MATERIALS
Fisher-Price Classics Chatter Telephone about
$15. The plastic ones have more room inside
than the old wooden ones. I used the classic,
boxy style (#952), now sold under license by
Sababa Toys (
sababatoys.com). This project
might also work with the newer, rounded
Fisher-Price model (#77816), but I didn’t try
that one.
Crosley Princess Telephone $31 at Target
Simple used push-button telephone
from a thrift store
Coiled telephone handset cord
Aluminum angle bar ½"×½"×
5",
scrap piece 8" long
20-gauge steel sheet, scrap piece ¾"× 4"
Brass or steel pipe, ½"× 4"
Plastic bolts with matching nuts,
1"×½" ( 4)
E-6000 glue not super glue
Red electrical tape I used Duck Brand
667 Pro Series.
Pop rivets,
1" aluminum, white
TOOLS
X-Acto knife
Pop-rivet gun
Soldering iron and solder
Screwdrivers: small Phillips and flat blade
Drill and drill bits:
5",
1",
8"
Dremel tool
Pliers
Coping saw aka hand jigsaw
File
Tinsnips
Drawing compass, paper, pencil, and scissors
Hammer and nail
Vise
Hair dryer
A
B
side and the back. Then I glued the jacks in place
from the inside.
Hang-Up Hinge
The Crosley’s hang-up hinge is too long to tuck
inside the Chatter, so I trimmed 11" off each end of
the top piece and ¼" each from the bottom. I measured and drilled two
8" holes in the Chatter for the
clear plastic plungers to stick up through (Figure D,
next page). I then made a bracket out of sheet metal
to hold the hinge underneath; download the pattern
at
makezine.com/16/diytelephony_chatter.
With the plungers through the new holes, I positioned the hinge and bracket so that the plungers
moved up and down freely, and then I marked the
bracket’s position, drilled four ¼" holes through the
sides of the phone, and pop-riveted it in place.
Circuit Board
I made brackets for the circuit board out of
aluminum angle; see
makezine.com/16/
diytelephony_chatter. I insulated them with
electrical tape, screwed them to the board with
4 plastic nuts and bolts, and then drilled and pop-riveted them to the Chatter through the flat part
of the base (Figure E).
Make: 155
