Hmv 511 Conversion
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:56 pm
Some might like to see the completed machine first featured in the 'Butchered HMV511 on UK eBay' thread.
The 511 is actually an earlier one, one of the examples converted from a 510 Lumiere by HMV as can be seen by the side mounted lid stay and the three semi-redundant bolts surrounding the tonearm base which once held the Lumiere mechanism, and also of the more desirable and prettier mahogany variant, not an inexpensive machine when new, £50 when you could by a brand new 2 3/4hp motorcycle with a couple pounds of change!
In my opinion, the 511 is one of the most elegant cabinet gramophones ever made, I've always loved the veneers on them, I'm also a great fan of the look of the Lumiere diaphragms, and I think that this cabinet in its original 510 Lumiere form is one of the prettiest gramophones made, the 511 is probably an improvement functionally though.
As can be seen in the original thread, the legs had been cut in half, it had a non original soundbox and turned out to have a damaged motor, where by one of the hooks that secures the spring to the barrel had failed, bent up and the spring had got loose, spun round and snapped the end of itself off, so it was quite the project.
The legs were made out of the mahogany off cuts from the neck of some of the guitars I've been building lately, cut to approximately 2"x 2" x 9" blocks and then the initial angled taper was cut on the lathe to get a rough leg blank, after being trimmed to length the feet were carved with files and rasp before being mounted, I bored a 1" hole into the bottom of the remains of the original legs and into the top of the new legs to be grafted on, then turned a 1" mahogany dowel on the lathe and glued together, then they were shaped to blend into the original leg stumps, then dyed and finished, the repair is not immediately noticeable, and might not be noticed at all in person if you were unaware it was once like Uncle Snort - Sawed off and short.
To repair the motor a new barrel had to be found so a 32 motor was sacrificed and it's barrel was donated to the cause, it's springs also used to replace the one with a broken end, cleaning, greasing and re-fitting the springs was the easy part though, I've never before had a motor so locked together as this one was, it took a lot of persuasion with a hammer and a blow torch in order to get the central spring shaft out, but eventually it gave in, now all greased, it runs like a champ.
It now even sports a correct soundbox, luckily a friend had a spare gold No.4 soundbox taken from a 511 that was converted so that was able to be fitted and the humble 511 was back from the brink.
It has a dealer tag from Bowrans of Newcastle, the full name was Bowrans Pianos, evidently a piano dealership who sold gramophones on the side, I was unable to find any original photos or much background on Bowrans, but I've likely walked past the spot where this gramophone was sold dozens of times, I don't imagine a gramophone like this would have been tucked away in a corner while it was there either, likely in pride of place alongside their best grand pianos in the showroom.
It's fun finding local machines, my only other one is my red Edison Gem D which I found locally and has a dealer tag from Jarrow, only about 15 from my house
A funny thing was when I went to pick it up (The gramophone turned out to also be only 15 minutes from my house) the guy selling it took me to his garage where I was greeted by a gigantic cardboard box, turned out the reason it was removed from sale the first time round was some guy in Spain had been in touch about it and must have made a deal outside of eBay and it was agreed to post the 511 to Spain, now, when I say a cardboard box, it was only a cardboard box, when packaging it the guy had just closed the lid and wrapped the whole thing in cardboard and parcel tape, the lacquer home recordings were even still on the turntable, and not a scrap of bubble wrap in sight, I wouldn't have fancied it's chances much!
Here's a video of it playing, not a bad sound for a fairly simple steel horn I think!
The 511 is actually an earlier one, one of the examples converted from a 510 Lumiere by HMV as can be seen by the side mounted lid stay and the three semi-redundant bolts surrounding the tonearm base which once held the Lumiere mechanism, and also of the more desirable and prettier mahogany variant, not an inexpensive machine when new, £50 when you could by a brand new 2 3/4hp motorcycle with a couple pounds of change!
In my opinion, the 511 is one of the most elegant cabinet gramophones ever made, I've always loved the veneers on them, I'm also a great fan of the look of the Lumiere diaphragms, and I think that this cabinet in its original 510 Lumiere form is one of the prettiest gramophones made, the 511 is probably an improvement functionally though.
As can be seen in the original thread, the legs had been cut in half, it had a non original soundbox and turned out to have a damaged motor, where by one of the hooks that secures the spring to the barrel had failed, bent up and the spring had got loose, spun round and snapped the end of itself off, so it was quite the project.
The legs were made out of the mahogany off cuts from the neck of some of the guitars I've been building lately, cut to approximately 2"x 2" x 9" blocks and then the initial angled taper was cut on the lathe to get a rough leg blank, after being trimmed to length the feet were carved with files and rasp before being mounted, I bored a 1" hole into the bottom of the remains of the original legs and into the top of the new legs to be grafted on, then turned a 1" mahogany dowel on the lathe and glued together, then they were shaped to blend into the original leg stumps, then dyed and finished, the repair is not immediately noticeable, and might not be noticed at all in person if you were unaware it was once like Uncle Snort - Sawed off and short.
To repair the motor a new barrel had to be found so a 32 motor was sacrificed and it's barrel was donated to the cause, it's springs also used to replace the one with a broken end, cleaning, greasing and re-fitting the springs was the easy part though, I've never before had a motor so locked together as this one was, it took a lot of persuasion with a hammer and a blow torch in order to get the central spring shaft out, but eventually it gave in, now all greased, it runs like a champ.
It now even sports a correct soundbox, luckily a friend had a spare gold No.4 soundbox taken from a 511 that was converted so that was able to be fitted and the humble 511 was back from the brink.
It has a dealer tag from Bowrans of Newcastle, the full name was Bowrans Pianos, evidently a piano dealership who sold gramophones on the side, I was unable to find any original photos or much background on Bowrans, but I've likely walked past the spot where this gramophone was sold dozens of times, I don't imagine a gramophone like this would have been tucked away in a corner while it was there either, likely in pride of place alongside their best grand pianos in the showroom.
It's fun finding local machines, my only other one is my red Edison Gem D which I found locally and has a dealer tag from Jarrow, only about 15 from my house
A funny thing was when I went to pick it up (The gramophone turned out to also be only 15 minutes from my house) the guy selling it took me to his garage where I was greeted by a gigantic cardboard box, turned out the reason it was removed from sale the first time round was some guy in Spain had been in touch about it and must have made a deal outside of eBay and it was agreed to post the 511 to Spain, now, when I say a cardboard box, it was only a cardboard box, when packaging it the guy had just closed the lid and wrapped the whole thing in cardboard and parcel tape, the lacquer home recordings were even still on the turntable, and not a scrap of bubble wrap in sight, I wouldn't have fancied it's chances much!
Here's a video of it playing, not a bad sound for a fairly simple steel horn I think!
(Double-click the video above or click this link to go to the video on YouTube.)
