My Brunswick Stratford and info on it's restoration

[Herderz]

Call me crazy! I have been looking for my next thing before I am finished with this. Also expertise is just a dilution of your mind. I might know something but how can I convivence you that I am right.

[Herderz]

Well I am finishing up the machine. Someone had painted the turn table edge in the past with some kind of gold metallic paint. I removed the paint with acetone and the gold plate was pretty much long gone. The felt looks pretty good and just needs glue down in a couple spots. The brake levers did not have any gold plate on the ends either. The steel levers had a little pitting so I sanded them down to get some sort of smoothness. Typically I polish down any missing gold plate on brass pieces, I think that is as best you can do without the expense of re-plating. On metal pieces I used some gold leaf that I got years ago in a box of clockman tools and miscellaneous items. This stuff is from the 50's or 60's and is the best thing I have found that looks like gold plate.

The winding crank is steel with gold plate and yes no gold plate left on the outside end. I used the gold leaf on it also.

The stamped steel motor plate had been painted again in the past and still had wear down to rusting wear marks. I sanded the plate down cleaning out the stamped grooves for the "oil" and "speed" gold markings. Painted it gloss black and put gold leaf on the markings. I assembled the motor back to the plate and attached speed control and braking levers and adjusted everything before placing the motor assembly back in the console.

Next I broke down the tonearm and reproducers. A very interesting configuration. A lot of engineering went into this thing to be able to play all 3 disc formats. The gold plate was pretty much gone on most of the assembly. I used MAAS polish on each piece and everything polished up back to the brass base. The reproducer head is pot metal with nickel plate. Not crumbling but has pitting. Not much I could do there but polish the nickel that was there. The seals were hard as a rock. The Mica is perfect with no delamination or cracks. The screws broke loose with out much problem which was good because of them being in pot metal for all these years. I looked at the diamond tip and the sapphire tip under magnification the they both look real good. I will have to test them though.

The last time I needed to rebuild a reproducer I bought 5 feet of the rubber tubing knowing that I would be doing this again and again. The lateral head was very straight forward and easy to adjust the mica into the center of the reproducer head. Side to side adjustments on needle point screws to center the mica on the seals. Easy just screw down the retaining ring on top of the outer seal.

The diamond point side of the reproducer head was a little more tricky because it is harder to see the outside seal with the face plate with less area to see how it is screwing down. But taking it slowly I was able to get the seals correctly installed.

I installed the tonearm to the machine. Looks good. Loaded a steel needle and wound her up. Put my favorite disc on and let her spin. Oh the sweet sound! It makes the 2 ½ months worth it. The machine sounds better I think than anything I have done to date. I next put a Edison disc on and I think it sound so much better than my C200. It could be a better diamond styli's or that the mica sounds better than the rice paper. My Edison reproducer I rebuilt with a Ron Sitko diaphragm.

While I was finishing up the works I polished the top with #0000 wool and bee's wax. I think this is finally what I want the console to look like. I also think that I will have to make room for this machine to be the main player in my creative work shop.

I have already been looking for the next thing. It might be a while before the next project because I am in clock mode right now also, have 125+ antique clocks that I have to give their yearly run.

[EdiBrunsVic]

It looks just great and thanks for sharing the update.

[VanEpsFan1914]

125 antique clocks is a great many clocks for sure. Your work once again was impressive.

[Inigo]

Thanks for this fascinating journey! The results are marvelous. We're already impatient to watch the next one!

[audiophile102]

Once again, congratulations for a job well done.

[Herderz]

Thanks guys, I have to admit this has been fun for me. Got me through 3 months with the end result very pleasing. I have now 7 machines in the house and love each one. I have been looking for a few weeks for my next machine but no luck yet on what I am looking for. Not much to date in my area that someone thinks more about what they have than I think. I still want a external horn at some point but that is very rare as far as I can see. I would like to find a Sonora upright, " very sexy curves to that girl".
VanEpsFan, Clocks where my first love and I love my yearly run out on my collection. It gives me a chance to love and caress each one every year. Coat them with bee's wax and rub the wood down, oil and work the movements. Remember what they looked like when I got them and what I have now with each one. I love a rescue. I add a few every year to my collection. I have to be very selective now a days because of space.
I did run across someone on the forum that had a website with both phonographs and clocks, I have not been able to find the site again but I would love to try a trade with them, I pretty much have any type of clocks that I would trade for a external horn machine.
I hope to be posting again and always look to see what is going on with the forum everyday.

[JerryVan]

I did run across someone on the forum that had a website with both phonographs and clocks, I have not been able to find the site again but I would love to try a trade with them, I pretty much have any type of clocks that I would trade for a external horn machine.
I hope to be posting again and always look to see what is going on with the forum everyday.

Is this it?

https://4-4time.com/

[tim w]

Or could it be poster Menophanes Oliver Mundy at Horlogerie ?