70’s Telephone to Sig MK25 cozy conversion

PatriotX

PatriotX

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Hi folks,


When I saw this vintage Deco-Tel phone on the auction site, I knew it had potential.

I’m not sure for what, but it was worth a couple of bucks to find out.





As it turns out, the wood is ‘wood-grained plastic’ with authentic vinyl leather-patterned inserts !

Meh. That just means that it’s lower-maintenance. Wait- there is one big problem....it’s not actually a box ! It’s a ‘hood’ that fits over the phone and is wedge-fit !!! :eek:





I may have bitten off more 70’s plastic than I can chew.
 
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After ripping out the cheap flocked liner, it is a mess in there. Ancient glue galore !



Wait, who made this plastic-and-more-plastic masterpiece? Lisa !



Lisa used a lot of glue. I’m guessing something about the fumes must have been appealing?



Cleaned up a bit.
 
Ok, time to fix that pesky lack-of-a-bottom issue. I grabbed some leftover 3/8” Starboard (HDPE sheet) and traced out a filler piece. A bit of hand-fitting later, it now does all duties of which a box-bottom could be expected.






I had to file-cut notches for the wedges in the ‘box.’ Man, this is a pain !
 
swsig said:
Could that be Nixon's long-lost hot line to the Kremlin? Plug it in and see if Brezhnev answers.
Click to expand...


I would, but this is the first house in which I’ve lived that doesn’t have a POTS line ! It feels odd. :eek:

You can find dozens of these by searching for “vintage spy phone,” for what it’s worth...


So, as it turns out, hot glue fails to stick to the space-age materials from which this is crafted. We’re going to have to break out the chem books and see what sticks to both poly and HDPE. Nothing? Great.

To affix the bottom permanently, we will need to dissolve the component materials with a solvent, and let them weld to each other. The solvent will be applied via the bottom, so time to mask interior with non-reactive aluminum tape.


 
My in-laws used to have one of those. I collected weird phones... even had a "Charley Tuna" one.

Here's two that stuck around. The grey one appeared on a Star Trek episode, and the black one you bend it to answer a call.
 

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After letting the solvent marry the pieces, it’s time to finish up. Foam is cut to depth and crammed in the now-a-box.




Much cleaner.


I won’t bore you with cutting foam pics, but the same technique was used as in the briefcase conversion. I photocopy the gun and parts and cut them to size. The paper gun and mag are pinned to foam, and then used as perfect template for trimming.
 
Done. It looks right at home next to a comfy chair and fireplace. I put some felt feet on bottom to keep from scratching anything.






I hope you enjoyed the build, and remember - anything can hold a gun, if you’re brave enough !

Thanks for looking !
 
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mikerjf said:
My in-laws used to have one of those. I collected weird phones... even had a "Charley Tuna" one.

Here's two that stuck around. The grey one appeared on a Star Trek episode, and the black one you bend it to answer a call.
Click to expand...


The one looks like the ncc-1701, so no surprise there ! I really like the bendy one.

Used to have one of these...

 
I have a very nice wooden cigar box with a hinged lid which I similarly made into a case for my kitchen gun, a 1900 FN Browning .32. It's only about 2" thick, perfect size for the Browning.
 
DWalt said:
I have a very nice wooden cigar box with a hinged lid which I similarly made into a case for my kitchen gun, a 1900 FN Browning .32. It's only about 2" thick, perfect size for the Browning.
Click to expand...

I would be very interested in seeing pics, if you felt like sharing them.


mikerjf said:
PhoneCo Inc of Galesville WI is yer source for many cool phones like these. I stopped by there once and got a tour from the receptionist, it was amazing (and I bought 3 phones that trip).

PHONECO Antique phone, collectible telephone, old telephone
Click to expand...


Thanks for that link !
 
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