The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Oh wow.

Those are different! Same size of course, but its cool to see an electric one with the vents and I guess that's a fan or something on the above panel?

Do you guys know if these had cups in the wood needle holders?

I'll post some pics of the doors. They're so bad they're breaking the hinges and popping/breaking the veneer. It looks like 'fresh' damage, but its pretty extreme.
Like you said though, sometimes just putting stuff in a climate controlled environment can work. It CAN happen!

So far though... No change... I haven't touched the doors as far as restoration work. The rest of the unit is turning out just amazing. A deep clean and some lemon oil... I threw on some Orange Glo today and think after its dry I'll hit it with some beeswax polish... I'm totally happy with it.

Will post pics.

New shot after cleaning and first application of beezwax (drank it like a kid does Kool-Ade on a hot summer day). Legs need some more love, but this is only the first stage.

Any recommendations on a final polish?

Oh yeah, and does anyone know if the rollers on the feet are supposed to be leather-wrapped or what I should do there?

If the wood casters have recesses in them they were wrapped with dense felt.

Thanks for responding.

This is an excellent resource.

I'll check to see if there's a recess. Honestly, I think if there was, its been ground flat on all 4. Some wheels have flat spots that just skid from being forced/ moved when the bearings were too dry to pivot.

I'm curious as to a correct replacement of them.

TVfuzz wrote:Thanks for responding.

This is an excellent resource.

I'll check to see if there's a recess. Honestly, I think if there was, its been ground flat on all 4. Some wheels have flat spots that just skid from being forced/ moved when the bearings were too dry to pivot.

I'm curious as to a correct replacement of them.

I don't know if you can easily get wooden casters now, but if you can get properly fitting rubber ones I would go with them- the old style casters have no bearings & do not make shifting a machine much easier.

I wouldn't worry about the casters as much as fabricating the other components that will be required to restore this wonderful find. Besides, I think it goes without saying that collectors prefer originality (or the appearance thereof), even if it is inconvenient.

True. But I don't think I'll need to fabricate anything though. I'm just parts-hunting as far as the missing hardware goes. I figure the casters aren't a big deal if I replace severely damaged ones- as long as its correct for the model.

Do you know if these needle holders are supposed to have cups? I keep seeing what look like inserts for them.

Check out Van Dykes Restorers for casters. They have a wide variety of antique styles.

The wood needle holder has rounded cups routed into the wood, so there aren't any metal needle cups involved here (unlike Sonora, et al that used stamped metal needle cups, plated to match the other parts). Did you get the little spent-needle drawers with your cabinet? Those were used on this model instead of the usual gold-plated metal canister with removable lid (has the hole in the center). I couldn't see your needle holder situation well enough in the pics to be able to tell if you have the same set-up as mine (although you have 2 holders to my one). Look for a tiny mahogany drawer with tiny gold knob that slides in between the 2 cups.

estott wrote:I don't know if you can easily get wooden casters now, but if you can get properly fitting rubber ones I would go with them- the old style casters have no bearings & do not make shifting a machine much easier.

...and are guaranteed to ruin any wood floor!