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Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details. |
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11th May 2010, 5:40 pm | #21 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 16,526
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Re: Servant Bell Boards (Annunciators)
Hi Batterymaker-
you might find this interesting, though the pictures are missing. I think it's from your side of the pond, too. http://www.archive.org/stream/howtoi...nrich_djvu.txt
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11th May 2010, 8:41 pm | #22 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
Posts: 5,814
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Re: Servant Bell Boards (Annunciators)
Fitted in pubs-that's true Bill. They were still around in the sixties when Public Houses had interesting decor and numerous rooms, often fitted with a number of Bell Pushes around the walls, to which the waiters responded when the flag lit! I remember a a young lady of my aqquaintance asking how do they know which table it is? and loooking baffled when I said "They don't till they get here!" Not a relationship that endured . I remember dismantling one of these units that I got from a school "re-furb". I'd wanted the electro-magnets for something or other.
Dave W |
4th Jun 2010, 10:03 am | #23 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Ellesmere, Shropshire, UK.
Posts: 188
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Re: Servant Bell Boards (Annunciators)
Hello all:
Quote: Originally Posted by mhennessy View Post Beautiful! Thanks for the pictures! "... I found the original surface treatment had been perfectly preserved in places because the first people to apply paint hadn't rubbed down the boards properly first. A combination of staining and dragging to fake a grain made these humble pine boards look like fine oak! Yes, it's a finish known as scumble and is still done by some of the older painter & decorators round here. It could be used for our restoration projects where a cabinet is too far gone. You could build a new cabinet with MDF and apply a scumble woodgrain effect." This finish is still found on canal narrowboats, old and new. Regards Ant |
4th Jun 2010, 11:32 am | #24 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
Posts: 5,814
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Re: Servant Bell Boards (Annunciators)
Yes my dad learned scumbling. Standard thing in the fifties as you could make the best room a bit "posh". Even the lighter finishes were a yellowy brown so it didn't show the dirt so much and blended in with the general dowdy look [no white emulsion and stripped pine yet]. Requires a special yellow base coat as I recall and then thinning out varnish to apply it on top with a swirl-special combs?. Bit of a magic trick really so any accessories like Bell Boards would get the treatment. Even today, a friend of mine will buy a terraced house and rather than gutting it, get the scumble out! He often has to argue with builders who want to pull everything out inc stained glass! That's an interesting suggestion re radio cabinets. Dave W
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