Zonophone Model A at Union

[Zwebie]

I picked up this wonderful Zonophone Model A at Union this year. The machine was in extremely nice shape but had a few flaws. The horn had been cleaned previously, but had some new corrosion spots and a few extra dents, the turntable felt had been replaced with pool table felt, and the celluloid tag was extremely faded. Luckily I was also able to purchase another Zonophone Model C parts machine of the same vintage with a great celluloid tag.

The first thing I did was to disassemble and clean all the metal parts with ammonia and a soft brush and then Maas polish. The baseboard and motor from the parts machine actually cleaned up better than the original, and to my surprise, had a lower serial number, (10549), so it was a no brainer to swap them out. The motor was carefully cleaned with a soft brush and brake cleaner and then the bearings were oiled and the gears were greased with Vaseline, so that it would look really clean through the beveled glass windows.

The cabinet is really tight and well made and still retains its original finish, so I only rubbed it with a soft cloth and Howards Finish Restorer and it brightened up beautifully. I was able to carefully pry off and swap the original celluloid tags with a thin spatula and used my fingernails to pry the nails so that I wouldn’t marr them. I replaced the pool table felt with original felt from a spare 12in. Victor turntable which I had been saving just for this purpose. Lastly I carefully removed the dents in the horn and buffed out the corrosion spots and then polished the horn with Never Dull.

I am very pleased with how it came out, and expect it to hold a place of esteem in my collection, for some time. The only way I feel I could improve it would be to find an original V, 3 or 4 screw reproducer and small crank. Any leads would be appreciated.

Thanks, Bob S.

Added 7/22/12 - (I checked through my pictures from Union and added a photo of the machine I took before I purchased it.)

[phonogfp]

Zwebie,

Beautiful Zonophone! You did a great job on it, and for a later number (10,000s) the Concert V sound box is perfectly acceptable. It certainly plays better than the V.

Congratulations!

George P.

[Andersun]

Wow, that's beautiful!

[Valecnik]

That is really a stunning machine. Congratulations!

[Guest]

So shiny 8)

[TinfoilPhono]

I remember seeing a nice but slightly tatty Zonophone A at Union. I can only assume it's the same one, but it sure is hard to tell since your pictures look nothing like what I saw. Wow!!! That's gorgeous. Great job.

The Zonophone A has been one of my all-time favorite machines since I bought my first one in 1964. It's simply perfect -- the right proportions, elegantly designed, and with those gorgeous beveled windows showing off the motor. It just doesn't get much better.

Congratulations. Any collector would be proud to display that.

[VintageTechnologies]

I am green with envy -- about as green as that felt!