Need Help Identifying a Machine / Motor?

[billbossus]

I need assistance identifying this machine & motor so I can repair it. The casting on the motor reads: "PULWEL" and "Made in Canada". It has a Columbia reproducer that I'm sure doesn't belong to it. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Bill

P.S. If you have motor parts or crank, please PM me.

[soundgen]

"The casting on the motor reads: "PULWEL" and "Made in Canada"."

So it's not an Edison Bell made in England or it would have an Edison Bell Made in England motor ! Doh !

[soundgen]

Why doesn't the turntable sit on a spindle ? Where was the motor ?

[soundgen]

I have loads of cranks , what sort do you want ? slotted ? Internal threaded ? External threaded ? Thread size ? I am going to a clairvoyant tonight and will show them your pictures and ask the spirit world for an opinion

[soundgen]

Many more types and sizes available , just ask

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_odkw ... g&_sacat=0

[VanEpsFan1914]

In all seriousness--


I think the reproducer is not right for it; that came off a Grafonola.

The spindle being missing would be interesting to see-- I see the speed indicator arm is gone too. If you could show a shot of the motor & one of the deck (to see if any holes are drilled, indicating a motor swap) that would be handy. I see a dark spot indicating possibly where a different crank hole was, which to me suggests that the motor has been swapped. The horn appears to have been resprayed so I guess it was restored at one time or another, with whatever was available.

It also appears to need a brake. Is that a 12" turntable or a 10" one? It may be a 10" off a portable with the beveled edge, and the velour covering would likely have been tucked round into the edge itself and a nickel grommet applied where the spindle goes through. I'm not expert on British or European phonographs though, so I do not know if the Garrard-style turntable matched the era for Edison Bell gramophones.

It is attractive at some distance even as is, and even if you cannot fix it up 100% period-correct, I would still say it is fine to get enough parts to get it running & enjoy it as a working record player. The Columbia reproducers have a wonderful sound when restored.

Cannot tell yet if you bought this little machine or if you are thinking of buying it. I would not buy it without more pictures, if you're wanting to get it. If you already got it, I'm sure seeing what it looks like under the hood would be a great help. Thanks!

[Menophanes]

Although I cannot document this precisely, I am fairly sure that Edison-Bell's disc machines (unimaginatively called Discaphones) never carried the goose-neck type of tone-arm. Of course this component may have been replaced together with the sound-box; but then Columbia did not employ this kind of tone-arm either.

Oliver Mundy.

[gramophoneshane]

What makes you think it has anything to do with the Edison-Bell company?

I've seen the same back bracket in a
catalogue page posted online before, and if I remember correctly it was made by Paillard of Switzerland.

Is the motor original to the machine?
The turntable looks to be from a later date to the rest of the machine (possibly by Garrard), which could indicate the motors been changed, and
the extra hole in the side of the cabinet as mentioned above, seems to confirm that .
A picture of the motor and the top of the motorboard with the turntable removed would be helful.

The horn has definitely been repainted because those peacock horns were never painted in a single colour like that.

I'm guessing it's a Frankenphone made up from various old parts.

The "made in Canada" motor sounds interesting.
Surely there couldn't have been more than a couple Canadian companies producing motors?

[billbossus]

I'll take some more pics and post them shortly. Thanks for your help.

[gramophoneshane]

Apparently Pulwel and Helycon motors were made by Pollock-Welker Ltd of Kitchener, Canada.
They appear to have mostly made portables in the mid to late 20's from what I can find.