Pathé Pathéphone - Just bought, have questions

[SeanA]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, and world of phonographs. I just purchased a Pathé Pathéphone.

The tone broke off at some point in its life, (which I've read is not uncommon) and the motor needs cleaned and rebuilt from what I understand (it slips when cranked a few times).

I am wondering a few things:

i) How rare are pieces like it?
ii) How difficult/costly would it be to restore to working order?
iii) Would it be terrible to repurpose it into a bar? (I know this is subjective, but I am curious of how a community of enthusiast feels about this sort of thing)
iv) If I did, would the motor be useful to someone?

Thanks for your insights!

[EdiBrunsVic]

I hope you can get it restored to operating condition. Depending on your location, you would find some help at the Union Show. There are many forum members who have knowledge about the Pathé brand.

[SeanA]

I am on Vancouver Island in Canada.

I would like to restore it. I've been reading up on it, and it looks like tough work, but fun!

The motor looks in good shape (based on my limited, lightly researched knowledge. How would I go about finding/fixing the tonearm?

I'm sure the folks on here would all want to see it restored, and I don't want to ruin a beautiful piece of history. So, I guess my question is how big an undertaking it would be. I think I could handle the the motor clean/rebuild. But would it be hard to get the tonearm operational? I'm sure more info is needed on the condition of everything, but anyone's thoughts are appreciated.

cheers.

[PeterF]

The American Pathé disc machines are not that uncommon, and sadly tend to be found in "disrespected" condition.

The potmetal tonearm mount is often found broken just as yours is, but replacements are not that hard to find on eBay or elsewhere.

Your description of the motor "slipping" likely indicates a broken spring, replacement of which can be a dirty and dangerous undertaking, and you may want to consider sending away the spring barrel for that work to be done by a professional.

The tonearm and reproducer are not shown in the photos, but assuming they are present, you should also be sure to rebuild the reproducer for it to function satisfactorily.

As for the "turn it into a bar" thing...does anyone actually do that, and then actually use it as such?

[donniej]

The Pathé's are nice machines, and since your woodwork is in good condition, it should be an easy restoration. You need a tone arm and reproducer. These are easy to find and not expensive. Rebuilding the reproducer is really simple on these. To play the Pathé sapphire disks, you'll also need a sapphire stylus, but you don't need this to play "normal" 78's.

The motor may be a Heineman P5001. These are only marked as "P5001" and "Motor of Quality". They're good motors that were used in lots of phonographs and parts are cheap and easy to find.
It sounds like your particular machine has a broken spring, which is very common. The springs are large and powerful and can be dangerous to change if you're not used to working with things of that sort. If you're not comfortable replacing the springs yourself then I'm sure someone will post the contact info for a reputable repairman, such as Ron Sitko or Wyatt's Musical.

[Curt A]

Do you have the tonearm and reproducer or are they missing? If you have them, post a couple of pics and that would help determine what you will be able to repair them or whether you need to find replacements...

[SeanA]

Tonearm and reproducer are missing. Thanks for your comments everyone.

[52089]

Tonearm and reproducer are missing. Thanks for your comments everyone.

Ideally, you should find a complete tonearm/base assembly that is still intact. Since you have the base (the black part), you should be able to put a "loose" tonearm and reproducer on it, putting some light lubrication in between so that the arm swings freely. The joint between the tonearm and base was made of pot metal and is usually found broken.

The tonearm/base you are looking for should look like the one in this completed eBay listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pathé-Reproduce ... Sw9GhYl1PV

The tonearm lengths may vary by model, I'm not sure.

The reproducer end of the tonearm has a swivel joint with 3 pieces: a reproducer mount, a rotating collar, and a thumbscrew. In theory, you loosen the thumbscrew and rotate the reproducer around the joint to change it from vertical (Pathé) position to lateral ("78") and back as needed. In actuality, the pot metal reproducer mount has almost always swollen up and prevents proper rotation. This can usually be remedied with heat or cold.

I can supply a tonearm (with no base and a frozen reproducer mount), and also a working, correct Pathé Concert reproducer. If you are interested, please contact me by PM to discuss.

[VintageTechnologies]

I really hope you are joking about turning it into a bar! That result would be worth very little money. If the cabinet is restorable, then the whole machine ought to be restored to playing condition. Mechanisms and parts are more plentiful than decent cabinets. I bought a good tonearm with reproducer on eBay for $20 and replaced the hard gaskets with a dollar's worth of white rubber tubing. You may not find one that cheap, but all parts are available with a little patience. Any repairs you can do yourself will save big money. There's nothing that can't be fixed if you try and screw up. Go for it!

[CDBPDX]

As for the "turn it into a bar" thing...does anyone actually do that, and then actually use it as such?

A fellow who lives down the street from me in Castle Rock takes all the derelict cabinets I can provide and gets creative with them. Here is the latest conversion, uses it in his store as a display for jewelry.