Panatrope 15-8 find

[VanEpsFan1914]

@Inigo -- Yes, I like that. I like being proven wrong. You feel silly for a moment but then everything makes better sense.

@nostalgia-- Thank you; I'm glad you like it too. This one is a wonderful find. After fixing the reproducer I've been playing records constantly. Acoustic records are nice on this--it gets all the sound from them. so I've been listening to a lot of 12" classical stuff.

Haven't made any moves yet on the restoration but I got supplies to finish the lid. Already had some grain filler left over from the Home project, and the stain was pretty easy to find. Two things I needed most were some Bar Keepers Friend polish -- it has enough oxalic acid to hopefully bleach the water stains on the lid-- and some Minwax brushing lacquer, which is apparently very similar to the Deft I was planning to use. This should be pretty straightforward from here on out.

I'd thought to re-use the old reproducer and it's not urgent to get another one but after I get it ready to go, probably will start looking for a replacement just in case due to pot-metal fatigue.

Here's the motor. There is a lot of attention to detail in the design--there's even a metal drip tray underneath it. Just waiting on a tune-up.

[JerryVan]

PM Sent

[VanEpsFan1914]

PM Sent

And PM replied to--no rush, but thank you for finding a reproducer--that is the most critical part of this restoration. I figured out how to remove the snap-fit bronze finished cover from the other reproducer so any reproducer that turns up can match the original finish of the tonearm. It's going to be pretty nice when all is done.

I've taken and begun bleaching the top of it with the Barkeepers' Friend polish. Slow, but it's not going to be done quickly; I do not care if it takes me a long time to repair it--it's so cold here anyway that it would be futile to throw tons of work into it just to be unable to apply lacquer in this cold weather.

Results are promising.

In process of bleaching. I'm using the heater to warm the wood slightly so that it will work faster. This ended up curling some of the veneer due to the water & heat messing with the glue but it had already failed there so this just makes it easier to add more glue. An accident but a fortunate one.

Half way across & it looked pretty nice the next morning. I think this stuff is going to give me a very good shot at salvaging the top of the machine and keeping the original veneer; it is revealing a very nice walnut grain. With the right stain here, some grain filler, and some lacquer it should be passable if I can match it to the good finish left on the rest of the case. Always nice when the restoration is not too terribly intensive.

[VanEpsFan1914]

"Oh what a beautiful feeling,
Everything's going my way!"

No it is certainly not. Living has gotten remarkably intense lately; I've not had much time for anything really to do.

But I did manage to get the new stain on the top--after finishing the bleaching on the lid & the veneer repairs--and I think this one is going to be a handsome machine.
Here's a snap of the right side before work commenced.

And here's the same section after sanding, bleaching, & staining. I haven't lacquered anything yet. The stain matches well & the wood sanded out nice & smooth. I still have to do the rest of the top.

[travisgreyfox]

I've been following your progress since you first picked it up. Its coming along nicely!

[VanEpsFan1914]

I've been following your progress since you first picked it up. Its coming along nicely!

Thanks Travis--I'm absolutely tickled pink to finally have a floor model Panatrope. The last one I had was a portable P-109 that I got for five bucks at an antiques shop but I sold it a couple years ago. This one sounds better--the big wooden horn is pretty nice. The lowboy cabinet fills a niche in my collection as does the walnut finish.

Here's the crack in the top which I am gluing back. I don't have a lot of woodworking tools so I use that jack-knife and some shaving razor blades, sandpaper on scraps of wood, and the like.

[VanEpsFan1914]

About the reproducer.

So anyway JerryVan had a brass reproducer for a Panatrope. Many thanks to JerryVan for basically saving the project. It arrived recently & I decided to figure out how to incorporate it into the project. Unfortunately it had no thumbscrew. A thumbscrew swap didn't work--the threads were different and it was impossible to screw it in more than a couple of turns. The diaphragm was riddled with pinholes, and the original needle chuck on my pot-metal one was in a little nicer condition--so I started a quick project to restore the brass reproducer and customize it to look like the decaying original. Unfortunately there aren't many Forum posts about restoring Panatrope reproducers.

I parted out the pot-metal one for its needle bar, diaphragm, and bearing races.

So here is the new-old brass reproducer all dressed up like the original pot-metal one. I think it's mighty handsome. Once the bearings are in and the needle bar is soldered it should be good for a long, long time.

[oliver]

Charles,

Congratulations on such a nice find! It's refreshing to know that deals like that are still possible today.

I really like the way it looks.

Enjoy fixing it up,
Oliver

[JerryVan]

Charles,

That looks great! I've never actually had any of mine apart. Happy it's working out for you!

[VanEpsFan1914]

Hello again with an update on the Panatrope.

The radio station in Hartford says there's some good weather on the way, with the mildest weather to come to this part of Connecticut since November. So I think the Panatrope will be getting a few coats of lacquer soon and I'll call it done as far as the cosmetics (on what already is a very beautiful machine.)

As for the reproducer project, I can get it together enough to where it looks good, but I cannot figure out how to do the bearings. They're not exactly fitting together right, and I will need to probably box up the reproducer & send it to Wyatt. He says on the phone that it's a pain to work on Brunswicks. I concur. It's still a beautiful reproducer now and kind of fun to think that I "made" the thing out of spare pieces.

It's been a conflict of scheduling to decide to work on phonographs or do midterms so I am doing midterms.

More on this one when it's time to finish it all up.