HMV 194 Oh, What a Shame...

[JerryVan]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 8ca2f7b683

Looks promising!!!

Oh.....

[epigramophone]

Re-motored by courtesy of Garrard, and for some unknown reason wearing the much earlier HMV "Scroll" pattern lid transfer.

[Inigo]

The dealer's badge reads CALCUTTA... that's all...

[epigramophone]

The dealer's badge reads CALCUTTA... that's all...

Your eyes are better than mine! Probably a locally built (teak?) cabinet hence the use of an obsolete transfer.

[Steve]

No horn!

It is definitely teak too so a local Indian machine and rarer than Hen's Teeth.

[Garret]

No horn!

It is definitely teak too so a local Indian machine and rarer than Hen's Teeth.

...but finding a motor and horn...

[epigramophone]

No horn!

It is definitely teak too so a local Indian machine and rarer than Hen's Teeth.

...but finding a motor and horn...

...plus the tonearm and soundbox...

[Inigo]

Looking at the first photo which shows the doors and front of the machine I don't think it's teak. It looks exactly to my own Spanish 194, and when I acquired it, I sanded out the entire cabinet, as the finish was out from repair. I noticed that the wood was very soft, and reddish, and the dust from sanding was orange red. This after first sanding runs, when I noticed I was removing the stain, which was dark red colour. The next sanding runs is when I started to sand the natural wood, and the dust became more clear, red-orange. Looking into the web I learned that they used Cedar or something alike to imitate mahogany, which was cheaper and much more easy to work. Then I realized that it was not mahogany. Besides this, the wood expelled a curious scent, not like Cedar, but similar, although softer. Cedar smells very strong and characteristic. This was similar. What kind of wood could it be...?
My machine was all alike, as in the first photo, even the lid and motorboard and inner parts after all the sanding. I decided to finish it using brown mahogany wax, which left the wood with a discreet shine and very good natural aspect. When the sun shines on it, certain grains seem bright dark orange...
I know the originality has been killed, and the machine didn't look this way when new. But I'll never sell it, it's a keeper, and the aspect it has looks good anyway... So I'm not worried about not having the original finish. My skills with lacquer are null, and wax was a discreet and easy finish to be applied...
Judge by yourselves... The light is not very good, as it's dark and rainy today, so I took the photos with the room lighting... a bit yellowish...

16679866160251530828260664466375.jpg

16679866011571466369791200527900.jpg

16679865804696648897932653692684.jpg

[Steve]

Looking at the first photo which shows the doors and front of the machine I don't think it's teak. It looks exactly to my own Spanish 194, and when I acquired it, I sanded out the entire cabinet, as the finish was out from repair. I noticed that the wood was very soft, and reddish, and the dust from sanding was orange red. This after first sanding runs, when I noticed I was removing the stain, which was dark red colour. The next sanding runs is when I started to sand the natural wood, and the dust became more clear, red-orange. Looking into the web I learned that they used Cedar or something alike to imitate mahogany, which was cheaper and much more easy to work. Then I realized that it was not mahogany. Besides this, the wood expelled a curious scent, not like Cedar, but similar, although softer. Cedar smells very strong and characteristic. This was similar. What kind of wood could it be...?
My machine was all alike, as in the first photo, even the lid and motorboard and inner parts after all the sanding. I decided to finish it using brown mahogany wax, which left the wood with a discreet shine and very good natural aspect. When the sun shines on it, certain grains seem bright dark orange...
I know the originality has been killed, and the machine didn't look this way when new. But I'll never sell it, it's a keeper, and the aspect it has looks good anyway... So I'm not worried about not having the original finish. My skills with lacquer are null, and wax was a discreet and easy finish to be applied...
Judge by yourselves... The light is not very good, as it's dark and rainy today, so I took the photos with the room lighting... a bit yellowish...
16679866160251530828260664466375.jpg
16679866011571466369791200527900.jpg
16679865804696648897932653692684.jpg

Trust me, it IS teak. I have a lot of colonial HMV and other various machines from different makers: Aeolian Vocalian, FTA etc, which are all teak so i can easily recognise teak when I see it. The grain of the wood in the lid is enough for me to spot it.

It seems teak was more predominantly used in India anyway and there can be little dispute that this is an Indian retailed machine.

Your 194 looks nothing like the Indian example in question; your machine is mahogany, a naturally reddish colour timber.

[Inigo]

Thanks for the point... Initially it seemed to me, but ..