The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just bought an Amberola 30 on Ebay and found that the mandrel "coloring" was worn down so that it exposed a copper color. Were these later (1918) mandrels electroplated and does this normally happen to amberola players? When I get more money, I would like to replace it with one that still has the silver color on it.

Amberola mandrels (and most Edison mandrels in fact) are nickel plated. In order to late anything, a base metal must be plated on first. Inost cases, this base metal is copper because of it's high electrical conductivity (necessary for plating) and willingness to bond with other metals on molecular level. Unfortunately, the plaster in Blue Amberol cylinder cores is abrasive and wears down the plating of the rather cheaply made Amberola 30/50/75/etc. (post 1914 factory fire) mandrels until copper shows through. You could always have the mandrel replated, but be sure to have it done by someone who understands how to achieve the slightly yellow-cast nickel plating. Chrome -- which has a blue cast -- is not historically appropriate.