The WW2 German FF33 field telephone was designed to be used under harsh battlefield conditions. To survive these conditions, it had to be weather resistant. It was typically used with the lid closed. The handset cable and telephone line wires were passed through a rubber weather seal between the lid and the body. The handset was placed crosswise on top of the lid when not in use.
Considering that FF33s are over 75 years old, the rubber weather seals can get rather hard, and even cracked. Sometimes they are so hard that when the phone is wired, the lid cannot be closed.
The rubber weather seal can be replaced by pieces cut from a rubber bicycle tire inner tube.
Let’s first focus on the half of the weather seal attached to the lid. Remove the two screws on the metal retaining clips…
With the two screws removed, the retaining clips can be removed along with the old weather seal.
Use scissors to cut the inner tube to size…
Put the retainer clips back in the lid. Don’t tighten the screws…
Insert the new rubber piece between the clip pieces. Tighten the screws to hold the rubber in place.
Next, lets focus on the half of the seal attached to the telephone body…
Remove the clips and the old seal as done on the lid. Cut a new seal from the inner tube. Put the clips back on the body, but don’t tighten the screws. Insert the new rubber between the clips and tighten the screws.
With the lid closed, the new weather seal is ready to do its job.
For more information about the FF33 field telephone, refer to my WW2 German field telephone equipment book…
WW2 German Field Telephone Equipment 