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You got me. The Silvertone set up and operation manual I have mentions nothing about it, but does point out the little stylus holders and of course the adapter spot itself...who knows...

Sean

Looking over this photo:



...and remembering how mine worked, I'm wondering if the recessed cup was to accommodate the protruding "post" on the removable L-shaped adapter--used for playing laterally recorded records, when the zig-zaged shaped Edison adapter was being used.

Hmmm...I think that's a possibility! I'll check my machine when I'm at my parents' house on Thursday!

Sean

If the hole wasn't there to secure the adapter pin and prevent the adapter from rotating, it would be very easy to decapitate the sapphire stylus!

Ortho_Fan may be right. I looked at mine, and that pin does line up with the hole, but it sits up above it a bit and doenst really fit "in the hole". Strange, I looked in my manual copy to, wondering if something was mentioned about it, nothing.

Sean, you are correct too, it would be a dangerous area for moving parts if a person had both jewels sticking out of the holder, yikes!

- Jim

Do these ever turn up with the jeweled styluses intact?

That would be nice, I could use a spare sapphire. I recently had a Sonora console that had a similar metal plate, but was empty when I found it, and a person brought a Silvertone console to me for repair this summer, that had a few needles in the discarded needle cup, but nothing that resembled a jewel. I would imagine they either got tossed, or lost over the years. But, at least they keep the same needle in the machine that they used 50 years ago Same with Brunswick reproducers, I had two of them that still had the diamond in them over the past year.

- Jim

estott wrote:Do these ever turn up with the jeweled styluses intact?

I noticed in the sears ad that it mentions that they do not come with the jeweled stylus it was an extra that could be ordered, so many of the country people may have never bothered with Pathé or even Edison on their Silvertone since sears to my knowledge sold vertical cut records.

Larry

I know you can get a Pathé stylus mounted into a straight shank from a couple of different sources, such as http://www.victrolarepairservice.com/parts.html They also come up for sale, from time to time on ebay -- CLICK HERE

Prices seem to average about fifty bucks, but I guess it should be good for at least a few years.

If you're lucky like I was a couple of months ago (heh, heh...) and are patient they turn up on ebay listed incorrectly. I got a pile of packs of NOS half tone steel needles from a seller not because I needed them, but becuase hidden in the stack yet barely visible in the photo was an Expert Sapphire mounted in a Pathé style shank, new in the package. Won the whole kit and kaboodle for $8.99.

Sean