The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I've heard that wax cylinders burn very hot and make excellent fire starters-- This info from a delightful old codger I met in the mountains of Virginia many, many years ago. He lived quite aways up a "holler" and seldom ventured into town. He had a small seamless brass horn that---yep!-- he had been using as a funnel It was pretty rough, but I paid him for the horn and drove him into town and bought him a new funnel!
As we talked about my hobby, he said that as a kid in the 1930's and 40's he used to go into a store in Mt. Jackson, VA and carry home boxes filled with cylinders that his family used in their stove. I've never tried to replicate his fire-starter story. Perhaps your broken cylinders could be put to the test

Brad Abell

Brad,

I don't know about wax cylinders, but blue Amberols burn pretty fiercely.

JerryVan wrote: Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:32 pm Brad,

I don't know about wax cylinders, but blue Amberols burn pretty fiercely.

They would--celluloid is a chemical relative of smokeless gunpowder. Same story for the old nitrocellulose film stock.

phonograph guy3435 wrote: Thu Mar 07, 2024 5:53 pm i dont know if you can send cylinders in but there is a website that talks about how their company can play broken or damaged and very important cylinders with a digital lazer. i hope the link works
best regards
https://www.endpointaudio.com/endpoint-cylinder-machine the video is on the website

Wow -- that Endpoint machine is pretty wild and wonderful.

-- Grant

in 1914, when the edison factory burned down, celluloid-fueled flames shot over 100 feet in the air.