Newly acquired edison home. Need info

[AmberolaAndy]

Would it be possible to tell from the serial number, what the exact age of the machine is?

Your Home (No.336551) was built after the known Edison sales data ends (May 1908). Extrapolating from the known data, yours should date from early 1909.

George P.

Yup. Your model B, just like mine (S/N 327494) was made during that weird time period when Edison was already making model D machines but still made model B’s. Since yours is a two minute only machine this disproves my theory that these late model B’s were sold standard with the 2/4 minute conversion kit. So I assume they must have sold these real cheap to families with very little income. It would be odd it they were still charging the same amount for a model already made obsolete by this point by the model D machines.

[phonogfp]

It would be odd it they were still charging the same amount for a model already made obsolete by this point by the model D machines.

The Model B (and C) Homes and Standards were offered for less than the price of the Model Ds of the same types. Frow outlines all this. Remember that 2-minute Edison cylinders were being made until 1912, so 2-minute only phonographs weren't "obsolete" in 1909. (Indestructible made 2-minute cylinders until much later!)

George P.

[AmberolaAndy]

It would be odd it they were still charging the same amount for a model already made obsolete by this point by the model D machines.

The Model B (and C) Homes and Standards were offered for less than the price of the Model Ds of the same types. Frow outlines all this. Remember that 2-minute Edison cylinders were being made until 1912, so 2-minute only phonographs weren't "obsolete" in 1909. (Indestructible made 2-minute cylinders until much later!)

George P.

I guess I need to purchase more reference books!

[gwcoty]

Got it all back together, looks great, ill have to get the decals for it. Yup, the feedscrew is toast. I had to constantly apply down pressure with my hand to get it to play. The gaskets have yet to arrive but it sounded decent. Thankyou for the info on the date. If anyone out there has a feedscrew, let me know.

[gwcoty]

Pic so far.

[AmberolaAndy]

Got it all back together, looks great, ill have to get the decals for it. Yup, the feedscrew is toast. I had to constantly apply down pressure with my hand to get it to play. The gaskets have yet to arrive but it sounded decent. Thankyou for the info on the date. If anyone out there has a feedscrew, let me know.

Looks good! As for the feed screw maybe your half-nut needs to be adjusted? Beware it can be a task and a half to get it adjusted right especially on Home machines. (from my experience) Adjusted too low it bogs down to a stop. Adjusted too high it skips.

[phonogfp]

I guess I need to purchase more reference books!

I consider my reference books to be the best money I have spent on my hobby. From what they taught me, all else flows.

Here's an earlier thread on the books many of us have found most useful:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =8&t=20350

George P.

[gwcoty]

Feedscrew and half nut finally arrived today. I very carefully got the half nut perfectly adjusted and this thing will play four records on a single full wind. Unbelievable! I have a very annoying flutter in the audio i am trying to fix. From what i read online, it seems like a common problem, and might be a pita to track it down and fix. Any ideas on that would greatly appreciated. I ordered the decals for it today, the bedplate designs and edison script logo. It has come a long way, and i dont regret putting all this time into it! Stay tuned!

[phonogfp]

For flutter, be sure the tensioner wheel spins freely, and that the seam in the belt is smooth and as flat as possible.

See that both leather pads on the governor yoke are oiled (no 3-In-1, but rather good sewing machine oil). Be sure the disc that contacts the pads is clean, shiny, and lightly lubricated. Don't forget to oil the governor shaft where the disc slides back and forth.

Finally, if one or more of the governor weights have been replaced with a mismatched weight, it will be nearly impossible to eliminate the flutter. Buy a set of three matched weights & springs from Ron Sitko.

Good luck!

George P.

[FellowCollector]

I have a very annoying flutter in the audio i am trying to fix. From what i read online, it seems like a common problem, and might be a pita to track it down and fix. Any ideas on that would greatly appreciated

The flutter in playing a cylinder is incredibly annoying and for years (whenever I had an opportunity) I tried lots of different things to remove the flutter. And one day I was looking carefully at the friction disc on the governor assembly in one of my Columbia cylinder Graphophones.

I noticed that the friction disc was not rotating true (meaning there was a very slight warp in the disc). Everything else on it was in perfect operating condition. I removed the friction disc and brought it to a good friend of mine who owns a lathe and he "trued up" my friction disc. I put the governor back together and VOILA...the flutter was gone. And he removed very little material from the disc to true it up. Since then I've trued up several other governor friction discs on a number of other cylinder phonographs and each one plays flawlessly now...no more flutter!

So, in addition to George's helpful advice, take a close look at your governor friction disc as it rotates slowly. It can be warped as a few of mine were. And a warped disc will definitely result in flutter on a cylinder phonograph. Of course, this presumes that all else on the governor is in proper operating condition (weights are equal, springs equal, governor shaft is straight and true).

Good luck.
Doug