New amberola 30 project

[phonojim]

I believe Wyatt Markus makes a diaphragm for diamond cylinder reproducers and I know he has diamond styli for them. You need to send him your stylus bar and he will install a new diamond in it. Or you can send him the complete reproducer and he will do whatever it needs.

Jim

[dzavracky]

What is the best way to repaint the horn? Can I use black lacquer spray paint?

would it be more cost effective to buy another diamond C reproducer or just fix the one I have?

[VanEpsFan1914]

Hey, I survived finals.

OK. The Diamond C is hard to find without the neck being damaged so you will definitely want to fix the one you have. It just needs a new stylus & a diaphragm. Wyatt makes a performance diaphragm, and Herman made the Wondertone diaphragm, and Larry H. made the TrueTone. I haven't tried one of Wyatt's but the others are pretty nice.

Painting the horn: black lacquer will look pretty good on all the metal parts that are missing their paint. Scuff with sandpaper first.

The top works: I will get pictures when I can.

Your parts projects are pretty good.

[JerryVan]

Another Diamond C is likely to have the same or similar issues. A bad diamond and a missing diamond are essentially the same thing. However, you can see when a diamond is missing, but you can't see a worn diamond**, which is what you'd likely get in a reproducer in as-is condition.

**Under jeweler's loupe or a microscope yes, but not by the naked eye, and not on eBay.

[dzavracky]

Okay that makes sense.

What does a nice running Amberola 30 cost on today's market? I have seen prices from around $300-$600.

Is is worth restoring something if the end cost is more than it would have cost to just buy a working one?

[VanEpsFan1914]

Is is worth restoring something if the end cost is more than it would have cost to just buy a working one?

Yes. You're dealing with something that hasn't been in stores since 1929. If you are restoring to save money, you are probably in for a big disappointment with today's market. If you are in it to preserve artifacts, then yes, restore.

The supply of Amberola 30s without broken reproducers and ruined cases is getting smaller...almost as small as the brains of the old-line "collectors" who thought a diamond needle would last indefinitely. They are machines, rather primitive ones at that, and parts give out over time.

I'm looking at it as a very decent phonograph--needs a bit of work and a few parts but should be nice and usable. Mine went without a grill or a new base or a modern diaphragm for a year or so before I was able to get to fixing it. I enjoyed using it when it was falling apart and I enjoy using it now that it looks nearly new.

[52089]

Okay that makes sense.

What does a nice running Amberola 30 cost on today's market? I have seen prices from around $300-$600.

Is is worth restoring something if the end cost is more than it would have cost to just buy a working one?

A decent, complete, running Amberola 30 is around $300-$350. Usually only the "special" ones, like the ICS version go for more. Even the early ones with the exposed speed control rarely go for more than that.

Yes, particularly when you're starting out, it's worth the extra cost to do the restoration yourself. Think of the "extra" as tuition for learning how to do the restoration. In return you also get the joy of having brought a machine back to life, and the knowledge of whether or not you ever want to do it again.

[JerryVan]

Times when you can get something for a real bargain price are few & far between. Most collectors have one or two good stories about those times. I'm talking collectors who have dozens or more machine and who have been at this for a long time. The way it usually goes is "pay now, or pay later". Pay now, meaning buying a very nice machine for the going price. Pay later, meaning buying something very cheap that needs attention, parts, etc., then buying the missing parts, paying to have this or that piece rebuilt, traveling hundreds/thousands of miles to shows looking for parts, etc. In the end, you pay about the same, sometimes more. The difference is, the "pay later" price also includes, experience, learning, new friendships, the pride of rescuing a piece of history that nobody else would have bothered with and the enjoyment of sharing it with others once complete. The more you can do for yourself, the better off you'll be on the "pay later" route, but that comes with practice, (and all the other stuff), that you won't get with the "pay now" plan.

[NEFaurora]

That Diaphragm looks ok, I would just repair the hook that goes to the end of the cross and re-use that Diaphragm and just get new gaskets. No need to get a new Diaphragm from what I see. Wyatt does sell Amberola Diamond Needles. You'll have to send him your cross, and he'll send you a cross back with one installed or put a new Diamond in your cross.

On the Lid latch to the top of the lid, The washer properly goes behind the rod up against the wood, not in front of the bar. The screw goes right up against the rod, thru the rod, then the washer, then screwed into the lid...

From what I see of the Pics, You have a 3rd Series Amberola 30, Made from (1918-1925)- (The most common)..Sold by Edison up until they closed in 1929.

The Governor area on yours has (or should have) the "Closed Governor" cover with no hole at the top...so it had NO External speed control) That is correct for your machine. Below is a pic of a Series 1 Motor, but someone has changed it to a Later Series 2/Series 3 Governor Configuration, Basically a Spring goes under the governor bar, and a screw goes on top of it as shown here. Turning the screw either way speeds up or slows down the machine.

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

[dzavracky]

Another update:


I got the machine running tonight! I just fiddled with it until it came to life I’m attaching a video of it running.... it’s nice and quiet but seems to be slow? Also I know the mandrel is tapered, but I still think it’d slightly bent downward?


I want to keep this machine, so I’m not really in this for the resale. I mostly got this because I wanted to lead and have fun with it. I like taking the pay later route. (Sometimes the paynow route is the best. Unfortunately I have been unlucky... in the space of two weeks a Vic II and a beautiful Edison home were nabbed from me Mormon S can confirm this, I almost had a Victor II for $350 ). Oh well haha


I’ll keep the updates coming. I think I’ll be working on the case next and finding some spare parts