Need Help Identifying and Dating a Columbia Grafonola Model

[Feuerreiter]

Good afternoon, dear Phonograph Enthusiasts!

I am an absolute newbie in gramophone collecting and I would be very grateful if somebody could help me identify a Columbia machine I bought on Ebay a while ago. I had it serviced by a specialist in Richmond, who told me that most likely it was made in 1927, but was unable to identify the exact model. He replaced the sound box, as the original one had a crack in the membrane ( the photo of the original sound box is attached below). I googled the patent number featured on the sound box and found that the patent was granted in 1924, that's all I could learn about the machine. Based on what I managed to find on the internet it looks much like a Type D -2 Grafonola, however the needle trays number and alignment in the two machines, as well as the design of the brake lever plate differ, which prompts a conclusion that this could be a related model, made later on. I also found an early 1920-s ad, featuring a ''Vacation Model'' Columbia Grafonola ( See the picture attached ), which looks identical to the machine I have on the outside, however I can not be sure if it is a Type D -2 one or the one like mine, as it is impossible to see what is inside the case. Please share what you think, I would be very happy to hear your ideas on the subject.

[VanEpsFan1914]

I certainly hope this "repairman" gave you your original soundbox back! Those "membranes" are just mica phonograph diaphragms and they are the easiest thing in the world to replace. Anybody who can fix his own eyeglasses can do a full factory rebuild on these reproducers if you just have a couple rubber tubes for gaskets and a bit of beeswax to melt down & seal the stylus bar connection.

Changing out a soundbox is generally a really bad idea if the original is structurally sound. (Nickel plated brass ones usually are.) But over the years, on all soundboxes of this pattern, the rubber dries up and cracks, and the mica diaphragm de-laminates as the layers peel up and separate. It's a lot cheaper & easier just to take the old one apart & fix it--takes all of ten minutes and you're back to playing records.

[gramophoneshane]

If the soundbox shown is indeed the original from this machine, it is made in England, so it's probably a British Columbia and won't have an American model designation like the one in the advert.

I used to have a similar machine which was a 20A, but from memory the tonearm was in the right hand corner, so this may be a different model, or the 20A may have changed over the course of its production.

[epigramophone]

Here are a couple of pages from the 1925 UK Columbia catalogue which may help you to identify your machine.
Unfortunately Columbia chose to picture the machines with their lids closed.

[Marco Gilardetti]

I certainly hope this "repairman" gave you your original soundbox back! Those "membranes" are just mica phonograph diaphragms and they are the easiest thing in the world to replace. Anybody who can fix his own eyeglasses can do a full factory rebuild on these reproducers if you just have a couple rubber tubes for gaskets and a bit of beeswax to melt down & seal the stylus bar connection.

Changing out a soundbox is generally a really bad idea if the original is structurally sound. (Nickel plated brass ones usually are.) But over the years, on all soundboxes of this pattern, the rubber dries up and cracks, and the mica diaphragm de-laminates as the layers peel up and separate. It's a lot cheaper & easier just to take the old one apart & fix it--takes all of ten minutes and you're back to playing records.

Agree in full, and if this "specialist" was unable to replace the mica diaphragm and service the gaskets it means he's absolutely no "specialist" at all: it's a basic task with gramophones! Should you need any other repair or assistance in the future, I warmly suggest to ask advice here and get in contact with some real gramophone enthusiast who offers a repair service in your area.

[Feuerreiter]

Dear everyone! Thank you so very much for your extremely helpful replies!
It does indeed look like my machine is a 20A, because it fully fits the description in the catalogue, kindly provided by epigramophone and the original sounbox is indeed a No. 7 Columbia one. In addition, I googled some British- made 20A Columbia Grafonolas and the ones I managed to find are a complete copy of mine, so thank you very much once again for helping me identify the machine!
I did keep the original soundbox and would be happy if VanEpsFan1914 could provide me with instructions on how to repair the broken diafragm: I consider myself capable of fixing my own glasses and would like to attempt venturing on this journey
Gramophoneshane, it is in fact a UK machine as I bought it in Leeds and according to the person who sold it to me it hadn't changed hands for over 70 years.
It came with a collection of 150 78rpm records, some of which were signed with their original owner's name and address, so, I guess I know the name of the original owner You said that British machines were not given model numbers, unlike the American ones. Could you please tell me more about this? How did they mark gramophone models then?

One other question I would like to ask everyone is about dating: is there a way to date my machine? For how long had the 20A model been produced? Is there an online sourse of Columbia catalogues, I could use as a reference?

[epigramophone]

UK Columbia machines did have model numbers which were shown in the catalogues, but they were not always applied to the machines themselves.
There are several UK Columbia catalogues which have been posted on this forum by myself and others.
As stated in my previous post, your machine appears in the 1925 catalogue. By 1926 it had been superseded by the new "Viva-Tonal" model range.

[VanEpsFan1914]

Awesome history on it!

Well, one trick to find model numbers on UK Columbias (which is weird that I had to figure this out being in the USA) is to take out the crank and the turntable platter and then pick the motor board up (wooden top deck from inside of the cabinet.) Sometimes there will be a sticker on there. That's how I learned a "frankenphone" cabinet machine AKA parts salad was actually made, unfortunately, of a 1929 Columbia 153a, and how I learned my 202 Grafonola portable was also equipped with a sticker inside but no date so I'm thinking '28-33 but might be wrong? Maybe yours has a date penciled inside.

Taking a soundbox apart is pretty easy. You will need good screwdrivers that fit the screws, a few drops of a high-quality penetrating oil (Kroil works great but wherever you are, you can find what mechanics use to break free rusty bolts.) a new diaphragm & gasket tubing, a bit of beeswax, and whatever kind of back isolator that thing takes. Mike Child (soundgen here on the forum) has a lot of British parts. Ask him and if he doesn't have them (unlikely!) he can set you up with someone who does. A fresh mica diaphragm plus good gasket tubing & all that should help.

As the parts are small and hard to replace, this is an operation to do over a clean table covered with a white cloth, and in a small flat pan to catch any stray pieces.

To fix this one you'll have to take it off the gramophone, of course, off the tonearm. Then oil up those screws at the back and if they do not free up & start turning, let them sit a while. Screwdrivers with the vintage blade profile and good handles (a gunsmith will have them) are excellent for this.

Once that is open take the back off. Now take a tiny jeweler's screwdriver and scratch away some of the beeswax on the screw holding the needle bar (black part goes to the needle) to the diaphragm membrane. Unscrew that, and set it aside. Now take out the layer of tubing from the back, which probably isn't soft & pliable any more at almost 100 years old. Pop out the diaphragm next once you've gotten its connection undone from that needle bar. Then pull out the last gasket tubing and clean things up a bit with some rubbing alcohol on a swab. (You probably don't want to clean the face of the reproducer! Taking all that good lettering off would be unfortunate.)

Now put a new gasket tube in there laying it inside the reproducer nice and smooth. You will want to cut this tube off so that the ends join flush with one another (behind the needle bar so it isn't visible from the front.) Now take a fresh mica diaphragm and lay that in there. Center it up and make sure it isn't touching the sides of the reproducer or it will buzz very badly when the thing plays. Screw down the needle bar from the back and take the smallest bit of beeswax & place on top of the screw. Now heat a paper clip in a candle flame & touch that to the beeswax; it should melt at once & make a join. Do the same on the other side. Most hobbyists use way too much beeswax. None of the original machines I've taken apart had a visible glob of wax.

One more gasket tube for the back, and reassemble the reproducer with the screws. Put in the rubber isolator nice & snug, fitting the whole thing back onto the tone arm.

If there are problems with it the screws right there at the bottom where the needle bar goes in, are for tuning it. Small adjustments make a huge difference. That honestly looks like the way they tuned the old Victor Exhibition except not so primitive. (The Exhibition is a 1903 soundbox that sounded good enough to use until about 1920. Scientifically bumblebees should not fly, and Exhibitions should not make good music. But they do sound great. Your "New Columbia" will likely sound better.

And I'm sure you know this already, but you never know these days-- brand new steel needles, used once per side, are the key to making a gramophone work. I sharpen mine on the inner grooves of the record like the Victrola owners' manual said and have had no wear issues short of an unrelated mechanical malfunction in the tonearm, even using 1900s-1910s machines as "daily drivers."

[gramophoneshane]

Gramophoneshane, it is in fact a UK machine as I bought it in Leeds and according to the person who sold it to me it hadn't changed hands for over 70 years.
It came with a collection of 150 78rpm records, some of which were signed with their original owner's name and address, so, I guess I know the name of the original owner You said that British machines were not given model numbers, unlike the American ones. Could you please tell me more about this? How did they mark gramophone models then?

I probably should have worded that better.
What I meant was that British and American models were given different model number designations even though they sometimes look very similar, and that you wouldn't find the model number for a British machine in American advertising.
Like a 20A here would be a type D-2 in USA.