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Well, I knew it needed an Exhibition soundbox, a better carrying handle and some motor repairs but I wasn't anticipating major restoration of the case!

Any ideas how to tackle the broken and split bottom without wholesale replacement? Also the lid, whilst nowhere near as bad is broken on a join but I'm not sure how these were jointed and the best way to secure the loose lid? Any pointers would be most welcomed.

At the very least I have now got the motor running acceptably (a governor spring had come loose but luckily the screw was still inside the cabinet!).

OR if anyone wants to buy the machine, be my guest. I need another project like a hole in the head at the moment.

A few photos:

Steve wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 6:12 am Well, I knew it needed an Exhibition soundbox, a better carrying handle and some motor repairs but I wasn't anticipating major restoration of the case!

Any ideas how to tackle the broken and split bottom without wholesale replacement? Also the lid, whilst nowhere near as bad is broken on a join but I'm not sure how these were jointed and the best way to secure the loose lid? Any pointers would be most welcomed.

At the very least I have now got the motor running acceptably (a governor spring had come loose but luckily the screw was still inside the cabinet!).

OR if anyone wants to buy the machine, be my guest. I need another project like a hole in the head at the moment.

Oh, sorry to hear that the gramophone has more problems than anticipated.

On the positive side it seems to be very rare - and in it's present condition would 'fit right in' and feel 'right at home' with my gramophone collection !

I can't help with restoration (what a shock) but there are maybe quite a few good things to think about.

Good grief! The listing had a picture of the lid which did not show the full extent of the problem, and the failure to include a picture of the bottom panel can only be described as being economical with the truth. I would have expected better from the BHF.

epigramophone wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 1:57 pm Good grief! The listing had a picture of the lid which did not show the full extent of the problem, and the failure to include a picture of the bottom panel can only be described as being economical with the truth. I would have expected better from the BHF.

Very interesting.

I see that they accept returns within 30 days so maybe that is an option ?

Or maybe as steve mentioned some kind of wood replacement / repair ?

Thanks, guys, for the very positive negative feedback which really reinforces how I feel now looking at the case! It could be repaired with a replacement panel in the bottom and a reinforcing strip inside the lid tray to support both lid pieces which are not currently "joined" together. But it's work, it's restoration and it'll never be the same afterwards. I therefore conclude it's best left as it is, in which case it'll wear its battle scars with muted pride.

But I'm not convinced it's a machine I need anymore so I've offered it to a member here who has asked for 24 hours to think it over. If he doesn't want it, it'll be returned to BHF, sadly.

Steve wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 2:51 pm Thanks, guys, for the very positive negative feedback which really reinforces how I feel now looking at the case! It could be repaired with a replacement panel in the bottom and a reinforcing strip inside the lid tray to support both lid pieces which are not currently "joined" together. But it's work, it's restoration and it'll never be the same afterwards. I therefore conclude it's best left as it is, in which case it'll wear its battle scars with muted pride.

But I'm not convinced it's a machine I need anymore so I've offered it to a member here who has asked for 24 hours to think it over. If he doesn't want it, it'll be returned to BHF, sadly.

Well I hope it arrived undamaged. I bought some items from BHF's ebay site and I offered extra payment for items to be suitably wrapped in bubblewrap etc to protect in transit. Guess what , my requests were totally ignored , the internal packing was minimal and although the outer postal box was fairly strong , there was no thought put into any movement in transit of fragile parts. I expect the packers are volunteers or minimum wage employees who have no understanding and probably no interest in packing stuff properly. One of the items did suffer some damage in transit which was wholly due to the inadequate packing, but it was repairable fortunately. I must agree with Roger , that was naughty of them not to photograph the damaged underside panels of the Model 100 's case. But then they probably expected it would sell for much less and as the damage was underneath and not on view when being used , would not be an issue to the buyer, indeed whoever did the photographs probably did not even look underneath . That BHF ebay centre at Leeds deals with hundreds of items per week and I'm afraid its very much a high turnover operation -- some googling will show you that all is not well with some of its workers

Dulcetto wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 1:51 pm

Steve wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2023 2:51 pm Thanks, guys, for the very positive negative feedback which really reinforces how I feel now looking at the case! It could be repaired with a replacement panel in the bottom and a reinforcing strip inside the lid tray to support both lid pieces which are not currently "joined" together. But it's work, it's restoration and it'll never be the same afterwards. I therefore conclude it's best left as it is, in which case it'll wear its battle scars with muted pride.

But I'm not convinced it's a machine I need anymore so I've offered it to a member here who has asked for 24 hours to think it over. If he doesn't want it, it'll be returned to BHF, sadly.

Well I hope it arrived undamaged. I bought some items from BHF's ebay site and I offered extra payment for items to be suitably wrapped in bubblewrap etc to protect in transit. Guess what , my requests were totally ignored , the internal packing was minimal and although the outer postal box was fairly strong , there was no thought put into any movement in transit of fragile parts. I expect the packers are volunteers or minimum wage employees who have no understanding and probably no interest in packing stuff properly. One of the items did suffer some damage in transit which was wholly due to the inadequate packing, but it was repairable fortunately. I must agree with Roger , that was naughty of them not to photograph the damaged underside panels of the Model 100 's case. But then they probably expected it would sell for much less and as the damage was underneath and not on view when being used , would not be an issue to the buyer.

I'm happy to confirm it wasn't damaged in transit!

You are probably right about them not thinking about the underneath as it is not seen when playing on a table. It never ceases to amaze me how many people view portables as "table top" gramophones. They don't see them as portable devices and therefore the invisible sides are deemed insignificant. But I see it constantly on Ebay with clowns showing six identical photos of the inside and not one of the external case!

The average seller does not understand collectors or the true value of these items. You are completely right so I'm certainly not singling out staff at BHF as this is a very common issue in general, sadly.