Help on Columbia Model BY

[ColumbiaBY]

Hello I am 17 and new to this Forum!

I am currently working on my 1st restoration project a 1909 Columbia model BY. I inherited the machine in bad shape from my recently deceased aunt and the machine was probably in storage 20 years or more!
Well my question is, the turntable has accumulated an amount of rust,dirt,bleh over the years and I was wondering if I should Sandblast it? or leave it alone to retain its value? And if it does get sandblasted should I paint it? probably not though.

(ALSO there is no felt on it right now) So I am curious is there any real difference between a pre-cut sticker felt, or one that is cut out myself? Is one better than the other?

Thanks!

[Jerry B.]

Your turntable is just a flat plate and all you see is the edge. Is your BY one with a dust ring around the turntable? If not, do you have four small screw holes around the perimeter of the turntable? You wouldn't hurt anything is you gave it a mild blasting. If it were mine, I'd buy a nice piece of green felt at your local fabric store and use some spray glue to attach the felt to the turntable. After it has dried, take a wet stone, hold it at a 45 degree angle, and rub downward on the edge of the turntable. You can cut the spindle hole with the corner of the wet stone or spin a slightly too large drill bit with your fingers. Use this method of trimming the turntable felt only on turntables that have a very sharp 90 degree edge. I've used this method on freshly nickel plated Victor turntables with good results. Jerry Blais

[gramophone78]

Welcome. If you check out our "Tips,Tricks & Tech", you will find a couple threads on table felt as well as many metal polishing suggestions.... .

[alang]

I use steel wool and elbow grease and then Naval Jelly to get rid of the rust.

Don't use the typical arts and crafts felt, it looks terrible and cheap. Use a good "unfelted" wool felt instead. You can get pre-cut pieces on eBay or you can order squares or yardage from online suppliers. There is a source listed in the Tips & Tricks section I think, it also tells you what color to order (I think it was moss...).
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=7&t=8232

Good luck with your project
Andreas

[Jerry B.]

I should have mentioned that your BY was the "top of the line" Columbia machine when new. Today it's quite a valuable machine and it's worth preserving. How about posting some photos. There are many experienced collectors that will give you good advice. For example, others may offer suggestions on finding a more correct felt for the turntable. Your turntable is slightly larger than a common 12" turntable so keep that in mind if you buy something online. Jerry Blais

[ColumbiaBY]

Thanks for all the replies. Here is a picture of the Columbia as I received it! Has definitely seen better days.
It looks to me that the bottom of the turntable was black at one time, I think i'm going to sandblast it and paint the bottom black. I'd hate to leave any rust on it. Objections?

[phonogal]

Looks to be in pretty decent shape. I've seen lots worse and you wouldn't believe the difference a little cleaning makes. It should clean up nicely. I'm really glad you found the forum as there are several members who can help you through your restoration without doing harm to your machine. Just proceed slowly and ask lots of questions. You'll have a beautiful machine when you're done. Jan

[Bruce]

Before you sandblast your turntable I would try dissolving the rust. I use a product called Evapo-Rust. It eats away all rust through a "chelation" process and does not affect the raw metal.
For your turntable a soaking overnight is enough with a wipe down in the morning and it is almost like new.
It is environmentally safe so you can was the residue down the drain when you are done (at least that is what the label says).

I'm sure if you go to any auto supply store they can find a similar product for you.

By the way you have a very nice machine, it will look exceptional once you are completed your project.

Bruce

[phonogfp]

Good for you for asking advice before jumping into your restoration. I shudder to think of some of the "restoration" stuff I did when I was 17 (to say nothing of when I was 13!).

As others have written, your BY is certainly a better-than-average machine to begin collecting with - congratulations!

The horn is a Hawthorne & Sheble, which is the same firm that originally supplied horns to Columbia. This one, however, looks to be a cylinder machine horn that was modified to fit your machine. (That explains the rivoted hanger on the outside of the horn petal at the 2:00 position.) The original horn for the BY looked much like the present one, but was nickel-plated. You'll probably want to replace that horn at some point.

If your machine's finish is bad and the original decals faded/gone, excellent reproductions are available from Gregg Cline. If it's necessary to refinish (but I don't recommend refinishing unless it's truly necessary), try preparing the cabinet with lacquer thinner and 0000 steel wool. You don't want to remove the grain filler from the mahogany if you can avoid it, but stripper will do just that. Avoid the stripper! The original finish was shellac.

Take it slowly, and continue to ask questions when you're unsure. There's a good "search" engine on this forum at the bottom. Good luck!

George P.

[ColumbiaBY]

Thanks Bruce I'll see if I can get a hold of that stuff, I was worried about sand blasting because the sand would eat away at the metal of course.