Repair needed

[briankeith]

Who is the best person to have a Columbia reproducer rebuilt? I have one of those small Columbia open-works cylinder phonographs that I am now 99.9% sure needs a new saphire / needle, plus a good reproducer rebuild. This model has the reproducer attached to the horn with a very tiny pin and does NOT use a feed screw to drive the reproducer across the cylinder record. It just relys on the machine being perfectly level, and the weight of the horn & reproducer that just sits on the record being played. I cannot get this thing to play correctly so I am sure the saphire is worn out as I have adjusted every little detail very carefully, yet the reproducer just skips across the record after playing for about 10 seconds or less. It used to play pretty good for such a little crude machine without any feedscrew.

[Stephen_Madara]

i send my columbia reproducers to ron sitko he does a nice job.

how does it sound for the first 10 seconds?

[briankeith]

Thanks - it sounds muffled and it used to play pretty good but when you rub your finger lightly over the saphire point it feels blunt not sharp enough to play a record any more. I'm afraid to try to remove the reproducer from the horn, (tiny pin) plus I don't think that has to happen for a rebuild anyway?

[JerryVan]

It should feel blunt. A sharp needle will cut your records. Look at it carefully with the highest power magnifying glass you have. It should be a spherical ball shape, with no flats or chips.

[Phonofreak]

George Vollema does good work. This type of machine will play records per winding. It is not as good as an Edison or the better Columbia machines. Keep the machine as level as you can and I would lubricate the horn support that fits in the socket,and the up & down. I would use this machine sparingly and have it for display. BTW, it is a Columbia AP, and a very scarce machine. Not to many survived. For a serious machine, I'd get an Edison.
Harvey Kravitz

[Phonofreak]

I meant to say 1 record per winding. Sorry about that.
Harvey Kravitz

[kirtley2012]

here is what the stylus should look like!

P1020504.JPG (117.79 KiB) Viewed 1637 times

[briankeith]

Thanks Harvey - this is my two little grand-daughters favorite machine so I must get it playing well again. I looked closely and my saphire point looks rather flat, not ball like in the photo provided by Kirtley. The machine is dead level, horn rod is greased, spring motor is strong, speed is correct, but the reproducer just slips over the record when trying to play it. I found this tidbit on the internet also:
Columbia Cylinder Graphophone Model AP. The fairly rare AP was a very low cost offering, selling for only $3. It was not listed in any of the Columbia catalogs as it was often given away as a premium with the purchase of a certain number of records or other promotions by Columbia retailers. The motor is similar to the small model Q except that it has a nickel plated cover over it stamped "keep level". It has a 10 inch black and gold japanned horn which pivots on a vertical steel rod mounted to the gold striped black cast iron base. The rod passes through an oval hole cut through the bottom of the horn and rests in a brass nipple at the inside top of the horn. The reproducer is rigidly attached to the horn by a small pin. This model was designed without a feed screw. The groove of the record propels the reproducer along the record, so it has to be perfectly level to work correctly. There is an adjuster on one corner to balance the machine for proper playing. It only plays 2 minute cylinder records. This machine is similar to the more commonly found model AQ. The AQ has a similar look and black trivet type base, however, it has a feed screw assembly, the reproducer pivots at the end of the horn like the Q, and the horn mount is entirely different.

[estott]

Maybe your reproducer had glass instead of sapphire.

[alang]

I have a Puck phonograph, which is a similar but even simpler construction with a string as drive belt. I would only ever play machines like this with modern plastic cylinders (i.e. Vulcan), never with old wax.

Mine would also continue to skid after a few seconds play. I found that the problem was a very slight resistance in the horn mount. It would build up tension and then suddenly release it thus skidding accross the cylinder. It solved it by carefully re-drilling the horn mount hole with the correct size drill, it had probably gone out of round a bit. Don't go too far or too big, just a little clearing out. Greased it well and problem been solved ever since.

Good luck
Andreas