New to the Forum, and New to an Edison Home Mod D

[AlanD]

Hello Everyone. I'm Alan, new here and new owner/restorer of an Edison Home Model D.
I've gotten some help from the guys at the antique radio forum; and then I found this forum and started reading more on specifics - by the way Thank you for having and posting on this forum, it's full of great info.

This Edison is a typical barn find, or more correctly a back porch find and it looks like it will be fun. There's surface rust all over and the typical frozen shaft with pot metal bearing. I got a tip from the other forum to put a couple of drops of Muriatic acid in the bearing holes to dissolve the pot metal enough to loosen it off. I'm going to try this tonight. I've been soaking it with liquid wrench but it's still frozen. I have removed some of the set screws but some are still stuck and I'm concerned about breaking the heads off. Any good tips on loosening these?

I've was reading the thread "Fixing up an Edison Cylinder Player" with great interest as it is a Home D like mine.

Alan

[phonogfp]

Welcome Alan!

The Home D can be a challenging machine to restore when that bearing is swollen. Sometimes they can be disassembled with little difficulty. Other times they can be a real bear.

Sounds like you're a reasonably competent fellow and you're approaching the project patiently and carefully. That's a big plus. Using Liquid Wrench on the set screws is appropriate. It may take several days of re-applications to work. Maintain patience. If, after days of failure to budge the screws, you can try a propane torch set to a low flame. Believe it or not, a propane torch set to a low flame will not harm that Edison black asphaltum paint. (Decals and pinstriping are a different matter, of course.) Some have used a soldering gun/iron with good results as well. In any event, heat - especially combined with your earlier Liquid Wrench treatment - should free up virtually any screw. (This is assuming you have a good set of properly-fitted screwdrivers!) The tiny set screws on the feedscrew should respond well to Liquid Wrench/heat. Don't forget to loosen the setscrew that hides in the valley of the upper pulley.

With any luck, the Muriatic will dissolve the bearing and make removal easy. Whatever you do, don't make the common mistake of hammering on the upper pulley to drive the mainshaft/mandrel out. That pulley contains a couple of gears and I've had fits trying to repair that assembly after someone has desperately tried the "arm & hammer" method.

If you had found a Home Model A, B, or C, you'd be finished by now!

Good luck!

George P.

[Jerry B.]

Hi Allen,

Welcome to the Forum. Once you get past that pot metal bearing, you should have an Edison to enjoy for many years without additional problems. Be sure to go to the Links section of the Forum for good parts suppliers. I have a copy of "The Compleat Talking Machine" which is an excellent book for newer collectors for successfully completing basic phonograph restorations. The book is for sale in the Trader section. If others have an opinion on the book, I would like to read them. Jerry B.

[alang]

Hi Allen,

welcome to the forum from me as well. For very stubborn screws I had better success with a product called PB Blaster, which is available in automotive stores. Soaking for several days may be necessary. Heat is also a good option as well as cold (freezer) to break up decades of rust.

Good luck!
Andreas

[AlanD]

Thanks for the warm welcomes!
I really enjoy the restoration process and learning new things - as well as making new friends in the process.

In all my digging I see that some of the pin stripping should be blue. Is that for all Home D models?

As far as the pot metal bearing goes, I'm going to have to get the bottom set screw out first (the lower arrow). It is not budging yet; I may have to put some heat to it. The top arrow is pointing to a hole in the top of the pot metal that appears to have nothing in it. Should there be a screw in there?

The motor has one broken gear. I'll get a pic of it tonight.

What's the consensus on cabinet restoration? I think there's no finish to save, so I'll just strip/refinish and apply a new decal. Same with the main deck - repaint and re-decal?

Thanks everyone
Alan

[gsphonos]

Just recently I had to replace a frozen bearing on a Standard Model D. A friend gave me a tip that worked great--that was to put it in the freezer overnight. I did this, and it worked great! The pot metal shrunk (or whatever) just enough to allow me to start turning the mandrel, and I pulled it out without damage (with a little oil and elbow grease!). Of course I removed the motor first!! Last time I had to replace a bearing in a home, I ended up spending a lot of time on it. I wish I had tried this. Let me know if this works for you. I tried this trick years ago, and I didn't work. I think it was because I was too impatient, and didn't leave the upper works in the freezer long enough. Have also been told this works well on pot metal R or S reproducers--when trying to take apart to rebuild. Good luck!

Mike Sorter

[phonogfp]

In all my digging I see that some of the pin stripping should be blue. Is that for all Home D models?

The outer pinstripe is gold; the inner stripe is blue. I'd recommend getting new decals for these from Gregg Cline.

The top arrow is pointing to a hole in the top of the pot metal that appears to have nothing in it. Should there be a screw in there?

I believe that's simply a hole for lubrication.

The motor has one broken gear. I'll get a pic of it tonight.

There's a notorious gear in Homes that often goes out. I think it's 32 teeth. Almost all the parts suppliers carry these gears because it's such a common problem.

What's the consensus on cabinet restoration? I think there's no finish to save, so I'll just strip/refinish and apply a new decal. Same with the main deck - repaint and re-decal?

You'll get varying opinions on this, but 1) the Home D is fairly common and 2) the condition of the finish, paint, and decals is (in my opinion) detracting from the machine. I'd do a complete refinish of this example. If well done, you won't be sorry.

Good luck!

George P.

[phonojim]

Above all, take your time and enjoy the experience. Rule no.1: never force anything! If a part is supposed to move and doesn't, find out what's holding it. I once did a tremendous amount of work removing a pulley which I belatedly learned had 2 setscrews in the hole - one on top of the other. Never saw that coming but it taught me to always look. Anyway, have fun and one of these days you will be listening to cylinders on this machine and enjoying them all the more because you made it play again.

Jim

[AlanD]

Mike, I have had success with the freezer trick before when restoring a little Emerson desk fan that must have been left out in the rain, so I may give that a try.

George and Jim, I agree with you that its appearance in this condition would detract from admiring it so I will get on with refinishing the works. I was just pausing for a minute to appreciate the original finish before I start to alter it.
One of the joys is coming to this forum and reading the responses, in other threads too.

Here is a pic showing the broken gear. I can actually slide it along its shaft. It looks like it might be pot metal too because I think I see that typical cracking on it.

Still no change on the main deck. Some screws and the main bearing still stuck. It's in the freezer now to hopefully loosen the screws that are left.

[AlanD]

Frozen Edison, haha. I got two screws out but two still holding on.
The shaft is still frozen so I'm turning to the acid.