The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Herderz wrote:Thanks drh for the tip, I have seen these used of some of the videos I have watched. Yeah some of the record sleeves I have say to play the records at 80 rpm instead of 78. I like using the card strobe because I stick it on each record and can fine tune the speed with each record. It does not work to good with the DD records some are to thick and there is no room left on the turntable shaft.

Edison acoustic discs reliably run at 80 RPM, but you can't really trust numbers on sleeves for other makes. Victor, for instance, stoutly urged that its records be played at 78, but most after the earliest years and for at least a few years into the electric era were recorded at 75 or 76; the very early ones could dip well below that. Actually, I do have one Victor red seal that states a speed of 80 on its label. Naturally, it actually plays at 78! I have Edison Bell laterals from England that were recorded at 84. Pathé helpfully specified that its center start records (the ones with etched labels, vertical cut) should be played "between 90 and 100 RPM." And so on. Finding the correct speed always turns into an adventure.

Incidentally, I just a night or two ago read that very late Edison discs, those after 2/4/1929, were recorded at 78.8. See p. 29 of Copeland and Sherman's Collector's Guide to Edison Records. I've not tried to verify that statement personally, but I assume it's authoritative.

Thanks for the info drh, very few of the disc's I have say what to run them at, I have been just playin' it by ear.

Well I just got through playing the whole collection yesterday. 21 DD disc's and 41 laterals. I only had one drop out, a silvertone that has a bad warp that I did not think was wise to play. Went through a lot of needles and the medium tone needles sound the best. All in all, this music teacher had a very good collection, I would rate there condition as 10% good, 75% very good and 15% excellent. The machine really loosen up with the continuous playing. I first greased the drive gears and oiled it a couple times as I was playing it. This is a well thought out design with the oil cups and tubes to the lube points. All the tubes still have there wicks at the ends and it did not take long for the flow of oil to resume. This has lead me to think that the motor does not need anything at this time, it is running smoothly and I will not be doing anything to it as far as the gear train is concerned.
One thing that did happen with the continuous playing is that the brake pad has taken it toll and would not stop the turntable unless I put pressure on the lever for about the last 10 disc's. I do not see anyway to adjust the leather pad by the lever. The brass clamping ears to the pad may need to be loosened and the pad moved forward then restacked to hold it in position. If there is something I am not seeing please let me know before I do this. The lateral adapter I think loosed up some too. It sounded better the more disc's I played. I know I will need to put new seals in it. The diaphragm looks in very good shape, does anybody know what it is made of? It is black with a couple of ridges formed into it.

The leather brake pad can be pushed forward after prying the holder open a bit. If you put some leather preserver on it or some oil, it will rejuvenate and work better. If you need to replace it, Sewing Machine round leather belting will work, just cut off a piece and replace the old stuff. This is 5/16" round leather belting: https://www.etsy.com/listing/512837271/ ... xAQAvD_BwE

Herderz wrote: The lateral adapter I think loosed up some too. It sounded better the more disc's I played. I know I will need to put new seals in it. The diaphragm looks in very good shape, does anybody know what it is made of? It is black with a couple of ridges formed into it.

If it doesn't feel metallic, it might be vulcanite or gutta-percha.

- Bill

Thanks Curt A I was able to loosen the ears holding the brake pad. I moved it forward able 1 mm. and re-staked the leather with punches from my clock work. I also used a brass brush to dress the brake end of the leather, works fine for now.
Lucius1958, I'm not sure what it is but it is good shape for a seal rebuild.

I have had my Edison for a week now and here is my update for the past couple days. I coated the disc drawer with feed and wax and it sucked it up as fast as I could put it on, very dry. All 4 of the dividers were very straight and slide in and out very easily.

After 2 coats of bee's wax and a little rubbing the cabinet is looking fine. I spent about a couple hours this morning cleaning green paint scuffs off and a lot of white paint droplets off the back end of the cabinet. I used a fine cut cleaner on the old scratches on the lid and was able to remove some of the old dirt embedded in those scratches. Not flawless but a little cleaner.

Your C200 looks beautiful. Congratulations.

Thanks fran604g.
Well I am down to the last little bit of the exterior of the cabinet. I want to clean and lub the casters. After a closer look at them it has gold plated leg caps which were dirty enough you can barely see the gold. I will have to take some ammonia to them and see what to do with the casters. This leads me to all the gold plated hardware that I want to clean. Most of the gold plate is still there except where it has been handled. I am thinking that I will have to break this thing down to clean the gold. I don't want ammonia touching any of the shellac or lacquer on anything. Pretty much everything is gold plated but the motor bed. Hinges, latches, levers, knobs, etc.