Busy Bee Brown Wax?

[phono-farm]

I guess this isn't really a question about a machine, but I recently bought a little Busy Bee cylinder player, the same as a Columbia Q but with slightly larger mandrel, and it came with some cylinders including these 2 brown wax ones. They fit the Busy Bee mandrel and are too large for a standard mandrel, so did someone do an excellent job of boring them out, or did the factory make them this way? One is marked COLUMBIA RECORD PATENTED - HUSKING BEE DANCE - TALKING. The other is marked COLUMBIA RECORD PATENTED - 31836 - AUCTION SALE OF BIRD AND ANIMAL STORE - TALKING.

[Victrolacollector]

As far as I know, the Busy Bee cylinders were black wax. However, it is possible that they produced them in brown wax or some of the old Columbia issues may have been reamed out. There is also the possibility that someone reamed them to play on their Busy Bee machine.

You see some of the same situations with the 78's that have a hole added to play on a standard phonograph with the large spindle.

[rgordon939]

Those are late Columbia Cylinders (approximately 1903-04) that have been reamed out to fit the Busy Bee mandrel.

Rich Gordon

[phono-farm]

So were there dealerships that would ream these, or the factory? This is much more involved than some guy just drilling a larger hole in a disc record - these are reamed with the taper required to fit the mandrel. They have a perfectly even surface on the inside and they fit properly one way, but if you try to put one on backwards it won't go over the mandrel at all.

[rgordon939]

Someone just made a reamer like those used for Edison and Columbia cylinders to ream them out. As you can see the double spiral core has been reamed flat. Edison cylinders had a single spiral core and Columbia cylinders had a double spiral core.

Rich Gordon

[phono-farm]

OK, thanks! Why didn't I think of that? I could do this myself (I won't) just using my wood reamer with the sandpaper on it and ream in deeper until the diameter is large enough to fit on the Busy Bee.

[Victrolacollector]

It would be nice to see the Busy Bee size cylinders made in reproduction for those that have a Busy Bee.

[52089]

OK, thanks! Why didn't I think of that? I could do this myself (I won't) just using my wood reamer with the sandpaper on it and ream in deeper until the diameter is large enough to fit on the Busy Bee.

This to me is like choosing - now - to drill out a regular 78 to fit a large spindle machine like a Standard, even though most of us have conventional disc machines. One can safely assume that the person who reamed out the regular cylinder to fit the Busy Bee didn't have another machine to play regular cylinders. While I suppose it's possible that a current collector has only a Busy Bee machine and no regular cylinder players, I'd find it unlikely. You can of course do whatever you like with things you own.

If you must do this, please try it on a junk record or 2 first. I would think that the combination of forces needed to ream a wax cylinder would easily cause it to shatter.