Emergency call: woodworm removal in a rare Victrola.

[VanEpsFan1914]

If this needs to be in the "Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials" forum please feel free to move it. I put it here for greater coverage.

Today while visiting a friend he showed me a rare Victrola, one of only a handful surviving. It had just been refinished and was all ready to go. While we played some Hank Williams on it (not period correct but still cool) we opened up the case and found fresh saw-dust in the spot where the albums would go, along with a few tiny tunnels in the side about the diameter of the lead of a No. 2 pencil.

Is this woodworm? If so, how would it be removed? The owner of the machine is a master refinisher but fresh sawdust means active infestation, right? How would that be dealt with before it eats the rest of the collection?

Thanks

Charles F

[52089]

Woodworm is pretty rare in the USA. More likely carpenter ants, carpenter bees, or termites. I'd suggest you post pics.

[OrthoFan]

I think the first thing I'd do is isolate the Victrola, so whatever it's infested with won't spread to other furniture or the home.

From what I understand, if the holes are open, it's probably woodworm. If the holes are plugged, it's most likely termites -- https://www.lorecentral.org/2017/12/dif ... mites.html

I think consulting with a professional exterminator might be the best option.

OrthoFan

By the way, what model is it?

[VanEpsFan1914]

It's a 1906 flat-top Pooley--not just a Victrola, but THE granddaddy of them all. Works great, too, and sounds very nice even with a small horn. (It is not mine. I have a XIV.)

The holes are open. It's got fresh sawdust appearing under them, which we just noticed after a complete refinish had been done. The machine is, of course, mahogany. I don't know if it was solid or veneered at this stage in the game.

I'll have to check back with the owner about that--he had no idea anything had gone wrong until we already had the Hank Williams spinning and were opening up all the doors and hatches on the old VTLA to show off how thorough the refinish had been, and I spotted sawdust.

We checked a number of other machines in the display building, and none showed signs of woodworm. Many were sporting new coats of hand-rubbed lacquer but none had woodworm, so that's good. Is there a "bug bomb" to throw in there and kill them off?

[Skihawx]

You never said what model Victrola you saw with this problem. I wonder is some wood species is more vulnerable.

[NEFaurora]

The only place that I know of (Where I observed) Woodworm are in the Southwestern United States and Mexico..

I think that Southern Arizona, Southern New Mexico, and Texas in the U.S. are all possible candidates and Mexico.

If you are in South Carolina...I vote for Termites..

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

[VanEpsFan1914]

South Carolina is where the machine currently is, in a friend's collection not far away. I have no idea whether it is plywood veneered or solid mahogany. (The owner pointed out some flaws on the side, from the factory. While these first few original Victrolas sold well, I can see why Victor decided to let Pooley Co. go their way and transfer Victrola production to their own shop!!)

It may well be termites. But I don't know where he found the cabinet and hauled it down from. He is the sort who will travel quite a ways to get a machine he wants. Whatever pest is in it, it's the first model Victrola EVER sitting right next to a plethora of the finest talking machines ever built (and a whole bunch of common ones too, but they're all Edisons so they're good quality) and the last thing he needs in the Phonograph Room is a bug problem.

Any ideas what we can use to kill the bugs? I searched the Forum and saw something about syringes and poison. Any ideas what I should recommend for shooting termites?

[EarlH]

I've refinished a few of those things and all the flat panels are plywood, and so is the lid. Pooley and Victor did not finish the bottoms of their cabinets and often times the bottoms of the doors either. And I know they didn't finish the bottoms of the doors on the flat top machines so that will more than likely be where they entered the cabinet in the first place.

It seems like they make an oil that you can inject into the openings to kill them, or use a heat treatment like is used for bedbugs. Those tunnels would make me think it's termites. I don't think woodworms do the tunnel thing. I'd lay the thing down and see how much damage has been done to that bottom board. If that one has any finish on it, it will be the first Victrola I've heard of with any finish on the bottom. The humidity must be high for those things to want anything to do with furniture as well. He might want to check the bottoms of all of his machines, he may have a much bigger problem on his hands than he realizes. And get a can of shellac and seal the bottoms of those cabinets and any raw wood once you've gotten them taken care of. I don't know how much finish discourages termites, but it can't hurt. Good luck with that one.

[VanEpsFan1914]

Thank you sir!

The Victrolas, the bombe Sonoras, the Edison Diamond Discs and cylinder cabinets--all that is going to need inspection as well. We already pulled them open and looked but no damage, which is nice.

I've got lots of Bulls Eye shellac round here so we can probably cook up something to seal the bottom with.

[victor 15-1]

Thank you sir!

The Victrolas, the bombe Sonoras, the Edison Diamond Discs and cylinder cabinets--all that is going to need inspection as well. We already pulled them open and looked but no damage, which is nice.

I've got lots of Bulls Eye shellac round here so we can probably cook up something to seal the bottom with.

I have read that Orange Oil is the oil used to kill these pests on the sites that deal with this problem on other types of antique furniture.