The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I'm not sure how to go about this. I'd like it fairly taut but glue doesn't dry fast enough to hold it tight. Do I apply glue to the back of the grill and hold it in place with push pins or something while the glue dries? How do you do it? I have the grill out of the frame and I have the original "sticks" that old the grill in place.

Thanks

Here's what I would do:

Take a piece of fabric larger than the grille and attach it finished side up to a board, either with a staple gun or nails, making sure to stretch it out as you go. Apply hide glue to the backside of the grille (around the perimeter only, not on the fretwork) and lay it on the fabric. After a few days of drying, cut the fabric around the grille with a sharp blade or scissors. I haven't had to replace any grille cloth on my machines, but this is the technique I used on reed organ grilles back when I was restoring them many years ago.

Yes, that is the best fool-proof way to do it. Then, you can re-attach the inner "sticks" to hold it. Marc.

One additional thing that I learned from a job right out of college... If you want the material to be taut after applying and find any wrinkles, just spritz it with water and dry with a hair dryer which will shrink it into place and tighten the material...

Marty, Is there glue residue on the back of the grill? Is the horn grained, or painted black? If there is no glue residue or the horn is grained, do not put grill cloth on the grill. What type of cloth do you have? If you need to glue cloth on the back of the grill, here is what I do. First, there is no fast method if you want to do this right. Cut the cloth about 1 inch bigger than the grill. I use tacky glue. Run a bead of tacky glue on one side of the grill. Use clothes pins or small spring clamps to hold the cloth. Let dry for 24 hours. Repeat for the other sides. On each side, pull the cloth until it is taunt. After all four sides are glued, then trim off the excess. One other point, make sure the cloth is sheer. The common mistake is the cloth is too this and muffles the sound.
Harvey Kravitz

I did it! And it looks great! To answer some of your question, the horn is wood grained. I got what my research tells me is the correct green cloth off ebay. It is very thin and light. The machine is mahogany. I used Brandon's method and it was easy to do. Should I post a pic?

Thanks for the responses and the help.

Marty Bufalini wrote: Should I post a pic?

I'd love to see a pic!

Well, I finally got the time to take a pic of the grill. Looks pretty good, I think. The fabric color is a little darker than the pic.

Having seen it in person, I can say that Marty did a great job! Looks excellent. It's a super nice A250 by the way. Very low usage.

I use this product found in most craft stores - "spray mount". It has held up well on all my grille cloth replacements. Smells bad until it cures so I do it outside or in the garage. No issues so far works well.