset cord with a cloth-covered job or a coiled plastic-covered one, as I don't know the comparative merits of each. Any advice on that account would be appreciated, as would recommendations as to the best suppliers of such components.

 

[vitanola]

No.

I am using an old-fashion hot water coil in the coal furnace. During cold weather when the furnace is heavily fired I can set the water in my tank to boiling, at which point my modern Temperature/Pressure relief (safety) valve opens and gallons of water run down the drain I cannot allow the water coil to run dry, for then the coil will burn out. In the summer I use a side-arm gas heater, and do not have this problem, as long as I remember to turn it off when the water in the tank is hot.

City gas is far less expensive in real (inflation adjusted) terms than it was in the 1920's, whilst city water and sewerage is far more expensive, and so we must adjust our use of these relics to current conditions.

My last delivery of furnace coal cost just over $220/ton. A short ton of the Indiana Bituminous coal which we burn will produce about 25 million BTU's of heat. I would expect that our gravity furnace is perhaps 40% efficient in transferring that heat to our living space, so for my $220 I receive the benefit of
10 million BTU's. This heating season, natural gas is being billed at about $7.00/million BTU's in our area. The modern natural gas heating plant that I installed in our home to allay the fears of the Better Half (and satisfy the building inspectors) has an effective efficiency of 85% heat delivered to the rooms, a similar 10 million BTU's of delivered heat costs but $82.35. With these figures it seems that the prudent course would be to clean the coal burner and return it to the status of a static display.

This is just a small example of the difficulty of adapting some old technology to modern conditions.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Anyone got a tutorial on replacing the cord that runs between the base and the handset on a Western Electric 302? Mine has one of those coiled cords, the covering of which is breaking near the handset. The cable that plugs into the wall was replaced with an authentic-looking cloth covered unit several years ago, and I don't know if I'd prefer replacing the handset cord with a cloth-covered job or a coiled plastic-covered one, as I don't know the comparative merits of each. Any advice on that account would be appreciated, as would recommendations as to the best suppliers of such components.

I've never used a coiled cord on my phones, so I can't attest to the specifics, but I've had good luck with Phoneco cords. The 302 originally used a brown cloth-covered straight cord, and switched in the forties to a straight black rubber covered cord. Coiled cords were used, but weren't common, and had the same tendency to get fouled as modern coiled cords have today.

Whatever cord you use, the connections are the same.

Remove the transmitter cap from the handset and remove the transmitter capsule. You'll see three screw connections and a strain relief, which can be either a hook or a knotted end to the covering of the cord. The connections in the handset cord are red, black, and white -- marked on the inside of the transmitter cup with R, BK, and W. Disconnect these screws with your flathead screwdriver, and attach the red, black and white wires from the new cord to the appropriate terminals. Disconnect the strain relief from the old cord and attach the new one in the same spot.

Open the phone and locate the connections to the handset cord -- the RED wire goes to the R terminal on the induction coil, the BLACK wire goes to the BK terminal on the dial, and the WHITE wire goes to the W terminal on the dial. Disconnect these wires, and attach the wires from your new cord to the appropriate terminals. Undo the strain relief attaching the cord to the base, and attach the new one in the same location. Close up the phone, put the transmitter capsule back in the handset, screw on the cap, and you should be all set.

 

[vitanola]

Well, old original cloth covered coiled cords can occasionally be found. They are attractive, but expensive. IN the old days the Bell System charged a small additional rental fee for a telephone that was fitted with a coiled handset cord, for while they were an undoubted convenience they were a maintenance headache.

Excellent straight cloth covered cords are available from PHONECO, Ron and Mary Knappen, in Galesville, WI.

http://www.phonecoinc.com/category.asp?gorl=list&horh=&group=misc&category=Cords&map=1
Their part number W341 will be the item that you require.

The cotton covered tinsel conductors each have a "tracer" thread woven into their covering which indicated the wire color that they are to replace.

To install the new handset cord loosen the two screws which hold the base to the cover of the telephone, and unscrew the transmitter cap, removing the F1 transmitter and setting it aside. Remove the screws which hold the lugs on the handset cord in place in the handset itself, and remove also the transmitter contact springs. Then remove the strain relief screw (the screw which holds the little strain relief hook on the cord in place ) Now look for the letters which indicate which color wires go where. These are molded into the handset. You will see "BK" (for black), "W" (for white) and "R" (for red). Replace the screw which holds the strain relief , threading it through the hole in the strain relief hook on the new handset cord. Replace the contacts, leaving the screws quite loose. Connect the spade terminal of wire with the white tracer to the "W" screw, the wire with the red tracer is connected to the "R" screw, and the third wire (which occasionally has a black tracer thread but is more often left plain) is connected to the "B" screw. Now take a pair of needle-nose pliers and gently remove the old handset strain relief loop form its hook inside the cover of the telephone. Hook the strain relief loop of the new cord in place, and the replace the handset wires on the connections in the telephone one at a time, red tracer replacing the red wire, white the white wire, and the third wire, which may either have a black tracer or may be plain brown (as noted above) replaces the old black handset wire. Now fold the cover of the telephone closed, tighten the two base screws, re-connect your telephone to the line and call your mother.

 

[vitanola]

I've never used a coiled cord on my phones, so I can't attest to the specifics, but I've had good luck with Phoneco cords. The 302 originally used a brown cloth-covered straight cord, and switched in the forties to a straight black...

O. K. Speedy Gonzales.

 

[LizzieMaine]

How To Shoot 8mm Home Movies

It's still possible, and it's fun to do -- some very fine movie cameras and projectors from the Era can be had for peanuts, and the film is still available from specialty suppliers.

The first thing you'll need is a camera, and you'll need to know the difference between Regular 8 and Super 8. Regular 8 is the original 8mm format -- the film is actually specially-perforated 16mm film that usually comes in 25 foot spools. The camera is set up to shoot the film along one side for the full length of the spool. You then turn the film over and shoot it along the other side. During processing the film is slit to produce two 25 foot 8mm strips with perforations along one side and spliced together to form a 50 foot single reel.

Super 8mm film is a 1960s development, with a different perforation scheme and a larger frame size. The two film types are not interchangeable, and while most Super 8 projectors will also show Regular 8, the opposite is not true. Be sure your equipment matches the type of film you intend to shoot. This article will presuppose that you will be shooting regular 8mm film on a common 1930s-40s era camera.

8mm cameras of the era are simple to use. They usually have a simple slide arrangement for setting f-stops and are either fixed-focus or have a simple detent system for selcting the distance range. They are powered by a spring-wound motor which will usually expose about six feet or about thirty seconds worth of film per winding.

To load your camera locate the film-compartment door latch, which will usually be a slider or a knob on the side of the camera body. The door will most likely lift completely free of the camera once unlatched. Inside you'll see an empty spool and an empty spindle, a large sprocketed wheel with metal snap-close guides to hold the film against it, and a shiny steel arrangement behind the lens. There will be a diagram screen-printed onto the bottom of the film compartment showing the threading pattern.

Your unexposed film will come in a small metal can sealed by tape. IN SUBDUED LIGHT unseal this tape and remove the spool from its can. There will be a rubber band holding the loose end of the film in place -- remove this and store it in the can for later use. Close the can and reseal it with tape, and store it in a safe place -- you'll need it again later.

Place the film spool on the empty pin and unspool about a foot of film. Unlatch the guides and the film gate, usually by pressing them downward and back, and thread the film thru the guide, around the sprocketed wheel, thru the gate, back around the wheel, thru the other guide (if present), around the footage-indicator pin, and around the empty spool, securing the end of the film in the slot on the reel's hub. Be sure you're following the diagram as printed in the film compartment or on the inside of the cover. The film, when properly threaded will be holding the footage indicator pin back -- it's spring loaded, so there'll be a small bit of tension here and depending on the camera it might be fiddly. Be sure it's threaded properly, snap the guides and gate shut and replace the cover. There's usually a pin or a lug on the front end of the camera cover that must be fit into place first, and then the rear is lowered into place and latched shut. Be sure the latch is properly engaged -- you don't want the cover falling off when you're trying to film something.

Wind the camera using the key or crank handle mounted on the side -- wind it until you feel resistance,*then stop. Locate the shutter button, which will usually be on the front or side of the camera, and run a short length of film -- just enough to establish that everything's working properly. Don't worry about exposure settings for this, this film will be part of your leader.

You're now ready to shoot some movies.

The settings for your camera will depend on the film you're using, and because of the limited range of film available today you might not be able to go by the table in the camera's instruction book, or the indications spelled out on the camera face. If you're shooting modern black and white film, it's low-light reversal film, so if you're shooting outdoors in daylight you want to close your aperture to the smallest setting offered or the pictures will be overexposed. If you're shooting color, it's some variation of Ektachrome, and is more or less equivalent in exposure settings to the color film available to the era -- so go by the settings shown on your camera or in your instruction book for Kodachrome or "color pictures."

To shoot, you need to think. You've only got thirty seconds or so per winding, and you've only got about two and a half minutes per side of the spool, so your film will be better served by a series of short expressive shots than a long slow single shot. If you're shooting a parade, shoot short clips of the most interesting features -- and don't just hold your camera still and let the parade march by. If you're filming a band of marching Scotchmen playing bagpipes, follow the most interesting-looking piper and slowly pan your camera thru the shot as he passes by. Follow that principle in all your shots and you'll make the most of what you have to work with.

Watch your footage indicator as you shoot. When you come to the end of the spool you'll need to find a shady area to open the camera. You'll find the full spool you started with is now the empty spool and the empty spool is now full of film. You'll need to reverse their positions, so that the full spool is at the top again and the empty spool is at the bottom. The design of the spool pin is such that you are forced to turn the spool over in order to do this, which is exactly what you want -- you're now going to be exposing the opposite side of the film. Rethread the camera following the procedure above, close the cover, and go back to shooting until you've run thru the entire second side of the spool.

When you're finished, go into subdued light and remove the film -- which is now back on the spool it started out on. Replace the rubber band that you've stored in the film can, and place the spool back in the can, resealing it with tape. Follow the instructions from the film supplier for processing -- some sources give you a pre-paid mailer to return the film for processing, some require you to send payment along with the film. Either way, you'll want to make sure the can is tightly sealed, and that you mark the mailer with EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM HANDLE WITH CARE.

You'll get your finished film back in about a week or so -- it'll probably come on a super 8 reel, which is fine if you have a dual-8 projector. But the spindle hole is different on a regular 8 projector, which means you'll need to jury-rig an adapter of some kind or spool the film onto an empty regular 8 reel that you've acquired for the purpose -- they can be had from specialty film suppliers without much expense. Then, call the family and the neighbors and invite them to enjoy Real Home Movies!

If you don't like to mess around with 50 foot reels, it's very easy to splice and edit the film. In the Era, splicers used film cement, but that cement doesn't work on the polyester film stock that's commonly used today. You'll need to supply yourself with "Presstape" splices, which are short lengths of perforated tape specially made to splice home movies. An editing device, with reel spindles, a small illuminated screen, and a cutting block will be very helpful as well.

 

[tonyb]

Ask and you shall receive.

Such fine service in this joint. Now if I could only convince them to pour a somewhat stiffer drink (and at these prices!), all would be good with the world.

 

[St. Louis]

I love this thread. It's making me think about all sorts of possibilities. I'm hopelessly unhandy and assumed I would have no idea how to use or care for some of these tools, but now I am beginning to feel confident that I might be able to master them.

I hope some time you'll post information about box cameras, LizzieMaine, because I've always wanted to use one but have no idea how to identify a working one. And almost no one will guarantee them -- they just sell them "as is." I wouldn't even know how to load it, point it, figure out whether it works, what kind of film to buy, and so on.

Meanwhile I have some more questions about things around the house. I've been using a 1920s Hotpoint electric iron, which works very well but has no heat settings. It just becomes hot. I don't have a photo handy right now, but it looks exactly like this one. It's in perfect condition.

I only use it to iron cotton, linen, or (with a damp cloth) wool. It's small but very, very heavy, so it's fantastic for getting wrinkles out. I have almost no synthetic fabrics around the house, so the fact that I can't control the temperature is generally not a problem. I would imagine that one couldn't iron silks or rayons with these irons?

I did discover, by the way, that the thumb rest (which is fantastic) was patented in 1918.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My first camera was my grandmother's first camera -- a No. 2 Brownie -- which I used to get my photography badge in the Girl Scouts. I'll dig it out and do a piece on it soon.

Judging temperature with a non-automatic iron was a matter of trial and error -- you'd lick the tip of your index finger until it was good and wet and lightly touch the shoe of the iron and when it was hot enough for cotton the saliva would sizzle. You'd then unplug the cord -- and iron your cottons and linens, and then when it had cooled down a bit you'd do your wools, and then when it had cooled down a bit more you'd move on to the more delicate fabrics.

If you aren't using an ironing bottle, you should be -- it's a Coke bottle with a special stopper perforated with holes, used to sprinkle water on your cottons before ironing. Creates the same effect as a steam iron.

 

[St. Louis]

Wow, thanks! That's a useful tip. I just did a quick search for laundry sprinklers, and find that there are plenty on the 'bay. The auctions are all live, so I can't list them here, but there are some with original bottles at quite affordable prices.

 

[scotrace]

The auctions are all live, so I can't list them here...

Yes, you can. That rule went away some time ago. Please DO share.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Wow, thanks! That's a useful tip. I just did a quick search for laundry sprinklers, and find that there are plenty on the 'bay. The auctions are all live, so I can't list them here, but there are some with original bottles at quite affordable prices.

You should be able to get one very inexpensively -- most people don't know what they are, and I see them in junk boxes at flea markets all the time. You want to be sure to get one with the cork portion of the stopper still intact -- if it isn't you can wrap it with "tommy tape", a stretchy self-adhering rubber tape, and make it seal well again.

A Coca-Cola bottle was the favorite choice for using with a sprinkler top because it was heavy and stable and didn't tip over easily, but I've seen a lot of other types of bottles used. My own ironing bottle once contained Hires Root Beer, and I use it because it holds twice as much water as a Coke bottle.