The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello all,

As mentioned earlier I decided to do an almost back to showroom restoration on my C150 as an experiment, as it was in not too hot condition and is not a machine that is historically important to preserve. It now only lacks getting the last rusted/corroded bits (the casters and trim rings for the bottom of the legs) back from replating. (Only the nickle on the arm and reproducer was still in good condition and cleaned up well.) With any luck that will happen in the next 10 days and I will get it all together and post "after" pics. In prep for that, I thought I would go ahead and post some before shots now.

There are some things that needed remedy that don't show up in the pics. Due to some glue-joint failure in the frame the bottom door had dropped down and therefore the catch did not hold the door closed. There was a split in the back of the lid and poor screw hole conditions that made the lid attachment quite tenuous. Nothing too drastic there, but needed attention. As you can see the finish, apart from scratches and gouges, was a black bubbled mess. There was some veneer lift on the back toward the bottom. The grille fabric was not original and not very good quality.

Clay

After purchasing a dozen Edison and Victor phonographs (including a Triumph D, Victor Monarch, and Victrola XVII)from Craigs over the past few years, my wife has now blocked the website. LOL

gemering wrote:After purchasing a dozen Edison and Victor phonographs (including a Triumph D, Victor Monarch, and Victrola XVII)from Craigs over the past few years, my wife has now blocked the website. LOL

I wonder if there is a Craig's List anonymous support group?



Clay

Maybe we can start one????
I volunteer to facilitate the group.
First meeting at my house.
Take a phonograph when you leave!!!!
My wife would be thrilled and invite you back soon.
Just kidding, we've been happily married for 21 years inspite of my hobby.
-Gene

OK, the restoration is done at last and everything is back together. This should be pretty close to what it looked like new, except that I kept the original turntable felt--at least for now. The plating on the reproducer and the arm are original, just cleaned up. The rest has been re-nickeled. The bedplate is original and cleaned up beautifully. The finish is essentially a brown mahogany French polish with shellac. The same guy did the refinish on this one who restored the cabinet on my Credenza. A real artist with wood.

This is likely my first and only full restoration, but I wanted to give one a try and am pleased with how the experiment turned out.

Clay

Wow Clay!

What a terrific restoration. Great job.

Now an then I look at craigs list, but generally there are so many dedicated pickers or collectors that scan it several times a day that often if you do see something of interest and think about it at all its gone. The junk stays on.. I have seen a number of wonderful things on this board that have been purchased on craigs list and often way underpriced. My guess is that there are a number of dealers that pick up things mainly for resale at phono conventions which is fine and is also done by other types of collectors, it just makes finding something decent harder when the competition is so strong.. Its a reason I don't care for garage sales or estate sales either. If your not brazen enough to show up the night before or call in the middle of the night as some have done you can pretty much stay home..

Larry

I wouldn't give up on Craigslist so easily. I check it 1x a day if that. Sure, I have missed some great deals. I also scored a vtla for $25. It is just an odds game. I am no crazy collector. I don't resell. My budget is tiny but I have 9 machines almost all from there. Just like the lottery, you can't win if you don't play but you sure aren't going to win everytime just because you did.

Success on things like Craig's List, I expect, depends a lot on where you are. In my area there is little interest in antique phonographs. Even when I go to a sale and there is a crowd there, I may be the only one looking for them. I only know of one other collector here, and he tends to just be interested in a few pristine high-end items and I don't recall ever having seen him at a yard or estate sale. So there is not much competition. In a major urban area it could be very different.

And as Moxie says it takes some patience. You may see a dozen junkers before finding something worthwhile.

Clay

FloridaClay wrote:OK, the restoration is done at last and everything is back together. This should be pretty close to what it looked like new, except that I kept the original turntable felt--at least for now. The plating on the reproducer and the arm are original, just cleaned up. The rest has been re-nickeled. The bedplate is original and cleaned up beautifully. The finish is essentially a brown mahogany French polish with shellac. The same guy did the refinish on this one who restored the cabinet on my Credenza. A real artist with wood.

This is likely my first and only full restoration, but I wanted to give one a try and am pleased with how the experiment turned out.

Clay

Beautiful work, Clay!