My New Edison A-100

[FloridaClay]

Many mahogany phonograph cases were stunning when they were new. Often the better ones had a filled-grain, glass-like "piano" finish that gives amazing depth and grain highlights. I had one of my Edison DDs (whose original finish was beyond hope) fully restored and it is the one that often stops visitors in their tracks with a “WOW” at the beauty of the wood.

Sadly the varnish turns black, and sometimes bubbles, over the years and the grain of the mahogany just disappears. Even a good cleaning will not bring back the beautiful depth to the finish. When people see them now they wonder why anybody would have bought such an ugly thing. Bringing them back to their original splendor is a real chore (and an expensive one if, like me, you don't have your own shop). The beauty of the oak finishes, apart from personal preference as to which wood you like, it that they often look nice with just a good cleaning. Even the darkening of the varnish can impart a rich brown tone that, while far from the original, is still attractive and the grain pattern of quarter-sawn oak is so strong it will still show through.

Clay

[pughphonos]

Congrats! My first Diamond Disc player was an A-100 in nice condition overall, but mine didn't have a speed knob/control above the bedplate and she always seemed to be running a bit slow. So I sold it and moved on. But I'm a sentimentalist like so many on here: we never forget our "exes."

Ralph

[NEFaurora]

Funny you should say this... I picked up a complete Edison A-150 last year that I yet to restore. The original Mahoghany finish has turned a putrid Black. Any suggestions on stripping...of which I am going to do.. Should I just clean the whole thing with Cotton cleanser or (GoJO), and then lightly sand down to the original wood?

Suggestions?


Tony K.

[alang]

I would never strip an otherwise complete original finish. It might take some elbow grease, but several rounds with Cotton Cleanser, GoJo or similar and 0000 steel wool should return it to a presentable state. If you're still not happy with the result you could follow up with Howard's Restore-a-Finish and 0000 steel wool, always going with the wood grain. You can never restore original, so stripping should be a very last resort.
Good luck
Andreas

[CDBPDX]

Finally got the spring put into the A100 and put it back together. Greased and oiled the motor and now it now looks and runs great!

You can view it playing on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBXAHWAXn34

Had to borrow a reproducer from another machine, the nickel plated one for this machine is off for repairs.

I'm very happy! This is fun!

CDB

[pughphonos]

Congrats on a lovely result!

Ralph

[Edisone]

Sounds fine! Green Brothers records are perfect for demonstrations; always peppy & those clattering xylophones make a big impression.

[FloridaClay]

Congrats! Yes, it is really rewarding when things come together!

Clay

[Phonofreak]

Nice machine and great video. Now that I saw the bed plate, your machine is from about 1915. Black bed plates with gold stripes and diamond shaped oiling instructions are the earmark of an early machine. Congrats on it.
Harvey Kravitz

[CDBPDX]

A fellow phonograph enthusiast has raised a question regarding the light colored decorative 'buttons' on the grill. Seems all the machines you see today show the buttons the same color as the surrounding wood. Looking at the picture of an A100 in the Frow book, it shows (in black and white) the decorative buttons to be a lighter color than the rest of the wood, so I suspect this lighter color is original to this machine. Mr Kravitz suggested this machine is an early production A100. Is it possible later machines did not color these buttons? Are there any other grills with light colored buttons?

Thanks! CDB