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looks great so far! What did you use to clean and polish the wood? Regards, Johnyy

Johnny Smoke wrote:looks great so far! What did you use to clean and polish the wood? Regards, Johnyy

Howard Restor-A-Shine Wood Polish. It cleans down to the varnish/shellac then imparts a shine to the surface. If the shellac has worn away, it doesn't work as well on plain wood surface. Doesn't get rid of scuffs, scratches, or scrapes in the shellac, but it does make them a lot less obvious. For a really needy upright cabinet, it takes almost a pint of the stuff and a LOT of scrubbing and polishing but the result is usually very nice. For particularly rough surfaces, like alligatoring, I use a fine sandpaper (600) to smooth the roughest edges then the polish will impart a decent shine. The scaliness of the alligatoring remains, but it is smooth and polished and much less obvious. It can be a lot of work but usually the results are quite satisfying.

The local Ace Hardware stores carry Howard Restor-A-Finish products but they don't stock the shelves with this particular item. I have to order it from the warehouse every time, usually 2 or 3 pints at a time.

CDB

Finally got the motor in the cabinet. Plays OK, but it seems to 'warble' a bit. I'm thinking that's caused by the cylinder being out of round..??

Here is a video showing details of the machine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVlD96hS_kE

CDB

I have an Amberola 50 that warbled. After trying numerous things, it was finally solved by oiling the mandrel bearings.

Clay

Very Nice Job! Is that a Victrola No. 4 reproducer that I see next to the machine?

Victrolacollector wrote:Very Nice Job! Is that a Victrola No. 4 reproducer that I see next to the machine?

Thanks!

The reproducer next to the machine is a No. 4 "A". Good shape, without the usual cracks in the pot metal.

FloridaClay wrote:I have an Amberola 50 that warbled. After trying numerous things, it was finally solved by oiling the mandrel bearings.

Clay

All the upper gears were frozen tight when I got this machine. I disassembled and cleaned/oiled them to where they spun freely. Might be I got the mandrel collar a bit too tight. Gonna run up to the shoppe and see.

Cliff

Just got back from the shoppe and here's what happened - checked the collar, it was fine. Everything above the bed plate spun freely. When I got this machine, all the parts were kind of in a pile and everything was frozen. The old belt was there but it was broken and pretty ratty. I put the old belt back together and it seemed to work OK, except for the warble. So I tried everything I could think of today and it still warbled. Then the belt broke. I quickly made a new one, stuck it on, and NO MORE WARBLE! IT WAS THE BELT!

I'm so happy!

http://youtu.be/a6R16TeZ0o8

Cliff

P.S. - The grill is a work in progress...

Finally got some better pictures of the finished phonograph. Looks good and plays well.

http://pdx78s.cdbpdx.com/TTECVI/

Cliff