My New (old) Horn

[Retrograde]

This is about my Union find, since everyone else seems to get a Union find story.

I've become selective (disciplined?) in my collecting and since I couldn't find something I really needed at the Union show, I decided to buy a horn that needed some restoration. This horn was among a bunch of derelict horns offered for sale on the back porch at Union. The attraction for me was the fact that it was designed for a European mount (the locking slot is in the horn rather than in the elbow, opposite of Victor horns), and I have a machine that it will fit. To give some perspective, the horn is about 21 inched across.

As you can see in the first picture that it's painted off-white. This paint was obviously not original, so removing it was the plan from the start. What I found was that this was some really stubborn paint. Citristrip did little to it, so I went for the dangerous cancer-causing chemical stripper from the mega-home improvement store which also had a tough time softening the paint.

To my surprise, the underlying finish was nickel! Not perfect, but still it's nickel. A little Flitz polish & lots of elbow grease has it looking pretty good. Still needs some work on the small end, but not bad for 20 bucks!

See Pictures below.

So that's my Union 2014 story.

[Damfino59]

That is a great Union story! Sometimes the best finds are in that back "forty" area. What type of continental gramophone/phono will this fit?

[gemering]

GREAT STORY
GREAT FIND
GREAT RESULT

Gene

[Retrograde]

...What type of continental gramophone/phono will this fit?

I plan to use it on a Rifancophone. I bought the machine a couple of years ago. It came with a quarter-sawn oak horn that did not match the mahogany case, so I've been searching for the right horn to match to it. This nickel horn works perfectly.

(The gramophone sits atop my bog standard, but immaculate HMV 157)

[TinfoilPhono]

Great find, great job in bringing it back to its gorgeous original look!

[Jerry B.]

Wowsers, that's a good looking horn and for only $20. You have a good eye for potential, possibilities and the willingness to do some messy work. Good job! Jerry

[alang]

Great find, great job, beautiful horn. Only question to me is, why would anyone paint such a nice horn in the first place? On the other hand, it may have protected the original nickel...

Congrats
Andreas

[AZ*]

Looks nice. Definitely a "bargin."

[Scott]

Very nice! Looks great.

[Bob]

Great work. Looks beautiful.