Restored Aeolian Vocalion

[edisonsclone]

I was so happy with the results, that I had to share.
After many hours over the past few months, I have finally finished my project.
Please enjoy the before and after pics.

Hear are a few more aeolian's of mine.
The small mahogany machine was my first ever, purchased it when I was in 2nd grade (I am now 28 years old),
The oak machine came about a year ago.
Both the oak machine and the recently restored one have working volume controls.

[mattrx]

That is quite a dramatic improvement. Beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Matt

[Silvertone]

These were very well made phonographs that did not do particularly well in the marketplace. The company that made them was a powerhouse in the piano market, yet for some reason they could not crack the phonograph business. You have a nice example there and you have done a very nice job of bringing it back to life. Congratulations!

There was a good article on the Aeolian Vocalion in one of the older issues of The Sound Box (now The Antique Phonograph).

[budsta]

Great effort. Looks great.
The first gramophone I ever bought was a Aeolian Vocalion so I'm a bit partial to the brand.

Stephen

[STARR-OLA]

Simply stunning .

[Sidewinder]

Great restoration job.

Is the remote control complete & functioning ?

[larryh]

I am amazed at the wonderful finish you have obtained.. The Vocalion was the machine my Great Grandfather had owned and left it to my Grandmother. Its really the place my interest in victrolas started. Unfortunately one day I had a cousin over and he wound the machine breaking the spring. In those days it was usually a death sentence since no one worked on them. I was very sad that my grandmother decided to give it to another relative. A few years ago a very dark looking Aeolian was at an antique shop not far from me and stayed around till the mall decided it had been there long enough. The woman that had it way overpriced it. Had I realized the way it might have l looked I might have been tempted. A friend has a table model in Oak which quite a wonderful looking small machine.

Larry

[phonogfp]

Wow - what a difference! Great work!

My first antique phonograph was also an Aeolian-Vocalion and I admit to having a soft spot for them.

George P.

[Curt A]

Nothing better than bringing a neglected machine back from the dead... Looks great.

[Sidewinder]

My first antique phonograph was also an Aeolian-Vocalion and I admit to having a soft spot for them.

Me as well, one of my first phonographs was also an Aeolian-Vocalion. It had a remote control volume adjuster that was essentially an approx. 20 foot cable - that was pulled out from left of the horn - with which you could from the comfort of a chair adjust the volume of the machine. (this was a flap in the throat of the horn).

I think the pictured one has the same setup if one looks at the lower left hand side of the horn.