Antique Headphones with Broken Electronics - Restoration

In this video I'm restoring a pair of antique German headphones. I've found these headphones at an online auction for $30 and I thought they look pretty cool for a restoration project.
Unfortunately they didn't work anymore. I measured the coils and three of the four were broken. That fact put this little project to a whole new challenge. It required a ton of research to completely understanding every single detail of its function to remake the coils and such. After some trial and error I managed to remake the broken bobbins and rewind the coils. The tricky part was that both coils are connected with eachother at the beginning of the windings in the core. I had to make a special jig, so I could clamp both coils when winding the second one.
The original paint had some kind of a structure in it. It was black matte with some kind of a hammertone pattern. Unfortunately I was not able to find such paint, so I went with regular black matte. To not loose the were fine writings and logo I only applied a very thin layer of primer and coat.
The Bakelite pieces just required some wet sanding and a good polish and they looked like new again. Old Bakelite might contain asbestos, that's why I wet sanded them so there won't be any sanding dust.
I cleaned the membranes with scotch brite after a 24h bath in rust remover. To get rid of the pitting I sanded it with 240 grit sandpaper. I was already down to 0.13mm from 0.2mm thickness, but there was still pitting visible and I just sanded one side. To get the best possible sound at the end I decided to remake both membranes with new 0.2mm steel foil. To match the original membranes I also painted the center black matte.
I nickel plated all the screws and the two brackets like they were originally. The brackets were a little bit weird, because they were two identical ones instead of pair of mirrored ones. I fixed that pretty easy by just bending the shaft on one ion the opposite direction.
I was very lucky that the cable was in nearly perfect condition. It had absolutely no visible damge or fraying, just lost a bit of color. I just had to shorten them. Todays headphones all work with AC, these however back then worked with DC. Therefore the polarity matters. I also marked all endings of the cable with red and black threads, so did I made a red and black plastic cover for the plugs.
In the end I'm very happy how these headphones have turned out. The color combination of the black matte with the shiny black Backelite parts look very classy together with the shiny nickel plated parts and the crispy clean looking knurling is the cherry on top.

I hope you like my work and the video.

Huge thank you to all of my Patreon supporters and especially to:
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My camera:
Panasonic HC-VX11

This is an ASMR style video. Especially made to have the best sound quality, so you can enjoy all the authentic sounds created in the workshop in ASMR style.

If you have any questions about the process, machines i'm using or other stuff, just ask me in the comments. I read them all and i try to reply as soon as possible.

Sorry for my bad english, it's not my language. I try my best to improve my technical english.

Subscribe for more of my content. I'm uploading videos about mechanical stuff, as new creations and buildings and also restorations.

Thank you for watching :-)

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[frankierzucekjr]

As many people model their "restoration channels" off of you, NO ONE even comes close to your professionalism and perfection. You deserve the millions of views you get.

[Elpigto]

My favorite restoration channel. No silly gimmicks, no lame subscription requests, just straight up get to work and make a great video and restoration. Thanks.

[marshalliize]

The detail. The camera work. The precision. The clean hands and nails and workspace. It’s not lost on me. Insanely awesome.

[ergile]

YOU MADE NEW COILS FROM SCRATCH?!?!
The amount of skill and dedication to the craft here is truly unparalleled. You have my ultimate respect.

[Myth_Incarnate]

The year is 2096. My Mechanics has grown old and grey, but still makes these wonderful videos. The camera pans to a hospital bed, where he systematically explains all the faults with his aging body with on screen captions and perfectly framed close-up shots. A quick disassembly later and the extent of the damage is revealed - joints are seized and arthritic, but the bones and muscles are in excellent condition. The camera zooms in on a hip joint, showing pitting and damaged bone. A caption pops up. "I make a new one." 34 minutes of gorgeously edited footage of amazingly talented machining and tool work ends with a smooth assembly and the trademark before and after shots, showing a much younger looking My Mechanics. The audience is left to wondering how he possibly managed to restore himself.

[HAL-zhkf]

This is wizard-level restoration, there's no other way to describe it.

[badgerservices]

The most impressive thing, and why MY MECHANICS stands tall above all other restoration channels on YT, is the fact he goes beyond restoration, actually removing original manufacturing defects. Its a great skill. Perhaps even an art form. He challenges himself in each video, providing us with completely new content each time. Awesome work MM.

[johnykras]

That's not a restoration, that's art.

[silkyjoe]

I believe this is the second video in which you’ve rewound coils. I am still simply in awe of the precision and patience you have. Your attention to detail is nothing short of astonishing.

[Kellen]

When I realised you were going to redo and rewind the voice coils, my jaw dropped. That is NOT at all an easy thing to get right even for experienced people. Congrats on the restoration and doing so well!!

[diama_ntidis]

Hands down you’re the only YouTube channel I anticipate to watch a new episode.
I can’t even imagine how much time, patience, skill and knowledge it requires to restore these items.
Thank you for your honest work. I wish you have anything you desire in your life.
Health and luck above all.

[skrufff]

My favourite thing about your work is not just the attention to detail, but you also do your best to make the thing actually work as optimally as possible. No other YouTube restoration channel would remake the coils or bother getting an impedance meter to correctly adjust the headphones, or even know to do it at all. You're on another level. Just an insane amount of artistry is put into everything you do. Thank you for the incredible videos.

[NortelGeek]

You didn't restore German headphones from WW2, you _MADE_ a brand-new, authentic, pair of headphones. You, sir, are a true professional and I'm truly floored by the level of care and dedication you've shown to your craft.

[VestigialHead]

This is one of the major benefits of the internet and YT in particular. Due to the fact that this channel can get money based on the number of views per video allows this guy to spend insane amounts of time and effort on restoring these items way beyond expectations.
There is no way anyone would ever bother to spend the hundreds of hours he does on these items as they could not sell them for anywhere neat that kind of money.

So it is only due to the internet that this exists.

[shootytheturtle]

Others have rightfully praised your unmatched skills in the shop but I also want to mention that your camera work, audio, and video editing is also 10/10 perfection. These videos are works of art!

[mcnorcan]

When you made new bobbins and rewound the coils, that was another whole level. Incredible.

[gezinherderram]

This was really really the most satisfying restoration I have ever watched. The crazy level of detail, patience, knowledge, camera setting, editing, metallurgy, precision, electrical, manicure….I’m truly in awe. It’s months of work cropped in 25 minutes.

[ailmlvr]

This is the best restoration channel I have come across. Other channels just annoy me with their sloppy finish, this channel just does everything perfect and the best part is there is no annoying music. Great job.

[lwo]

I love getting a cup of tea, tidying my desk, lowering my lights, getting the dog under my feet and absorbing myself into these restorations. It's like therapy for me

[janson]

I was skeptical at first, but amazed at the end. The guy really made a new driver. Also, he spam “I make a new one” like it is nothing. Crazy stuff