A very sooty Columbia AH

[jboger]

Thank you for the link. Actually, I've seen Mr. Cline's website before. He comes highly recommended by members of this forum and it is easy to see why. Still, my question is one of options. I'd like to see or learn more about modern reproduction decals that use shellac to transfer the decal to the wood, as per what Reiss describes. Those decals, if any are available, don't need to be for an AH. I just want to learn about their availability and better yet see what they look like. You know, enquiring minds . . . .

[martinola]

While I'm not familiar with the Columbia/Graphopone machines, I can comment that it is unlikely you'll run into a properly reproduced traditional type transfer today. I managed to buy an old one for a Standard years ago. While it was well made and printed, the artwork was pretty inaccurate. I'd say your best bet is to try to preserve what's there or use one of Gregg Cline's decals. Here is a link to the thread on the Standard restoration:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... t=22906&p=

Look about half way down on the first page in the section about decals. Good luck on the restoration. You have a pretty nifty find there!

Regards,
Martin

[jboger]

Martin: I looked, and you did a great job. Actually both decals look good, but my next step is to find a picture of a machine with the original decal totally intact. That way, I can compare all three.

I have a small Columbia cylinder player in front of me with both front and back decals complete and completely original. Oak is such an open-grain wood, and these decals are so incredibly thin that the grain of the wood is apparent through the decal. I now intend to study decals so I can get a better feeling/understanding of them. Unfortunately there's barely a shadow of the original decals on my AH, and decisions will need to be made. But that's for another day.

Thanks for the link. Very informative.

[Lucius1958]

I only ever applied a varnish transfer decal once or twice, and that was many years ago. It seems that these are very hard to find nowadays.

However, I second the recommendation of Gregg Cline's work without reservation. If properly applied (I have seen an instructional video, I believe on one of the Facebook groups), it can be made practically indistinguishable from an original.

Bill

[jboger]

Here's a photo of the repaired brake/speed control lever for the AH. I was at first just going to reattach the two pieces shown above but had the presence of mind to check pictures of AH motors on the web. Fortunately a seller has an AH base for sale on eBay with shots of the motor and brake assembly. That's where I spotted the spring. I looked inside the case of my AH again and there it was laying at the bottom. Not knowing what it was, and often finding debris inside things, I was lucky I didn't chuck it. Anyway, it works and I can now control the speed of the motor. You can see the fiber gear there next to the governor. It's in very good shape. I'd like to disassemble the motor but can't. There are four bolts that attach the plate to the oak top. Three I can remove. The fourth bolt turns with the nut. The bolts are not slotted so I can't use a screwdriver to help. Oh well

[jboger]

I've returned to this job because I now have a traveling arm and horn support that are original Columbia parts just not the right ones for this machine. Still I thought I would proceed with the case. I remember when I got this machine--just the case and motor. It was covered with soot. Mine was the only bid: $10.

The first thing I did was remove the last of the shellac and soot. I did this with a clean, soft brush and a cotton rag and ethanol. The decals were mere shadows and 80% or more of the shellac was gone. What remained was flaking off. I suspect that Columbia had used a red stain, probably oil-based. My rag showed little or none of this removed. My experience with paint remover is that it will remove both the shellac and any stain and go right down to the bare wood. That doesn't seem to be the case here.

After I was satisfied I had removed the shellac, I then applied my own shellac, which is an amber color that I prepare myself from raw material. I use a rag to apply shellac, very thin layers that I build up. The first three were immediately soaked up by the oak. Anyway, here are some pictures. It's a bit shiny so I may tone it down a bit. And the photos make it look darker than it actually is.

[jboger]

I took off some of the sheen. Still want to put two or more coats on the top. The question is: Do I want to put decals on?

[Henry]

You should really get decals from Greg Cline. They are the best available by far. Here is his website link.

http://phonodecal.com/decals/scripts/main1.php

Dan

This URL works better: https://www.phonodecal.com/shop/phonogr ... y=Columbia

[Jerry B.]

Do our modern decals have a shelf life? If they are purchased now, should the case be refinished and decals applied sooner than later?

Jerry B.

[jboger]

Jerry, not sure if I understand your question. Should the decal go on bare wood? If so I can easily remove the shellac from the panels.