My Cylinder Shaver Project

[hearsedriver]

For those interested, Im putting together a shaver using a Dictaphone shaver bed and Ediphone shaver motor. There are some challenges but, it is coming together. The Dictaphone shaver cleaned up real nice. I had to put brushes in the motor but, it runs great. Luckily, the motor came with the push button on/off switch that fits on the Dictaphone bed. I am using a Variac to adjust the speed of the motor. I found this TV table at a thrift store for $20.00 and I think it will work fine. Its a very sturdy table. I'll post more as things progress. Thanks

[hearsedriver]

This will give you an idea of my plan. This view is looking down on the top of the table. Mounting everything this was will give me room for a swarf catcher underneath the top of the table.

[Chuck]

WOW !!!! That shaver topworks cleaned up real nicely!
It looks almost brand new. Your plan looks like a good
one. You certainly lucked out by finding a topworks
that has the same knurled wheel adjustment for the
cutting depth as the model 7 shaver has.

I believe that threaded adjustment may be the same as
on the the model 7, namely 40 threads per inch. If that
is the case, then each turn of the adjuster wheel moves
the cutter .025 inches. Turning the wheel 45 degrees
(an eighth of a turn) moves the cutter .003125 inches.

That is about the deepest cut which can be taken
reliably without ripping the wax. Once you get down
to very fine adjustments such as the few thousandths
needed to just erase a previous recording without
taking off any more wax than absolutely necessary,
very small adjustments on the wheel can be made.

For instance, to take off just about.001 inch
turn the wheel about a sixteenth of an inch or so.
You'll be nicely surprised how easy it is to take
extremely fine cuts with this type of shaver topworks.

[Phono-Phan]

WOW!! That did clean up very nicely. Keep us informed on how this project ends up.
Ken

[hearsedriver]

Thanks guys! The biggest challenge right now is finding a pulley for the motor. I have ordered a couple off of Ebay that I think I can modify to work.

Having never seen one of these in operation except on YouTube, I see that the mandrel rotates toward the operator. To mount the motor the way I want to on the table, I might have to figure out if this motor is reversible. Today, I'll be mounting the top plate on the table and doing some temporary wiring to make sure everything operates like it should.

I'll keep you updated!

[Dave D]

Looking good. PM sent

[Chuck]

That topworks looks nearly identical to my
model 7 shaver.

The only differences which I can readily see are:

1) The small end of the mandrel is dome-shaped.

2) The feed screw looks to be of a slightly smaller
diameter than the one on my model 7.

3) The feedscrew is not at the very back.

Otherwise it looks like the same topworks.
The dome shape is great because it helps
get the cylinder on there easily without knocking
the inside of it around on the end of the mandrel.

The holes on the right front corner are for a
toggle switch to turn the motor on and off.
I can't quite make sense of why there'd be 2 holes
because my model 7 only has one hole there.

Not at all sure about reversing one of those
universal motors. Just offhand, I'd say leave it
alone and mount it so it turns the mandrel so
that the front of it moves downward.

Does your topworks have a serial number stamped
on it? Does it have a model number?

My guess is that possibly this topworks may be
an older version than the one on my model 7, but that's
just a guess, it may be newer.....possibly a transition
between the model 7 and the much later model 10 and
Cameo models. I am stumped on this one....

When one starts looking closely at Dictaphone machines
and shavers, there is certainly a large variety
of models and mechanical arrangements which were used
intermingled together on many different models
over the span of roughly from about 1920 to 1960.

As far as a motor pulley, why not turn one up in the
lathe? Just get a hunk of brass, drill it out, drill
and tap a setscrew hole, then make the crown shape
using a file while turning in the lathe?
The flanges on both sides could even be made, but probably can be gotten along without. Just a 1 inch
diameter crowned pulley about .625 to .75 wide
would most likely work fine.

[hearsedriver]

Update:
I got everything mounted and working as it should (except for the motor pulley). I am also going to install a fuse. As you can see, I mounted the Variac in the top of the table (black knob) to regulate the speed. I'll be adding a metal pan to catch the swarf out of the shoot.

Chuck, The serial Number is 6849. The differences that you are seeing may be that fact that this one was made for Columbia (see brass tag). Also, this one uses a push button setup for on/off. Luckily, the switch came with the Ediphone shaver motor. I think it would have been a hard one to find .

[JerryVan]

That looks really nice! Very professional looking.

Consider that you may need to add an idler wheel to maintain belt tension.

What is the diameter of the motor shaft?? Maybe I have a pulley... maybe not.

[hearsedriver]

Thanks Jerry! The motor shaft is ⅜". I think any pulley between ½" and 1" in diameter will work ok. I agree that I might need a tentioner . Shouldn't be too hard to make one.