Edison A250

[audiophile102]

Well, this is the most interesting machine I've seen in awhile.

It looks like a 2-mainspring motor. Is that indeed the case?

Is there a date on the paper label attached to the inside rear door?

Are the record dividers in the lower drawer cut in a gentle arc, or is that an optical illusion?

Finally, on what oak surface is the rococo grille design traced?

Thanks for posting these pictures! A fascinating machine!

George P.

I don't know enough about motors to tell you if it's a 2-mainspring. There isn't a date on the paper label. The record dividers are cut in an arc and they are complete in both drawers. I traced the grill from a Edison owned by a friend. I intend to cut it out myself, but first it needs to be planed down on to the right thickness. If my attempt fails, I will be contacting Mr Rutkowski. Thanks to all for the comments.

[fran604g]

Fascinating.

audiophile102, are the drawers both the same height? The reason I ask is because of the arc in the lower drawer dividers not being present in the top drawer. I think it would be impossible to retrieve records without the arc. Therefore, maybe the top drawer is "shorter" than the bottom one?

Fran

[phonogfp]

Thanks for your response, Audiophile102.

In the photo you posted (below), one spring barrel can be seen immediately to the right of the neck of the horn. I suspect there's another barrel hiding behind the horn's neck, mounted side-by-side with the visible one. Is this the case?

Thanks!

George P.

[audiophile102]

Thanks for your response, Audiophile102.

In the photo you posted (below), one spring barrel can be seen immediately to the right of the neck of the horn. I suspect there's another barrel hiding behind the horn's neck, mounted side-by-side with the visible one. Is this the case?

Thanks!

George P.

First I want to respond to Fran's question about the dividers. The drawers are indeed a different size. The bottom drawer is an inch taller and has the rounded dividers while the top drawer has straight dividers. I suspect the bottom drawer was made to accommodate larger records. In response to George,I took another photo of the motor with the horn moved over. I hope this answers your question. My question is since this machine was put together from a parts bin, are they all appropriate for a Edison A250? The case was worth saving so I have no problem with using parts that function. Thanks for your interest!

[fran604g]

Thank you for your response(s) to my (repeated) questions!

I don't think the drawers would have been produced for different sized records, more likely they were manufactured differently to meet the demands of the cabinet design. I'll let others chime in on this, maybe one of the A/B 250 experts will have some insight.

Best,
Fran

[VintageTechnologies]

That machine has a two-spring motor, absolutely no question about that. It is also the early style motor, a type that I have never worked on. The later disc motor, like the Amberola 30 motor, was a simplification and robust refinement that could hardly be improved upon.

[phonogfp]

That machine has a two-spring motor, absolutely no question about that.

Well, there's certainly no question about it after Audiophile's latest photo!

My question is since this machine was put together from a parts bin, are they all appropriate for a Edison A250? The case was worth saving so I have no problem with using parts that function. Thanks for your interest!

Thanks for the motor photo. That's exactly what I expected to see, but one never knows for sure, as demonstrated by the drawers in this machine.

As for the mechanism, it appears that the entire works from a mahogany A-250 was removed from its original cabinet and dropped into this slightly later oak A-250 cabinet. The only clues that the mechanism isn't original to this particular cabinet are the serial numbers and the paint on the horn. Otherwise, everything is identical. This switch could have occurred anytime over the last century. I wouldn't lose a bit of sleep over it!

George P.

[Valecnik]

Fascinating.

audiophile102, are the drawers both the same height? The reason I ask is because of the arc in the lower drawer dividers not being present in the top drawer. I think it would be impossible to retrieve records without the arc. Therefore, maybe the top drawer is "shorter" than the bottom one?

Fran

Fran I think there are at least three variations of that bottom drawer, (here we go again ). Some, well at least one I have has straight dividers in the bottom drawer and you are right. Drop a 10 inch record in there and good luck getting it out. Also it falls partially through the bottom so you cannot close the drawer after dropping the record in. This is an A-300 actually but same cabinet. You can only use the bottom drawer for 12 inch records.

Second style is as seen here with the concave slats and can accomodate 10 or 12 inch records.

Third style,later and same as B-250 again straight horizontal slats in bottom drawer. I can't recall if this style also accomodate 10 & 12 inch records in lower drawer.

George, regarding the mechanism, it appears that the bedplate is brown, not maroon so even though the number is not the same as on the data plate, it must have come from an oak machine while the horn came from a mahogany machine?

Also, I'd be interested to see some close ups of that grill. Has it clearly been redone or could it possibly have come that way?

[audiophile102]

I don't have a 12 inch record for the Edison so I took one from my Sonora and as you can see the drawers accommodate the records quite nicely. There is plenty of clearance when the bottom drawer is closed. I took the drawers out of the cabinet when I was cleaning the machine. The drawers are attached to the wood rails with wood screws that are hard to remove. Once removed I found 100 years of dirt inside. Cleaning the drawers and slats was the same. So much dirt. One of the stop pegs on the sliders was broken off so I made a new one. Worked great. I'm all finished cleaning it and I'm looking forward to filling both drawers with diamond disk records. I need records for my Sonora too. I like Jazz and that might be harder to find for the Edison. Once again, thanks for your interest.

[fran604g]

Fascinating.

audiophile102, are the drawers both the same height? The reason I ask is because of the arc in the lower drawer dividers not being present in the top drawer. I think it would be impossible to retrieve records without the arc. Therefore, maybe the top drawer is "shorter" than the bottom one?

Fran

Fran I think there are at least three variations of that bottom drawer, (here we go again ). Some, well at least one I have has straight dividers in the bottom drawer and you are right. Drop a 10 inch record in there and good luck getting it out. Also it falls partially through the bottom so you cannot close the drawer after dropping the record in. This is an A-300 actually but same cabinet. You can only use the bottom drawer for 12 inch records.

Second style is as seen here with the concave slats and can accomodate 10 or 12 inch records.

Third style,later and same as B-250 again straight horizontal slats in bottom drawer. I can't recall if this style also accomodate 10 & 12 inch records in lower drawer.

George, regarding the mechanism, it appears that the bedplate is brown, not maroon so even though the number is not the same as on the data plate, it must have come from an oak machine while the horn came from a mahogany machine?

Also, I'd be interested to see some close ups of that grill. Has it clearly been redone or could it possibly have come that way?

Thank you Valecnik, for the explanation on the drawer conundrum.

Best,
Fran