The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

BTW Here the same from Victor
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Victor-Victrol ... SwJPVdJShP

Thank you all for the compliments and comments. AZ, the photos of the speed control help me a lot. I really like the celluloid tag denoting the model, mine is missing unfortunately.

This one is a few down on my project list, but I’ll make sure to post some updates when I get down to fixing it up.

I am still torn regarding the decal, but before I do anything irreversible I’ll give it a good Gojo treatment and go from there.

All the best
Brad

What a great find, congratulations! I have one in worse shape which I picked up on UK eBay a few years ago for £300, and unexpectedly I had to fabricate a new internal conduit. Somewhere along the way it had lost its original one and some foreign metalworker had made a primitive replacement that was more like a moped exhaust silencer, a complete disaster acoustically. As you may or may not have seen, by strange coincidence another has just appeared for sale: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 14&t=42117

Here's some pictures of mine.
I cleaned the horn the best I could as it was very crazed.
Our local repair/restoration guru cleaned up the entire machine.
The removable motor access board underneath was made as it was missing.
The "model 32" decal was replaced as it was practically all missing.
Original case finish and front decal.

cheers
Stephen

If that machine were mine, I would leave the surface alone, not even use GoJo, which is extraordinarily popular. I'd also leave the decal alone. There is enough of both the finish and decal to preserve the machine's originality.

I'm currently working on a Columbia machine that had gone through a fire. No, the wood was not burned but it was covered with soot, the decals were all but gone, and minimally 80% of the shellac was also gone.After some thought I decided to try to make the machine look something like Columbia's original intent knowng full well that I could never really do so.

As for yours, IMHO, I'd simply wipe it down and leave it alone. Untouched, original machines are becoming scarcer and scarcer.

I'd restore it there are great transfers on Ebay , and this is the page in the 1928 catalogue

the 1928 catalogue

Stephen - Your machine looks phenomenal, thank you for sharing. I am very interested in that decal on the horn, but I can't quite make it out. Do you know the origin of the decal, is it denoting the dealer? I'd sure like to know

Soundgen - Fantastic, thank you for sharing this. Just great, I am printing it to enjoy as we speak.

As for the machine, I was able to source the correct No.4 HMV soundbox from an eBay seller located in Malaysia actually, perhaps pulled from a colonial machine there. New governor weights and springs, reproducer gaskets and isolator gasket on the way from Walt Sommers. I am still seeking out the proper complete speed regulator assembly as well as a crank escutcheon (I have posted an ad in Yankee Trader, hopefully some luck!).

I think after some deeper thought on the machine, I am going to go ahead with Gojo on the cabinet and horn, wax, try to clean it up the best I can, doing nothing irreversible. With some patience it should come out looking alright, with just honest wear. Ill try to clean up the felt and leave the original. I was contemplating whether my dry cleaner might be able to give it a bath in percolate to bring it back to life, we will see. I am learning to embrace the imperfections in the machines in my collection.

Ill make sure to post updates as I delve further into this one, as always thank you

Brad

You would do well to use a very soft rubber isolator. The commercially available units are too hard. they not only affect the reproduction negatively about they also make the machines a little harder on records. One can make a very good replacement isolator oneself using butyl rubber, but since this is a machine which will reproduce records with exceptional fidelity it would probably be better for you to have your reproducer built by someone who has a real ear for this sort of thing and it's had a good deal of experience. I would recommend Wyatt Marcus. It is a really fine job and his reproducer work is superb.

This UK eBay seller has the speed indicator parts you need :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/His-Masters- ... SwhfNdkNEN