Columbia AJ Top Wind On/Off lever

[fonograph]

This is my first AJ Top Wind machine so I'm not too familiar with this model. Has anyone ever seen a on/off lever on top of the motor board like this one? It may be fairly common, I've just never seen one.

[Phonomark]

Hey, Congrats on a great find. I have one of these AJ Top Winds in my collection and have had it for many years. From my conversations with Howard Hazelcorn when I first acquired mine, this is the very first design of the AJ Top Wind. And Howard indicated to me that only a small number (maybe 3-4) have ever surfaced or been documented.

The motor design is unique only to this machine. But...in addition to the mechanism having the speed control and on/off controls on the top of the motor board, the release pulls to remove the cover are rotated 90 degrees on different side panels. In addition, both the decal and the decorative handle are located on different sides of the cover than the normal AJ Top Wind.

Here's some pictures of mine. I have thought that an article on this unique design would be cool, but never have gotten around to it.

Congratulations again, it's a very rare Top Wind.

Mark

[Zwebie]

WOW,

That's the Great Thing about this hobby,

you learn something new every day!

COOL, Bob S.

[gramophone-georg]

I've never seen this variant of this machine, either. VERY nice! Congrats.

[fonograph]

Wow. Thanks for the info. I thought that design was unique, but there are not that many around to compare. Mine is missing the knob beside the lever. Does that regulate the speed? Also, mine came with a knock-off crank and it's awkward to wind. Can you include a picture of your crank?
Thanks,
Bob

[Phonomark]

I'll send you a PM with pics.

Mark