The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

If you are painting a Cygnet horn, you might want to consider woodgraining your horn. Whether it's a reproduction or original horn, it will always be a new paint job. Why not make it interesting and woodgrain your horn?

Hi Jerry,
I really like the look of the original oak grained horns. It seems to me that the graining on the originals is much closer together than on the repaints done by Greg Cline. What do you think?

Pete

Woodgraining, like any other form of restoration is a matter of form and technique. When I do it I use specially made brushes for woodgraining and can get the close graining pattern that you see in the orginal horns. I also use a glaze that is made for gold leaf that will etch the paint so that it is closer looking to being on the same base rather than an over paint. I use semi gloss laquer over that to seal and protect.

The horns that I have seen that Gregg does look very good-a different style than what I do. I was a banker when I learned to do this. I was on loan to Walker Bank and Trust in Salt Lake city Utah and sometimes I brought my wife out rather than going home. We were at the Mormon visitors center when I learned that all the wood I thought was oak was faux. I found that the president of the bank did wood graining at the center-it was a hobby-and he was kind enough to teach me over the year that I worked for them. I learned oak, walnut, cyprus, mahogany, and have been doing it on antique frames for years. I have only been doing the phonograph items for a year or so-but have not done any horns yet. I have done some items for Austin Henry, Don Henrys dad and he was very pleased with them but I am still in a learning pattern.

Abe

The original oak woodgraining on the #11 is different than the job done on my original #10. I suspect it was the person doing the job. It's like the variety of paint jobs done to Nippers. Everyone had their own style. Jerry