the "WHOOPINOLA" a bit of Frankin-phono-fun

[whoopinola]

Last summer the curator of our local "Heritage Village" contacted me..."Someone has dropped off a gramophone piece of junk here...if you don't want it ,it's going in the burn pile"....Well , it was a beat up piece of junk , but I took it home...It was an upright unit , the size of a VV-XIV..mahogony...a fancy looking machine..that's the good part...pot metal tone arm in pieces , reproducer missing , broken spring in a single spring motor that would be more at home in a suitcase , and not a makers mark on it anywhere..no decal , ID tag , serial no. ...nothing!! , and no sign that there ever was...so , what to do?? too good to trash , beyond hope to restore...so , we made a hot rod out of it...It got a Victor motor and turntable , a Phonola tonearm and reproducer...scraps from the junk box...and ..with much glueing , sanding , putty and stain , it turned out pretty good...After a trip to the sign maker we had a lid decal and ID tag for the fictious "Whoopinola"..{Whoop was my nickname from my railroad days at the CNR}......If you come across a forum in the future debating the "Whoopinola" and the "Phillips Phonograph Co." , let them know it's all a little joke

[Jerry B.]

I appreciate and applaud an effort that is purely a labor of love. It looks nice. Jerry

[MTPhono]

Fantastic job! it looks great and how nice that it is now personalized!

What did it take to have the custom metal tag made?

--- Scott

[whoopinola]

Thanks for the positive remarks..The computerised technology of the sign industry makes it easy...I took in an Edison ID tag for a example , and a pencil drawing of the "Whoopinola" emblum.and told the technition to have at it...2 days later these are the results

[De Soto Frank]

Wow !

That's a nice bit of work!!!

It's an impressive-looking machine!

Are the carved bits on the cabinet all orignal ? ( like the designs in the middle of the doors ? )

How does it sound ?

[whoopinola]

The fancy trim is all applied composite material , much of which had to be restored with wood putty...the grill was a jig saw puzzle of broken pieces...the bizzar garbage bag like grill cloth is the effect of the flash...as for the sound , it's reasonable

[De Soto Frank]

The "composition" appliques remind me of the "Larkin" furniture that was popular in the US cirace 1890-1915.


Sure looks like a fun machine, and an effort that you should be proud of !



De Soto Frank