The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I wanted to put this motor back together but was missing the spring barrel. Found out the spring barrel on an Edison Home would fit, so I disassembled a Home motor and tried to get it to work on the Amberola V shaft. Wouldn't catch. Suddenly, it dawned on me that the spring was wound the right way for the Home but the wrong way for the V. The Home winding gear connects directly to the spring barrel, the V has an extra gear between the winding gear and the spring barrel, so it winds the other direction. It took a lot of effort to get the new spring from Mr Sitko into that Home spring barrel, don't want to do that again unnecessarily, just gonna have to wait now 'til I get my new spring barrel and put the other new spring in it. Should be here in a few days. Bummer. Cliff

Finally got everything I needed to put the spring barrel on and it seems to work. Still have to add the top side, but the spring barrel bracket is holding. Might have a running Amberola V pretty soon...

That looks like the work of a true engineer if I have ever seen it.

IT RUNS! Watch the motor run on YouTube here:

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

Very happy with the results, so far. Cliff

Good results!

I find it interesting that the bedplate has the early style corner decorations: I hadn't thought they had survived into the Amberola machines...

Bill

I have 2 Amberola V phonographs, this one - serial # 2679, and another - serial # 4427 and both have this design. Cliff

Lucius1958 wrote:Good results!

I find it interesting that the bedplate has the early style corner decorations: I hadn't thought they had survived into the Amberola machines...

Bill

I've never seen an Amberola V without that early style decoration, but it surely does seem anachronistic. The VIII has the same early style decoration on a Fireside mechanism.

Another anachronism in the Amberola line is the presence of the early Amberola lid decal inside 1B and III models. That decal prominently displays "National Phonograph Co." lettering, despite the end of that company's operations by 1911!

Here's the decal in an Amberola 1A, where it "belongs!"

George P.

CDBPDX wrote:Finally got everything I needed to put the spring barrel on and it seems to work. Still have to add the top side, but the spring barrel bracket is holding. Might have a running Amberola V pretty soon...

Well, I don't think that's going anywhere... certainly more trustworthy than JB Weld...


I'd say that machine shop is a keeper...

phonogfp wrote:

Lucius1958 wrote: Here's the decal in an Amberola 1A, where it "belongs!"

George P.

Beautiful machine! Never saw a 1A I didn't like. Cliff

De Soto Frank wrote:

CDBPDX wrote:Finally got everything I needed to put the spring barrel on and it seems to work. Still have to add the top side, but the spring barrel bracket is holding. Might have a running Amberola V pretty soon...

Well, I don't think that's going anywhere... certainly more trustworthy than JB Weld...


I'd say that machine shop is a keeper...

I think it will last. Hopefully, someone 100 years from now will see the repair and marvel at it.


Got the top side on and it plays!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhyVar78HVA