New Acquisition: Columbia BY

[dzavracky]

I had the chance to acquire this machine yesterday (huge thank you to Phonofluff for all your help). I am super excited to own my first phonograph with a wooden horn!

Now a few questions:

To my eyes it appears to have been stripped and refinished. Whoever did it didn’t stain the cabinet (seems too light to me?) but otherwise did an excellent job. The horn doesn’t match the color of the cabinet either. Since there are no decals on the cabinet… do I leave it as it? Put new decals over existing finish with a coat or two of finish? Or fully refinish it?

How does the volume control work? Is there supposed to be a piece of leather on the screw?

I do find it a little strange that the govenor is only two springs… but it does run really quietly. The motor barely makes it through one record.. so it definitely need to be taken apart. It might just be a dirty motor.. but thoughts on installing 4 new springs? It almost seems like a machine this nice deserves new springs.

The horn also seems to have had some work done on it. But I don’t see any reason to mess with it.

Any other thoughts would be great!

Cheers

David

[Flying Dutchman]

That is certainly a beautiful machine.

Congratulations!

So it’s double barrel 4 spring motor..?
I’m not familiar with that brand or motor but maybe some springs are disengaged…?
I restored a VV-IX once and the same happened, it would barely play through a record. Come to find out one of the springs had disengaged or was installed incorrectly and was only running on one.
Once cleaned and installed properly, it ran like a charm.
Maybe start with that…a dissemble and cleaning,see what’s happening mechanically.
Then the cosmetic stuff can happen later..?

[dzavracky]

That is certainly a beautiful machine.

Congratulations!

So it’s double barrel 4 spring motor..?
I’m not familiar with that brand or motor but maybe some springs are disengaged…?
I restored a VV-IX once and the same happened, it would barely play through a record. Come to find out one of the springs had disengaged or was installed incorrectly and was only running on one.
Once cleaned and installed properly, it ran like a charm.
Maybe start with that…a dissemble and cleaning,see what’s happening mechanically.
Then the cosmetic stuff can happen later..?

It has a 4 spring motor. I am going to disassemble the motor as soon as I can find a proper place to do it. I am not too keen on the idea of trying to take it apart in my bathroom

Cheers,

David

[Flying Dutchman]

That is certainly a beautiful machine.

Congratulations!

So it’s double barrel 4 spring motor..?
I’m not familiar with that brand or motor but maybe some springs are disengaged…?
I restored a VV-IX once and the same happened, it would barely play through a record. Come to find out one of the springs had disengaged or was installed incorrectly and was only running on one.
Once cleaned and installed properly, it ran like a charm.
Maybe start with that…a dissemble and cleaning,see what’s happening mechanically.
Then the cosmetic stuff can happen later..?

It has a 4 spring motor. I am going to disassemble the motor as soon as I can find a proper place to do it. I am not too keen on the idea of trying to take it apart in my bathroom

Cheers,

David

Quite the messy experience it is. You may want to stay close to the bath…

[Jerry B.]

Personally I wouldn't be happy until it had a rich red mahogany finish like an original. The elegant curved cabinet would be easy to refinish. The horn would be more work but well worth it. It would be spectacular if both pieces matched. I don't think you'd ever regret the effort. That's my two bits worth!

Jerry B.

[Raphael]

Jerry's right. The BY is one of the most beautiful phonographs ever made. Here's one that I got from Jerry and mated with a mahogany horn.

Raphael

[drh]

It has a 4 spring motor. I am going to disassemble the motor as soon as I can find a proper place to do it. I am not too keen on the idea of trying to take it apart in my bathroom

Well, if you fill the bathtub, you could disassemble the motor under the surface, remove it, and then sell the residual liquid as spring water.

Er, no.

Kidding aside, congrats--that's a nice machine, and by the time you're done with it I'm sure it will be a stunner!

[gramophone-georg]

It has a 4 spring motor. I am going to disassemble the motor as soon as I can find a proper place to do it. I am not too keen on the idea of trying to take it apart in my bathroom

Well, if you fill the bathtub, you could disassemble the motor under the surface, remove it, and then sell the residual liquid as spring water.

Er, no.

Kidding aside, congrats--that's a nice machine, and by the time you're done with it I'm sure it will be a stunner!

Very punny!

[dzavracky]

OH man that BY is gorgeous Raphael. Once I find a proper place to work, I will re-finish both the horn and the machine.

Is an aniline dye the best way to go? I have only done one mahogany refinish before and I can't remember what I used. Any suggestions?

Cheers,

David

[JerryVan]

OH man that BY is gorgeous Raphael. Once I find a proper place to work, I will re-finish both the horn and the machine.

Is an aniline dye the best way to go? I have only done one mahogany refinish before and I can't remember what I used. Any suggestions?

Cheers,

David

I have found that aniline dye gives the best results for a bold color change. Nice machine David!