Amberola 30

[VintageTechnologies]

Still have not been able to remove the cylinder- lord knows how long it has been on there.

I will slightly re-word what "Curt A" suggested. Use both hands to place thumbs on the small end of the mandrel, and fingers on the rim of the record. Then, rather than "pull", use your fingers to "squeeze" the record toward your thumbs. If you have strong enough fingers, the record should come off. The thing that I want to avoid is bending the mandrel shaft while wrestling with a stubborn cylinder. Using the method described will minimize that risk.

As a last resort, I would even recommend removing the mandrel while attempting to remove the record. 1) Allow the machine to run all the down until there is no tension on the mandrel or crank. 2) Use a screwdriver to remove a set screw on the retaining ring at the end of the mandrel. 3) Slip off the mandrel. Now, you can be a lot more aggressive in removing the record from the mandrel.

[Lucius1958]

As for removing the cylinder, I wonder whether the old freezer trick might work: place the mandrel in the freezer overnight, then try removing the cylinder next morning. (I don't know whether the different contraction rates will work with this).

Grille cloth: all 30s, except for the very earliest, had grille cloth, usually a reddish-orange silk.

Bill

[Curt A]

You will want to purchase a cylinder reamer to open up the insides of most Blue Amberol cylinders. Over time the plaster swells and shrinks the opening making it difficult, if not impossible, to place the cylinder correctly on the mandrel. Most likely that is what happened to yours after leaving it on the machine for many years... I'm sure someone here can direct you to a source for reamers - or search on eBay.

Thanks, Vintage... for making the removal instructions more clear... it is a squeezing motion rather than a pulling motion.

[marcapra]

I have a fireside with a cygnet horn 11 petal, but I don't get much pleasure from the sound it makes .I find it quite inferior to a gramophone .

The sound of a cylinder played with a cygnet horn, providing there is nothing wrong with the phonograph, is superior to the sound from an Amberola 30. The Amberola 30 and 50 and 75 have very small horns, and the sound cannot equal that from a cygnet horn. If you buy one thinking it will sound better than the Fireside with a cygnet horn, you will be disappointed.

[NEFaurora]

"Grille cloth: all 30s, except for the very earliest, had grille cloth, usually a reddish-orange silk."

Don't you mean Golden Brown Silk??

Also, The subject was heavily discussed just last year, and there was a General Concensus that ALL Amberola 30's came with grille cloths. It was some of the Pre-1915 Amberolas where some did not have grille cloths originally.

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

[Lucius1958]

"Grille cloth: all 30s, except for the very earliest, had grille cloth, usually a reddish-orange silk."

Don't you mean Golden Brown Silk??

Also, The subject was heavily discussed just last year, and there was a General Concensus that ALL Amberola 30's came with grille cloths. It was some of the Pre-1915 Amberolas where some did not have grille cloths originally.

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

Pardon me: I was relying on my memory, which may not be entirely reliable.

There are, I believe, a couple of threads on the subject here; and I recollect one post, offering 'authentic' grille cloth for the 30, in that orange-red / red-orange shade.

The golden-brown cloth seems to have been more usual on the oak Disc Phonographs. It is often hard to tell the original color, though, after a century of fading...

Bill

[BrianG23]

Still no luck with the cylinder, I'll try removing the mount and placing in the fridge as suggested. One of the problems of replacing the veneer is the new stuff is so much thinner, I'll get with the the guy someone suggested and ask about his along with looking into getting the reproducer rebuilt. In my travels to estate sales and antique shops I should be able to come across some old silk cloth of the approximate color. Thanks for all the help! Oh yea- I'm in N.E. Alabama.

[NEFaurora]

Here are some EXCELLENT Amberola 30 threads... I had contributed to some of them by chance... Great literature pics, manuals, ads, etc.


http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ille+cloth


and..


http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... rola+cloth


PS: Bill, In the threads above, I did find some references to the Orange-ish silk on Amberola 30s though I have never seen one in the wild, Someone did post a picture of a 3rd Series (1919-1925) Amberola 30 with an Orange Grille Cloth.. I most certainly have never seen an Orange Grille cloth on a Late Amberola 30, though on a first series Amberola 30, I might think that its possible. Is it original? Who knows.. It's a mystery..!

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer