Telephone Box?

Our parish council are now the owners of a shiny red telephone box(except it's not shiny, BT having done no maintenance for 20 years), and somehow I have responsibility for it. The light does not work, though it is believed that BT are still supplying electricity.

I went today to look at replacing bulbs etc, but the cover of the fitting is held on with a screw the head of which I've never seen before. A sort of curved triangular male part on the screw, akin to a 3 lobed Torx bit.
I'll need to make some sort of socket, a cylinder with 3 notches sort of device unless any of you clever people can advise me where to obtain the correct bit.

 

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but..... I believe that what you are looking at is called "Tri-wing" bit. These come in at least 4 sizes. I checked the SCREWFIX site, they stock a multi bit set priced at......wait for it.......£14.99! (I can here the "Ouch" from here.)

https://www.screwfix.com/p/mixed-mi...et/2840v#product_additional_details_container

 

Thanks for that. On our phone box, the screw head is similar to the tri-wing bits at the front right of that set. I need a socket to mate with it. I can't measure it, as the screw is deeply recessed into the fitting, and 7' off the floor. I'll try to get a photo

 

Just to check that what you are looking at is Tri-wing, the drivers look like these... . you will find them cheaper on that well known South American river named site.

 

If an 8mm socket is the opposite of an m8 allen key, then I need the opposite of these tri-wing drivers. The screws in the fitting have the male part, I need the socket side.

 

I worked for Post Office Telephones/British Telecom for 30 years, something you should be aware of is that a lot of the old red boxes the bulbs were 50v and worked off the line voltage, it might be better to rewire and put a conventional light holder in it.

 

That was what I was looking for. I modified a 5.5mm socket with a hacksaw and file and got the job done. Turns out both capacitor starters were melted, so possibly weren't the right spec.

Someone told me that, but I checked our supply voltage at 235v, apparently from the road rather than the pole.

 

Hopefully a wash down, and some fresh paint of the proper colour, will really brighten up "your" 'phone box.

 

Needs a bit more than that I'm afraid. Lots of moss growing in window edges, Perspex windows scratched, clouded. "Telephone" signs are flaked, and the door won't shut. Other than that, happy days!

 

Well, I suppose you could start with a good wash down and add something to get rid of moss ...
Getting Perspex or polycarbonate or laminated/toughened glass cut to size isn't too hard (but can cost a bit) - although undoing the beading to perform the actual replacement might be easier said than done.
By the way - I would strongly suggest repainting before doing the "glass" (very much easier than the other way, and a lot less masking to do). Having watched someone do something similar the hard way ...
Hinges might be a fun task ...

Good Luck