RESTORATION DIARY: EDISON STANDARD MODEL A #132017
Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 9:49 pm
My first Standard was a Green Oak Standard Model A that my cousin decided I needed to buy from him. From that grew a strange obsession with the Edison Standard in general. As time went on, I acquired other Standards, some in better condition than others. In restoring the cases, I got fairly good at replicating the Antique Oak finish, but I never got a chance to do a Green Oak finish. For some reason this has bugged me over the years.
In order to be a complete Smarty Pants when it comes to refinishing Standards, I decided that I needed to do a Green Oak Standard. One additional problem is that over the years I've developed an ethos to never refinish when the original can be salvaged. That meant that I was looking for a machine that was either already refinished or one that was really beat. When Ken Brekke (Phono-Phan) listed one for parts or restoration in the Yankee Trader section some months ago, I finally had a candidate for the project.
The machine seemed to be a barn find. The finish was mostly flaked off, the Banner transfer was largely gone. This was a mid-production version of the New style Model A. It had a button lift, the lid moulding had a smoothed top edge. The baseboard had warping and splitting as is often found these machines. It needed re-gluing and a complete cosmetic makeover.
The motor was missing a few key components. It appeared that someone may have begun parting it out or it may have simply been a case of an arrested restoration.
Here are a few "before" photos of the Case:
Excessive finish loss, makes this an ideal candidate for a total refinish.
Alas, the remnants of the original Banner decal only hint at its former graphic beauty.
The lid has splits from dampness and drying cycles.
The baseboard is made from three glued boards. The front board has completely split away and the other two boards are thinking about it.
It looks like there was a wasp's nest inside the case on the right rear corner.
Here's a hint of what the original color may have looked like.
Looks like the lid was passed by inspector #3.
Here are some "before" pictures of the bedplate and motor:
Typical open-spoked spring barrel. Some rust. Missing the Speed control arm, governor, yoke and "on/off" lever.
The bedplate's shellac coating looks kind of beat. The gold decorations are about 70 percent there. The patent plate still has a bit of the original silver highlights. Thank goodness the mandrel still looks good.
Now to begin!
I let the case sit in the breakfast room for about 3 weeks. It was winter and I wanted the internal moisture of the wood to stabilize before I tried gluing everything back together. I'm not entirely sure it made much of a difference, but it also gave me some time to review different methods of staining, finishing, grain-filling and the like.
When the "go" day came, I started by disassembling everything, and labeling. Ideally, I wanted every screw to go back into its original position.
I had a bunch of this stuff in ziplock bags.
In order to be a complete Smarty Pants when it comes to refinishing Standards, I decided that I needed to do a Green Oak Standard. One additional problem is that over the years I've developed an ethos to never refinish when the original can be salvaged. That meant that I was looking for a machine that was either already refinished or one that was really beat. When Ken Brekke (Phono-Phan) listed one for parts or restoration in the Yankee Trader section some months ago, I finally had a candidate for the project.
The machine seemed to be a barn find. The finish was mostly flaked off, the Banner transfer was largely gone. This was a mid-production version of the New style Model A. It had a button lift, the lid moulding had a smoothed top edge. The baseboard had warping and splitting as is often found these machines. It needed re-gluing and a complete cosmetic makeover.
The motor was missing a few key components. It appeared that someone may have begun parting it out or it may have simply been a case of an arrested restoration.
Here are a few "before" photos of the Case:
Excessive finish loss, makes this an ideal candidate for a total refinish.
Alas, the remnants of the original Banner decal only hint at its former graphic beauty.
The lid has splits from dampness and drying cycles.
The baseboard is made from three glued boards. The front board has completely split away and the other two boards are thinking about it.
It looks like there was a wasp's nest inside the case on the right rear corner.
Here's a hint of what the original color may have looked like.
Looks like the lid was passed by inspector #3.
Here are some "before" pictures of the bedplate and motor:
Typical open-spoked spring barrel. Some rust. Missing the Speed control arm, governor, yoke and "on/off" lever.
The bedplate's shellac coating looks kind of beat. The gold decorations are about 70 percent there. The patent plate still has a bit of the original silver highlights. Thank goodness the mandrel still looks good.
Now to begin!
I let the case sit in the breakfast room for about 3 weeks. It was winter and I wanted the internal moisture of the wood to stabilize before I tried gluing everything back together. I'm not entirely sure it made much of a difference, but it also gave me some time to review different methods of staining, finishing, grain-filling and the like.
When the "go" day came, I started by disassembling everything, and labeling. Ideally, I wanted every screw to go back into its original position.
I had a bunch of this stuff in ziplock bags.