Need help with my New Grafonola

[Mr_Trekkie]

Hi! I Just bought a Columbia Grafanola it looks like model F-2. I have a few questions about it.
1. How do I remove the tonearm? It moves well horizontally, but does not move well vertically. I read that it helps to sand it down, but i'm not sure how to get it off?
2. The woodwork on it looks terrible. Is it posible to replace the Veneer on the sides where it has begun to peel? and is it possible to resain the rest of the cabinet?
3. How can you date on of these? It's got a patent date of 1912 on it.

If it help, I can add pictures..
Thanks!

[alang]

Congratulations on your Grafonola and welcome to the forum.

1. The tonearm and connected elbow are made of pot metal, which has the tendency to swell and become very brittle, so be very carefull with everything your try there. It is correct, ideally you would disconnect the tonearm from the elbow and sand/grind it down a little. The problem is getting the two pieces apart without damaging the elbow. If the tonearm is moving freely horizontally, maybe it is less risky to simply lubricate it a bit and leave it as is. A replacement elbow is difficult to find because they break so easily, and a new brass replica sets you back over $100. For lubrication I found that Liquid Wrench spray works the best, because it creates a dry lubrication film. WD40 is not a good option, I found it to sometimes even worsen the problem. If you really want to try and get it apart then soak it in Liquid Wrench several times and then carefully try to get it moving. If it gets stuck, don't use force, but rather put it in the freezer over night and the try again. Ideally it would go straight up and then pull out of the elbow. Did I say be gentle?

2. Before refinishing the cabinet I would try to give it a good cleaning and see how it looks afterwards. You can use Kotton Cleanser, or also pumice free GoJo or GooP. Work it in in small sections with 0000 steel wool and then wipe it off after a few minutes. Afterwards either Kotton Cleanser Protective Wood Feeder or Howard's Feed and Wax and you may be surprised about the change. Then you can still decide it you want to repair parts of the veneer or possibly refinish.

3. Dating Columbia phonographs is very difficult, because there are no production records. Your best bet is to post a few pictures, then maybe it can be narrowed down to a year or maybe a few years. The patent date does not help, because it only states the year when specific features were patented, typically many years before the machine was made.

Hope that helps. Have fun.
Andreas

[Mr_Trekkie]

Thanks! I cleaned it with an oil based cleaner, and it looks great. However, the Venner on 2 sides is beyond repair. The story I heard when I bought it was that it sat unused in a cottage for nearly 40 years. It looks like somewhere along the line it got wet, and the venner on the back, and the side with the crank has almost completley fallen off.
How do you remove the tonearm from the actual cabinet itself? That is the only thing i really have not figured out.

[Lucius1958]

Does the Grafonola have the individual record ejectors (with the numbered buttons above them), or just racks or shelves?

According to Baumbach & Lackey, the F-2, which was introduced in 1918, had the ejector system; otherwise, it was identical to the E-2, which cost about $10 less.....

Now, is it just the veneer which is peeling on the sides; or is the wood underneath actually warping?

Bill

[alang]

Thanks! I cleaned it with an oil based cleaner, and it looks great. However, the Venner on 2 sides is beyond repair. The story I heard when I bought it was that it sat unused in a cottage for nearly 40 years. It looks like somewhere along the line it got wet, and the venner on the back, and the side with the crank has almost completley fallen off.
How do you remove the tonearm from the actual cabinet itself? That is the only thing i really have not figured out.

To remove the crank you simply turn it counter clockwise. May need a little forcefull convincing at first, but should just screw off eventually.
Andreas

[Mr_Trekkie]

Does the Grafonola have the individual record ejectors (with the numbered buttons above them), or just racks or shelves?

According to Baumbach & Lackey, the F-2, which was introduced in 1918, had the ejector system; otherwise, it was identical to the E-2, which cost about $10 less.....

Now, is it just the veneer which is peeling on the sides; or is the wood underneath actually warping?

Bill

It has the record ejectors. They all work quite well, and there were still a few records in there!

It looks like the wood has begun to warp as well on the right side of the cabinet. Is it at all possible to repair that?