The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

If you have a key, you can just lock the lid and the record compartment door.

A station wagon! I am envious. I brought home my C19 in the back seat of my Hyundai Sonata--maybe a millimeter to spare.

Clay

Discman wrote:They were shipped from the factory with the motor installed however that was almost 100 years ago when the wood was strong and flexible. You're subjecting them to a lot of stress moving them around that way today. You could probably carry a cylinder machine by the handle on the lid back when it was new but you wouldn't do that today. I would rather play it safe and avoid a potential problem.
Dave Jolley

I'm not sure which post you're responding to, but the A250, A150, A200, etc. were definitely not shipped with the motor installed. The setup instructions for these have been posted to this board and clearly show that the user was expected to install the motor themselves.

Also, the handles on cylinder players were never intended to be carrying handles, they're just there to make it easier to remove the lid. I'll admit it's tempting though

I was responding to the original post about moving a C250. Those motors are bolted down, I own a A250 and am very familiar with the motor mounting arraingment.

OK, my next question is then:

Since some people are so determined that
the mechanism should be removed, even though
it is acknowledged by everyone that it is
securely bolted into the wooden cabinet:

Then my next question is this:

So there I would be, holding on to this
heavy, heavy, delicate hunk of cast iron
and machinery, with no way to set it down
because little gears and governors and stuff
like that gets all messed up from its own
weight.

What's next after taking it out of the cabinet? How can it be set down safely without having it rest upon some part of it
that definitely was not designed to *ever*
have any weight pushing against it?

My whole take on these sorts of things is
and always has been: Avoid taking things
apart, unless they *need* to be taken apart.

I have heard so many conflicting opinions
and stories so far, that I am now in the frame
of mind that I won't know the real story until
I am there inspecting and transporting this
machine.

I tend to go with if it's bolted in there,
leave it alone. How many of you guys have
successfully moved C-19s and C-250s that
way, just leaving it whole and moving it?
(with the stuff padded and locked down, of
course)

Thanks again, Chuck

One very important piece of advice. I have damaged a machine in the past by forgetting about this.

Some cars have a catch for the lift door that sticks up. If you don't realize this when sliding the machine in, it will scratch the back of the phonograph.

I usually use a couple of blankets over this door latch when I slide the machine in and out of the car.

Anyway, just didn't want you to not realize this. Hope this helps!

Richard

Thanks for that! I think this car has
a flush flat surface at the tailgate.
I will be sure to check it.

The plan is to wrap the machine in a blanket
and then lift and slide it in, on its back.

Large sheets of cardboard will be used to
put down on the flat surface of the car floor
to make the wrapped machine slide in easier.

I will put an extra piece of cardboard hanging
out the tailgate, draping down over the back
bumber to provide a sort of non-destructive
edge for the wrapped machine to make contact
with, when it first starts being rested on the
car floor. I think that most likely a couple
of thicknesses of cardboard will do the trick
of both protecting the wrapped machine, and
also providing a slick surface for it to
slide on. That is my theory anyway.

The actual deal might need to work slightly
differently, but I won't know that until
I am hip-deep in the crash course known
as C-250 101!

Chuck

I shipped my C-19 to Florida from Michigan and back again 10 years later without any problems whatsoever. I'm not sure what all I did; I know I removed the reproducer, turntable and crank as well as the records. I would never ship any machine with records inside. The machine was moved standing up in both cases and I believe all I did was lower the horn and tie it in place so it could not flop around inside the machine. I may have removed the grille and packed it between heavy cardboard sheets. I don't remember for sure but it seems like a good idea. For local moves, such as bringing that machine home from Stanton's, (about 75 miles at that time) I just removed all the loose items, tied the horn in place, slid it into the back of the van and packed blankets around it to hold it in place.

Jim

Chuck,

Not everyone suggests moving the motor. I probably wouldn't as they are pretty securely mounted. However, if you do they are not anywhere near as delicate as you describe. These things are built like tanks. You can easily set them down without damage.

Clay

I just sold my C-19 to a buyer who picked it up in person. We removed all the "loose" stuff (turntable, crank, grill, reproducer, and records) but left the motor inside. We put towels between the horn and falsework to stabilize it. We then laid it on its back on blankets and cardboard in the back of a large SUV. That was it. It survived quite nicely on its 250 mile trip to its new home.

52089, Thanks for that!

Your description of that move is exactly
the same as what I have been planning to do.

The only differences are that in my case
the distance is 215 miles, and the machine
is a C-250.

Thank you all for answering all of my endless
questions about this! I wanted to get the
best possible pre-mission briefing so that
when "go-time" comes, I will not be there
messing things up.

I have the funny feeling that once I get this
first DD machine moved, that there will be
more to follow.

Chuck