The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just double checked with Ron, and his hardware is the same size as mine.

My cabinet has a compartment light and a 8" speaker cone.

David

Jeff,

Thanks for pointing this out, there is much discussion about the 12-15 including the 8” speaker and the addition of the compartment light in the Victor Talking Machine Company, Managing Committee minutes, Vol. 3 (1928) at the Hagley site. Internally the last configuration with the 8” cone, light and later RCA amp was called the 12-15C but I don’t think this was reflected on the ID tag unless it is coded in the serial number.


https://digital.hagley.org/LMSS_2658_Bo ... 1/mode/2up

Mark

The donor machine that the parts are now going on David’s machine was a 12-15 E. The legs had been removed, the tone arm and turntable gone and the top looked like someone went to great lengths to remove and damage veneer.

Thanks for posting the picture of the ID tag. The E after 12-15 in the model designation indicates that the machine contains an electric induction disc motor (U would be used for the universal AC/DC motor if any were made). The 12-15C seems to be only an internal reference at Victor.

A 12-15 with this serial number has the early Tomcat amp (with the ‘10 output tube) and the 6” cone speaker.

Here are some photos of another early 12-15 showing the tag and amp. Mark

Mine is serial number 5123.

Out of curiosity Mark... how hard are those amps to find? That is the same amplifier that is in my panatrope/radiola I am trying to restore.. and it might be cheaper for me to just find a new amp instead of fixing the one I have.

David

Any amp on these early machines will need repair/restoration, unless already done. Buying another amp won’t solve anything unless you can be assured it is restored.

I had a nice visit with Ronald today; he came by and dropped off the parts for the 12-15. The grill fit in perfectly, but as Jeff pointed out the doors are a different size. When I did my measurements I measured the back of the doors (which is the same on both) but the fronts are a different size.

I guess there’s two options for what to do next. I could carefully remove the ornaments from the new doors, put them on mine and just leave the small veneer chips in the door. OR I could try to very carefully remove the veneer from the new doors and replace the veneer on my doors. I would then have to trim it down to size afterwards. What do you guys think?

The amp needs more work, but I’m at least one step closer to being done

David

I sure am glad this is getting the treatment and appears to be in capable hands!

I think, to get the doors to fit--
I'd nail long pieces of sandpaper onto a board, and then rub the doors on them to smooth that out. Using a sanding block or sanding by hand will easily round the corners, which you do not want.

Three sands on one door, three on the other. Repeat until it fits, sanding primarily along the bottom--then a quick bit of stain & varnish to seal. Those new doors look amazing and I would not risk removing the veneer from them as the finish is all in good shape.

Looking good. Here's hoping you can get the amplifier to work OK and find time to see about the reproducer. It should be a great machine when fixed.

I've got one of these 12-15's at the moment, but mine has the earlier tomcat amp with 6" speaker. Thankfully all mine needed was a recap and the pickup rebuilt, but I can say that it is now one of my favorite machines and is a great performer. If this is your first electrola, I would be careful and take the right precautions/ safety measure going into it. There's some nasty voltages that can be dangerous if you're not careful. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this though.
Best of luck,
Tom