Edison LU-37 Unusual Mahogany?

[CDBPDX]

Grille template

[Jwb88]

That grille template is fantastic! I could have used that before making mine. I worked from a photo. Did you make it? Thanks for posting it, anyaway!

[CDBPDX]

That grille template is fantastic! I could have used that before making mine. I worked from a photo. Did you make it? Thanks for posting it, anyaway!

I made this from the photo you posted of the front of your machine. Started with concentric circles, one 500 x 500 pixels, the other 400 x 400 pixels. Copied and pasted these circles where needed, added the top and bottom posts, and last, the little buttons at the top and bottom of the main circles. Then cleaned up the excess and crossed over lines.

Gotta love the drawing programs!

Cliff

[CDBPDX]

Finally got this together and running great. Still needs a grille, but that is on the way. I had to replace the horn, the top and bottom soldered attachments for the pivot post had come off the original horn and were reinstalled with screws. That never seems to work, unless the post is perfectly aligned, and it never is. Easier to just get another horn. Also noticed there was no mute ball assembly, but a bit of research revealed that this model did not have the mute ball to begin with. One less thing. Tuned up the motor, greased the spring and oiled everything else, and it plays loud and clear. YeeHaa!

The machine only cost $45 and it was fun to fix it up. Also got the original 28 piece record collection with it, includes some great paper label material.

This is fun!

[Jwb88]

Thanks again for the grille template. It’s great. This model seems to be missing it’s fragile little grille a lot, and it adds such character, that I’m sure others might use it. I actually did successfully reattach a horn pivot rod using jb weld and bolts, but I wouldn’t usually bother. I only did it because the gold neck was really nice on the one I did. It was a pain.

It’s a plus, to me, that this model generally came without a mute ball. I think Edison DD need to be enjoyed at full volume to be appreciated. The mute ball, even when open on a larger model, really obstructs the sound. If you sit directly in front of a London Upright it can be quite impressive (much more, say, than a Victor counterpart, in my humble opinion). The Victor orthophonic machines are the same way. They only sound great when the horns are fully open/unobstructed. Only the harsher sounding machines benefit from volume modifiers. Useful in small spaces/close neighbors, though!

That’s a great price, btw, for a fun machine with discs.

[rhammond]

This is actually kind of a word game when you talk about finishes. Mahogany finish does not mean that the base wood is mahogany. By the time that they were making these cabinets, they might have used mahogany veneer on things like the lid tops, doors etc. but often there is a secondary wood and they used stains and or lacquers to make the whole piece look like mahogany or walnut etc. This is common place situation on furniture of this era especially on more price sensitive models. In my opinion, Edison really cheapened a lot of their cabinets when they began making them in New London. The one in the picture has been refinished which is why the pieces of the secondary wood look different. Birch, gum wood, or some kind of a fur is usually the secondary wood. It makes it a bigger challenge if you are trying to refinish and getting it totally even so it has a uniform appearance.