Graphophone BK restoration

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walser
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Graphophone BK restoration

Post by walser »

Hi,

I recently bought this Columbia phonograph to restore it. The list of things to be done is really long but the price was right.
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The first thing that grabbed my attention me when I inspected it was those 4 holes on the board. Does anybody knows what are they for? They don't look as wood screw holes and are symmetrical front-back.
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I'm also considering fabricating a replica of the missing crank. I think that the thread is 5/16 UNC but I cannot compare it to a screw of the same size in this metric part of the world so if somebody can confirm it before I buy the tap I will appreciate it.

Thank you in advance,

Pedro Martinez

zapper
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Re: Graphophone BK restoration

Post by zapper »

Hi Pedro
Good find. I love Graphophones. I am not sure what the holes are , but maybe a previous owner made a frame to support a horn? I have a couple BK's and a BQ, which has the rear horn bracket and support for the horn. I have checked my BK thread and found a nut in my collection of old car parts. I can confirm that it is 5/16", but not UNF, so possibly as you say UNC, the thread is much coarser.
I will send a pm with some dimensions of my winder for your information.
Brian

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walser
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Re: Graphophone BK restoration

Post by walser »

Thank you very much Brian!

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walser
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Re: Graphophone BK restoration

Post by walser »

Long time no see on this post!

Finally I sourced all the materials needed to make a winder and start the restoration of this phonograph.

Brian sent me an amazing set of drawings with all the imaginable dimensions. I managed to print them in exact 1:1 size and converted some of the measurements to metric.
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My "new" lathe (read +40 years old lathe bought for peanuts and restored) and the scratch built milling accessoire came to help to mill the tapered arm handle and bored to accept the shaft.
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The nut, plug and thick shaft was turned.
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And voila! All can be assembled only with a press fit. On a later stage it will be soldered for additional strength.
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Some careful filing blended the two pieces.
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The arm was bent with the use of a big vice until the graceful curves of the model were met.
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I was running out of time so I only had some more minutes to start turning the thin shaft.
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Tomorrow I will turn the wood handle, finish filing the lower part of the arm and solder all the pieces.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Best regrds

Pedro Martínez

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Curt A
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Re: Graphophone BK restoration

Post by Curt A »

Nice work, as always...
"The phonograph† is not of any commercial value."
Thomas Alva Edison - Comment to his assistant, Samuel Insull.

"No one needs a Victrola XX, a Perfected Graphophone Type G, or whatever you call those noisy things."
My Wife

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walser
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Re: Graphophone BK restoration

Post by walser »

Today I managed to do some work during lunchtime.

First I filed the thin end of the arm to make it round.
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Then I turned a blank of walnut for the handle, matched the color of the case and start lackering it. It still needs a couple of coats.
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I did a first polish to remove all the scratches. Its pretty accurate!
20180423_193347.jpg
So it's ready to solder but I found that I run out of gas so it will have to wait till this weekend.

Best regards,

Pedro Martínez

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walser
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Re: Graphophone BK restoration

Post by walser »

Small update. Someone told me that the winder should have a black lacquered finish and have a slightly more spherical shape so I did a second version of it.
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I soldered all the pieces and a after a polish and a nickel bath it ended like this:
20180502_180421.jpg
Regards,

Pedro Martínez

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