The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi everyone!

Is "turntable dust ring" a featured type of turntable or "dust ring" is an optional for a normal "sloping edged" turntable?
My Columbia BNW doesn't mount a "turntable dust ring", that I suppose was instead basically mounted by factory. ( http://www.collectorsworldwest.com/lookup.php?id=69 and http://www.collectorsworldwest.com/lookup.php?id=188 )

FInally, where can I find this "dust ring" (even replicated) ?

Many thanks!

Do you have four screw holes outside the edge of the turntable? If so, it probably had a dust ring. To my knowledge they have not been replicated. The frame around the face of some clocks is the closest that I've seen to a Columbia turntable dust ring. Jerry

My favorite subject... I have an otherwise perfect and original Columbia BD that is missing the trim ring. I scan eBay every day looking for one. I have gone to clock shops, but the clock bezels will not work. The platter on the BD is oversize, measuring 12 ⅜" diameter. I have approached the skilled craftsmen in our hobby including Ron Sitko about making reproductions. It would be possible to make both the 10" and 12" versions of the often-missing Columbia trim rings, but the start-up costs for production would be prohibitive unless we could place a large order.

Like "doublemike", I am open to any and all suggestions.

In fact, some of the late outside horn Columbias did not have the dust ring.

My BI does not have one, nor any holes to indicate there ever was one. It has an original 'profile' decal, and an earlier style 'Analyzing' reproducer.

Most likely, Columbia was not entirely consistent about the features on its machines at times.....

Bill

No holes for me, too... but I'm not secure that mounted turntable matches exactly with my BNW Graphophone.

DrGregC wrote:My favorite subject... I have an otherwise perfect and original Columbia BD that is missing the trim ring. I scan eBay every day looking for one. I have gone to clock shops, but the clock bezels will not work. The platter on the BD is oversize, measuring 12 ⅜" diameter. I have approached the skilled craftsmen in our hobby including Ron Sitko about making reproductions. It would be possible to make both the 10" and 12" versions of the often-missing Columbia trim rings, but the start-up costs for production would be prohibitive unless we could place a large order.

Like "doublemike", I am open to any and all suggestions.

And I think I've said this before here, but I also have an otherwise perfect BD that is missing the ring as well...

Sean

The dust ring on my BJ, (smaller motor version of the BD), is cast aluminum. My BY has the spun metal type. For the cast version, reproduction may be a bit easier.

If anyone wants to look into the spun brass version, check with Precision Metal Spinning in Fenton, MI. They are excellent.

Now on eBay... too expensive for me...

http://www.ebay.it/itm/371979923915

Not so expensive if you understand the rarity and how hard they are to find and how many are missing ??

The one listed on ebay has a notch for the speed regulator, so it is not right for every machine. I have a BI and a BII that both have their dust rings. Both rings are steel, the BI ring is nickel plated and the BII ring is gold plated with a notch for the speed control. They have 4 tabs soldered to the ring for attachment, (actually my BI only has 2 left, but it works), so any reproduction or replacement would most likely require 4 mew holes in the motor board since it is unlikely that the ring would match up to the existing holes correctly. The ring currently on my BI replaced a ring that had no plating left and the tabs had been reapplied with what looks like JB Weld epoxy. I put a clear coat over the outside to prevent oxidation and it looked pretty good, (no one sees the tabs). I was lucky enough to find a replacement ring that still retains quite a bit of the nickel and had 2 tabs remaining for attachment, so the other ring is sitting in a draw. I may braze the tabs back on and have it plated some day, but not today.

It does dress up the machine nicely. Producing them out of brass requires a large sheet of brass, whether you are spinning or drawing them, so you would want to have a purpose for the wasted material. I had been considering rolling them and soldering the seam instead, (like a bicycle wheel), but for the limited number, the time investment doesn't seem worth the effort. I don't mind when a machine becomes a personal labor of love, but this would be more of a business venture and between tooling, brazing, material cost and plating, I can't see how someone could produced them without losing money on each one.

For a very short and expensive run, the part could be machined from large tubing. It is a hard part to find, so maybe the cost of producing them could yield a profit.