Hello from Garland, TX

[danceswithphones]

The wife and I are new to winemaking. We've made strawberry, cherry and blackberry from frozen fruit. Also have a batch of mead going at the moment. We make 1 gallon at a time. I can hear the purists groaning but that's why I'm here. It's time to step up our game and ask all the dumb questions we need answered.

We received a gift certificate and are looking at a Portuguese floor corker. I think we are ready to make that purchase. Dumb questions #1: should I use #8 or #9 corks? We expect the wine to be consumed within 1 to 2 years.

My other passion is telephones. I restore and collect Western Electric telephones from 1902 through 1959.

 

[Johnd]

The wife and I are new to winemaking. We've made strawberry, cherry and blackberry from frozen fruit. Also have a batch of mead going at the moment. We make 1 gallon at a time. I can hear the purists groaning but that's why I'm here. It's time to step up our game and ask all the dumb questions we need answered.

We received a gift certificate and are looking at a Portuguese floor corker. I think we are ready to make that purchase. Dumb questions #1: should I use #8 or #9 corks? We expect the wine to be consumed within 1 to 2 years.

My other passion is telephones. I restore and collect Western Electric telephones from 1902 through 1959.

Assuming that you are using standard sized bottles, you can use either. Personally, since I also own a floor corker, and it will handle the #9's just fine, those are what I use. The #9, being of larger diameter than the #8, will seal and perform better for a longer time period. So if you're planning to keep your wine in the range you indicate, go for the #9's, if it ends up being longer, you're still gonna be OK.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT, Dances with Phones.

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the Forum!

Thanks for the explanation else the handle "danceswithphones" would have left me scratching my head.

 

[dcbrown73]

Welcome to the forum!

Glad to see someone from the Dallas / Fort Worth area! I'm from there also, though I transplanted to a New York City suburb about 11 years ago.

Anyhow, welcome!

 

[sour_grapes]

I restore and collect Western Electric telephones from 1902 through 1959.

Thanks for the explanation else the handle "danceswithphones" would have left me scratching my head.

I just want to know that the hell he has against the Trimline Phone!!

 

[danceswithphones]

Trimline

Western Electric switched from dated soft plastic bodies to undated hard plastic bodies in late 1958 or early 1959 depending on the manufacturing plant. The hard plastic cases just lack the soul of the earlier phones.

I can decode the date on this Model 500T as built on August 27, 1951 by the third shift.

However, I recently saw a clear presentation model of Trimline sell for over $500.

 

[Arne]

Welcome to the forum. Arne.

 

[sour_grapes]

Western Electric switched from dated soft plastic bodies to undated hard plastic bodies in late 1958 or early 1959 depending on the manufacturing plant. The hard plastic cases just lack the soul of the earlier phones.

I see. Just funnin' you, of course.

My father was an installer for Bell. Consequently, we had all the toys (i.e., new phones, 500's in different colors, phones in many rooms) in our house. (Not all of these were "authorized.") I remember years later, my boss was having trouble with her push-button business deskset, so I took the cover off, and called my dad from that phone for remote troubleshooting. He was spouting off "look for the orange/white-white/orange pair, and the slate/green-green/slate pair," etc. He managed to diagnose the problem!