The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

drh wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 2:09 pm I agree, the belt probably is part of the problem, but it probably isn't everything. I'd guess the motor needs a good cleaning and lubrication as well. Since it's running too slow, it also needs adjustment; David's right, the governor is likely off, although he got it the wrong way 'round, since you say the machine runs too slow, not too fast. As to that amber dust: did the black cylinder have brown spots or blotches on it? If so, those are mold, which is the death of wax cylinders. I don't know why, but in my experience European cylinders seem more prone to it than their American Edison counterparts. I have the impression even the Edison foreign language series cylinders are more prone to mold issues than the domestic product.

Incidentally, my experience with an Edison Standard Model B was that the speed does tend to warble, as you put it. All that gear train running the feed screw and whatnot is not conducive to as smooth a run as the "off the end of the mandrel" design.

neilmack wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 1:17 pm With the catches only on the ends of the lid, and that low serial number, would this machine have been manufactured just before the end of the nineteenth century?