Odd Fireside or ??

[briankeith]

Yes, my Fireside has the same speed control and location as the beautiful machine posted by phonohound, and the speed control dial does have a criss-cross neatly cut into it like the EBay photo posted by andersun. So is this the answer to my original question? A few Firesides came with a speed control placed right between the gold #2 and #4. It must have been a rare factory option but I am puzzeled to why they factory didn't re-paint the gold #2 and #4 just below the knob, unless the bedplates were already painted and then modified by drilling a small hole between the two numbers? I am always interested in unusual Edison factory variants.

[phonohound]

Hi Jerry;

Here is a photo of the motor. It really is quite neat. I do not believe the additional springs to the right of the main spring barrel are factory made, but the motor is definitely well built.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Scott

[Jerry B.]

Scott, Thanks for the photo of the motor. Can someone that is a motor expert comment on the construction? Is the Fireside something that was built at the Edison factory or were the modifications done by another company? All the modifications, both above deck and below, must have been very expensive. It would be interesting to see how the modified Fireside performed against a Triumph with a repeater. You'd think the Triumph would do the required job at a much lower cost. Things like this make collecting very interesting.

The more normal Firesides with the speed control above the deck had to be more than a "rare factory option". Edison moved the speed controls under the deck with the "B" series of machines because it was an improvement. Once the machine was regulated properly, there is almost no need the change the adjustment. The speed regulation of earlier machines was too easily changed by bumping, small children, or other reasons. That's why I think there must have been a logical reason to change the speed of the Fireside. So what was the logical reason? Did some language or speech help cylinders run at a slower speed?

Thanks, Jerry Blais

[Valecnik]

Wow how long will that thing run with those four springs??? How many records will it play? That is very unusual!

[gramophoneshane]

unless the bedplates were already painted and then modified by drilling a small hole between the two numbers?

If you remove the speed control knob, is the inside of the hole painted black, or is it unfinished metal?
I would assume had the hole been drill prior to assembly, the hole would be coated with paint when the bedplate, in which case there may have been a batch of these made with a specific purpose in mind, such as an ICS.
If hole is raw metal, shellaced over, or appears to have been painted black after the bedplate was finished, then they were probably pulled off the shelf & upgraded at the factory as random orders came in (or sent back to the factory to be upgraded after their initial purchase), perhaps for people who were buying a newer machine but still had older cylinders in their collection that played at 120rpm.

Are the serial numbers of this type of Fireside within a reasonable close range, or are they scattered all over the place?

Whatever the case, they're certainly a pretty cool variation to the regular Fireside, & far less common too. It'd be interesting to know the precise reason these were made this way, and why the 2 lines were scored into the control knob.
I actually find those 2 lines stranger than the upgrade itself. As all the speed controls on these machines seem to have them, they must be markers with a specific purpose, so I wonder if they are turned say ¼, ½, ¾ or a full turn, whether it reduces the speed to an older or special speed such as 120 or 90?
If you knew for example, having the shorter line to left would play the machine at 160rpm, and turning the knob half a turn so the short line was now on the right & played at 120rpm, it would have made a quick & easy reference for changing between the two.

[phonogfp]

I actually find those 2 lines stranger than the upgrade itself. As all the speed controls on these machines seem to have them, they must be markers with a specific purpose, so I wonder if they are turned say ¼, ½, ¾ or a full turn, whether it reduces the speed to an older or special speed such as 120 or 90?
If you knew for example, having the shorter line to left would play the machine at 160rpm, and turning the knob half a turn so the short line was now on the right & played at 120rpm, it would have made a quick & easy reference for changing between the two.

I agree - - when I first saw the photo of the knob in this post, I knew I'd seen one before. Days later, I still don't remember where, but I've definitely seen that curious pattern of 2 lines on another speed control knob. I'm thinking that the knob was on a late Triumph, but cannot swear to that. Now that we're all alerted to this mystery, perhaps more will come to light and we'll be able to figure out something...

George P.

[briankeith]

The speed control hole on this Model A Fireside seems to be done at the factory, black with no signs of drilling as if the pole was punched out (not drilled) and then the bedplate was dipped in black paint at the Edison factory.

[phonohound]

This 4-spring Fireside can play about four 2 minute records per winding, using the repeater. The repeater does put a lot of drag on the motor. Without the repeater, I would guess about 6-7 cylinders per winding. It takes a while to fully wind the machine and have never done so.