Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

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EdiBrunsVic
Victor IV
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by EdiBrunsVic »

Thanks for posting the photos.

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Django
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by Django »

Very nice. The humble VV-IV and VV-VI have their own charm. Your care and attention to detail are impressive.

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phonogfp
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by phonogfp »

For an experienced collector to find joy in bringing back a VV-IV shows a broad love of antique phonographs. Nice job!

When my wife and I were vacationing on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in 2016, I found a VV-IV in about the same condition as yours was. It was all there, and too cheap to leave. Once back home I invested a few hours in it with results perhaps not quite as good as yours. They are cute little guys.

George P.

Victrolacollector
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by Victrolacollector »

The VV-IV is a cute machine. It really gives a lot of volume especially for a small apartment. Aside from the one play per winding, it displays and plays well. I think I could always find room for one of these. Btw, great job on the VV-IV. Maybe I will see if I can find one for 50 bucks to restore.

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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by Victrolacollector »

Jwb88 wrote:LOL, thanks Mike. This one required no refinishing, thankfully.

I really want to refinish my Fireside because it's got a bad refinish as it is, but it's so hard to open that can of worms if I don't have to, LOL.
I am in the same situation, I have a Fireside, the cabinet could use a refinish, but would hate to lose the original Edison script decal. It’s Not bad, but has a dark and dirty appearance.

dutchman
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by dutchman »

Sterling job old chap. Bill K

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CharliePhono
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by CharliePhono »

JWB, your VV-IV is lovely! It's interesting that, not a week ago, I finally dug my little derelict IV out of the closet and got it going. While not as cosmetically pretty as yours (yet), I did service the motor and rebuild the reproducer (you know how it is sometimes -- we just want to get them running and playing). I go-jo'ed the cabinet, then rubbed it down lightly with a swatch of burlap and nothing more. The bright work was cursorily polished with metal polish gently; it would probably shine more brightly with more effort, but that leaves me something to do it later. It took me some time to get the Exhibition soundbox tuned to sound right to my ears, but it now sounds very good. Mine is from 1917 as well, but as you can see, has the slats as well as the more forward-mounted crank.

Question: Do you find yours "tight" to wind? While I find mine runs fine (after servicing and replacing the missing spindle shaft bearing), I do think it has a somewhat stiff wind.

Thanks for posting. I share your affection for the "little" Victrolas!

Charlie
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jsimmons0331
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by jsimmons0331 »

Very Very nice job! I hope my Victor III looks half as good when I'm done. Curious - how much work did you do on the tone arm? It looks practically new. Did you just clean it or did it require re-plating? My tone arm looks "new" underneath after cleaning, but the top side is more worn with brass showing through. I'm debating whether I should re-plate it. I'm leaning towards NOT doing that.

Thanks,
Jim

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Jwb88
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by Jwb88 »

CharliePhono: I bet the cabinet of yours will clean up a lot better than mine. Looks very nice! I think the downward slats are the most visually attractive.

Funny you should mention it being tight to wind, because mine was too, even after cleaning/regreasing. I started thinking, "How could it be this difficult to wind originally?" So I took the motor out again and removed the gear and shaft that connects to the winding handle. I noticed that the shaft had some deep grooves/scratches, as though maybe grit had gotten into it and done some damage. I cleaned it off and added a generous amount of grease to the shaft and reinstalled. Works much better, and I've played a good fifty records since then. It's still a lot tighter than, say, an Edison Amberola 30, and I still have to steady the machine with the left hand near the end of winding, but it's reasonable now. I do note that your slightly earlier variation has the crank near the front, so it might be a different motor than mine.


jsimmons0331: I used Blue Magic polish and paper towels. Actually, because it was so gross, I used an SOS pad to very gently scrub the surface dirt away first. I wouldn't normally recommend that at all unless it was really, really dirty (which it was). I figured, what do I have to lose? I wasn't even sure there was nickel plating left. I have used this Blue Magic polish on a few nickel and chrome things and it works very well. I'm sure there are better ones, but I had this in the garage. It took several goings-over. I thought I had it done one night only to find it slightly blackened in the morning. I used it once more and now it has stayed looking good.
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Jwb88
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Re: Back to Basics with a Victrola IV

Post by Jwb88 »

Victrolacollector wrote:
Jwb88 wrote:LOL, thanks Mike. This one required no refinishing, thankfully.

I really want to refinish my Fireside because it's got a bad refinish as it is, but it's so hard to open that can of worms if I don't have to, LOL.
I am in the same situation, I have a Fireside, the cabinet could use a refinish, but would hate to lose the original Edison script decal. It’s Not bad, but has a dark and dirty appearance.
Ha, mine is the opposite: it's light oak with the grain scrubbed out, coated in some sort of modern plasticky finish that I know will be Hell to remove. And my script decal is not an accurate reproduction (has the round dot over the 'I') and it's wrinkled.

You might consider trying some reamalgamation or brushing over with shellac if you can. I've been playing with a really trashed Singer sewing machine cabinet and trying out different methods of re-flowing the finish. I got decent results from a paper towel and denatured alcohol, which is surprising, but the finish is very thick so there's room to work. In cases that are really bad, I figure if I mess it up totally, I'd refinish it anyway.

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