Reviving A Vintage Toy To Working Condition


I've been going through my mom's boxes over the past couple of weeks, and in one of them was her favorite television character's collector's piece. The Six Million Dollar Man's boss, Oscar Goldman, had his own office playset that came out in the late 1970s, and hers is still in incredible condition. Mostly because I wasn't allowed to play too roughly with it!


The only problem with it was that the buzzer and light mechanism wasn't working. When you open the desk top, it reveals the undercover and Top Secret office equipment that helps him run the department's missions. But even when the alarm button was flipped on, it didn't buzz. And do I ever remember that buzz!


The issue was battery corrosion on the metal piece that held them to one side of the desk. I knew the problem, but I definitely didn't know how to fix it. With two questions to our town's resident toy expert and a little online research, the answer was simple: vinegar. Yep, ordinary white vinegar. I was instructed to start with a Q-tip and see if the vinegar and some friction would get it off. It was way too thick for that, so it took actual soaking in the vinegar.


It was recommended to start with a few minutes and work up to a few hours. This very old, very solid corrosion to almost 48 hours of soaking, but almost all of it fell off. Any longer than that and I think it probably would have eaten away the metal. After letting it dry completely, I reassembled the underside of the desk, inserted the C batteries, and prayed for the best.


Oscar's desk is in working condition again! I'm so thankful I put that time in to getting it running again. It is a beautiful sound, that buzzer that goes off when the file cabinet is broken into, or when you pull open the desk top without permission! I have so many wonderful memories of my mom and this playset, and I can't wait to sell it to someone who will enjoy it - and that buzzer - as much as we did. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

The Lord, My Shield And My Buckler

Image
Sometimes verses of Scripture grab ahold of your heart and don't let go. That happened to me several months in a row as I was reading the books of Psalms and Proverbs.  If you don't already, add reading the Proverb that corresponds to the day of the month - 31 Proverbs, 31 days - to your Bible reading schedule. Similarly, if you read five Psalms every day, you'll read the entire book each month. On the first of the month, Psalm 5:11-12 stood out like they were under a spotlight. Repeatedly. Every month like clockwork. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.  For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as   with  a shield. Psalm 5:11-12 It was the word shield - favor like a shield, wrapping around with protection and love. Shields are a defensive weapon, so knowing that you're surrounded and protected means you c...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more