Columbia needle pot cover wanted

[Phono48]

Greetings from England!

I have a Columbia 113 portable gramophone that is missing the cover for the needle pot. Even here in England, where it was made, this model is extremely rare, and none of the dealers here have ever broken one for spares. No other British made Columbia portables have this type of cover, but quite a few American machines seem to have similar ones. Trouble is, I don't know the model numbers. The cover is not joined to the actual needle pot, but is held by a small plate with a spring steel insert, to hold the cover either open or closed. The plate is screwed to the motor board with three tiny screws. From this rather poor description, can anyone suggest which model was fitted with one of these, and who may be able to supply me with one? All help much appreciated.

Barry

[David Spanovich]

Hi Barry:

You might want to join the forum, since there can be quite a time lag when you post something as a guest, and when it actually appears on the site. (Guest posts have to be approved.)

In any event, is what you are looking for something like this?

Needle Pot.JPG (54.93 KiB) Viewed 2557 times

More photos of Columbia 113a available here -- http://www.itcomax.co.uk/gallery/columbia-113/?id=0

If not, do a google image search for

"Columbia 113" Gramophone

to see if you can spot your machine.

HTH,
DS

[Phono48]

I thought I had joined! I had to input my username, but we'll see what happens.

Yes, this is exactly the cover I'm thinking of. I think your photo is of a 113A, where the cover is polished brass, but this wouldn't matter, as I can get it replated.

Barry

[Phono48]

Now I'm confused! This is the style of cover I thought I wanted, but on checking my 113, it's obvious that it's not, as the sunken pot on mine is too near the front and side edges to allow the one shown to fit. The 113 is the forerunner of the 113A, the main difference being that the record storage compartment is on the outside top of the lid, and the fittings are nickel, not polished brass. There is a picture of an American Columbia 160 on this forum, which is very similar to the 113, so maybe this is the needle pot cover I need? Sorry to be a pest about this, but it's very annoying to have a machine in brilliant condition complete but for this. Even if the cover is not the original one for the machine, it would be good to at least have a Columbia part fitted, rather than something completely alien to the original.

Barry

[David Spanovich]

Normally, in the US, I've seen this referred to as a "needle cup," or in some cases, "needle well."

If you haven't already done this, you might want to ask around at the following parts suppliers --

http://www.antiquephono.com/

http://www.victroladoctor.com/

http://www.thoseoldrecords.com/

http://www.phonographs.org/store/

http://www.victrolarepairservice.com/

http://www.talkingmachines.com/parts_supplies.html


HTH,
DS

[Phono48]

Thanks for that, David. I'll let you know how I get on.

Barry