Edison A-80

[Lucius1958]

Well, I've just got back from Massachusetts with my new prize....

Initially, there was a slight uncertainty in the Craigslist post whether the machine was an A-80 or a B-80.

Now, the mystery is solved:

The telltale ID plate...

Photo 98.jpg (101.23 KiB) Viewed 1550 times

I've sent an email to George Vollema, to see whether he has an upper grille board: if not, does anyone have an A-80 who could send me the specifications for that part?

Would the board for a B-80 be identical, I wonder?

Bill

[phonogfp]

No, the grille boards for the B-80 and the A-80 differ. I can send you photos of the A-80 if you need them.

George P.

[Lucius1958]

Thanks! I'll let you know when I've heard from Great Lakes...

A little more info:

Originally belonged to the seller's grandparents - one of their early purchases after coming to the US... Apparently, the SN is pretty early: he'd been asking some chatboards about it, and they hadn't seen anything earlier....

I got a box of discs with it, all etched labels: most of them are in good shape (a few splits, including, unfortunately, "Music Box Rag"); also a couple of operatic selections....

[Lucius1958]

Here are some 'Before' photos of the machine as I found it:

I've now disassembled it; gone over the case with Gojo; rubbed out the paint drips on the lid with mineral spirits; gone over the lid with alcohol to even out the color; and now I'm repolishing it with shellac. Looks pretty good so far!

The missing veneer on the back seems to have been filled in with a shellac stick a long time ago (you can see how it's cracked up): I wonder whether this was a 'factory fix', or that spot was damaged when it was first delivered? I might just leave it as part of its 'history', since it's not in a conspicuous spot....

The lid decal had been repainted: it wasn't too ugly, but there were some errors. Fortunately, I had a spare water decal which I'll apply....

The motor and reproducer had already been rebuilt by Victrola Repair Service, and the belt replaced. I've removed the replacement felt on the turntable, and the replacement grille cloth, and will find some more appropriate material...

George Paul has kindly offered to send me a template for the missing upper grille (Thanks, George!)

All in all, it's shaping up pretty nicely: I'll try to post some "After" pictures when I'm finished....

Bill

[gramophoneshane]

I'm really looking forward to seeing the "after" photos
What a great machine!
I'd say you've got a factory veneer repair. My A-100 had the same method of veneer repair on the inside, which didn't become apparent until I stripped the original finish off.

[phonogfp]

Lucius,

I sent the templates yesterday; please check your PMs. Thanks,

George P.

[Lucius1958]

Update: Well, I think I've got the cabinet into decent shape, and replaced the decal; polished up some of the metal parts; lastly, I've cleaned and retouched the paint on the upper part of the horn. There were some wood screws missing, for the turntable plate and the lid hinge, and I've got replacements for those.

Next order of business is to hunt up grille cloth and felt: there's a Joann's not too far away, when I get the time to go there...

I'll post some pics once I get those done: then, I'll see about fabricating a new upper grille....

Bill

[gramophoneshane]

It's just a suggestion, but have you thought about maybe buying a turntable with good original felt off Ebay or at a show, and transfering the felt to your turntable?
I always think new felt looks very "in your face" on machines that completely or partially retain an original but restored finish because it's usually a fairly large area of newness against a more subdued backdrop.
You'd probably pick up an off brand turntable with nice original felt for a few dollars & be able to remove the felt without much trouble, as the glue has often deteriorated to powder.
Once the felt is off, you can give it a thorough clean, and if the felt is a few millimetres smaller in diametre than what you need, you can normally carefully stretch the damp felt out enough to meet the new turntables edge and follow finger groove contours etc.
It can really make a huge difference to the overall look of a machine.

I'm not sure about USA, but over here it can be very difficult to find felt that has the same body and texture as what was used 100 yrs ago, and even if you find something close, artificially aging a new felt will seldom give you the same authentic appearance of an original.
I've got a couple machines that I replaced the felt on over 20 yrs ago which still looks very out of place, (and one is an external horn machine that's been exposed to sunlight & dust etc for all this time) and I suspect it will still look new in another 20 yrs.
A couple others I've been able to find donor felt or velour for, from other turntables, and unless you were told, you'd never pick it as non-original to the machine. They just look right.
IMO, new felt only ever looks good if it's a high quality felt, and the cabinet has been totally refinished & the nickel has all been replated.
Of course you can still use new felt & replace it if & when something better comes along at a later date, but it might be something worth considering and keeping a look out for.

[Lucius1958]

Well, the local Jo-Ann's did not have the 'Reets Relish' felt in stock, so I've ordered some online: should be plenty to re-re-felt my other turntables, too...

I've put some gold-colored taffeta on the front grille (got enough for my Amberola 30, too). The templates for the upper grille came today, and I'll see what I can do with that: I'm planning on using some 6mm birch ply, and covering that with some oak veneer I have; then I'll have to find some properly-sized cove molding for the edge...

I'm futzing around with the motor, too (see the Tech board)...

Bill

[Markie Mark]

I have one too! Heavy and weighs a ton! Just the whole wood grain finish does it for me though! Does yours have the four bun feet? Plus I have a mahogany version as well. Cheers Markie Mark in little old New Zealand.