Hi all,
Three months without updating this thread! I hope the wait will be worth it.
So last time I was investigating about the profiles of the missing top and bottom boards of the case. I found the correct router bits with 6mm shaft but when they arrived they were ¼ inch shaft (6,35 mm)... I managed to correct that with the lathe.
So I milled de boards, (plenty of dust so no pictures), did some research about color matching and voila! From the outside the color matching is very good but I left the inside without matching to clearly state that those boards were replaced.
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Then it was time to make the handle. I had the screws and the wire but not the wooded part.I made the decision of making it without the ridges on the sides so they cannot be confused for a genuine one. In the future it can be replaced by genuine one and installing with only undoing 2 nuts.
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The latches were de-rusted and I replaced the internal spring blade of one of them that was broken. Now both close with a very satisfying CLICK!
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The sapphire of the shaver was missing so I ordered a watch sapphire glass, cut and polished it with diamond slurry until it had the correct shape.
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I tested it with a terribly scored brown was cylinder (a modern one, not a single piece of historic recording was harmed in the making of this restoration...)
It shaved like a champion!
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Of course, the little container of the shaver was clearly not enough for the task so plenty of sticky and messy wax powder ended everywhere.
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I spotted that the little wheel under the reproducer was not straight. I unscrewed it and saw that the screw needed to be repaired. I was able to straighten it without breaking and now the wheel turns straight and freely.
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The last phase of the restoration was inspecting, cleaning and oiling where needed. I full dismantled it (incredible amounts of century old dust, dry graphite grease and dirt everywhere so no pictures), de-rusted some parts and reassembled it.
I made some recordings and I'm delighted with them. I even managed to record the 2 minuts and 22 seconds of "Je ne regrette rien" of Edith Piaff by lowering the speed but cannot upload it on Youtube because of the copyright. If you want to hear it drop me a PM.
On the next post the final pictures!