The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

We had an OTAPS (Oregon Territory Antique Phonograph Society ) meeting at our home on Saturday followed by the "Sounds of Nostalgia" phono sale and flea market in Salem on Sunday. I bought a Victor Junior that needs a restoration. Here are some "as found" photos of the machine. I plan to:
1) remove the nails in the top and fill the holes with wood putty.
2) remove the stem on the horn, strip the horn, fill the incorrect holes, and repaint the horn.
3) the reproducer is incorrect but looks nice. I'll rebuild it and place a paper on the inside saying "Victor Junior". I promise to tell any prospective buyer that the reproducer is not original.
4) strip the cabinet and fill the extra holes.
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My dilemma is whether or not to replace the original decal. The original decal is not bad but it is very difficult to get a nice refinish by stripping up to the edge of the decal. There always seems to be a visible line where the refinished color and original color meet. I can do a better refinishing job by replacing the decal. I would really appreciate your opinion on the decal. Thanks, Jerry Blais

Hi Jerry, I can't get over what some people do, how can you put huge nails in a beautiful wooden cabinet. I think you're right to drill out the nails and make good. With regards to the decal I would take it off because with the amount of work you've got to do to the case, and with the reproducer it's not an original untouched machine anyway and you'll get a better end result. Gordon

Normally I'd suggest trying to save a decal, but in this instance the machine will need so much work that the old decal will end up looking out of place, even if you can get a perfect color match with no halo effect. It's pretty scratched up and would look odd when matched to new finish and new paint. Since the machine needs total restoration, I think one of Gregg's decals would be far more appropriate.

The horn and the decal are still nice. It is the only remaining original surface. I wouldn't do anything with it.

Not all machines were treated adequately from their users, and the nails are part of the history of your Victor Junior. They are not too disturbing. Why remove all traces of history?

It is a shame that your machine has been sanded, but it shouldn't be too difficult to apply a new shellac coating.

The reproducer that came with my Junior was a replacement. (anyone have an original for sale??? It looks like an Exhibition but it is flat and not dished on the back. The face, where it would normally say "Exhibition", has been milled down and is dished and blank. It needed to be rebuilt so I decided to glue a paper label saying "Victor Junior" on inside. I have extra labels and would be happy to mail one to Junior owners that don't have the correct reproducer. I am very pleased with the results but promise to disclose details to prospective buyers. Jerry Blais

Here are some recent photos of my Victor Junior project. I appreciate and respect all the opinions given to me. I decided to refinish the cabinet and apply an excellent Gregg Cline decal. I remounted the horn stem in the original holes, filled the incorrect holes, and repainted the horn. A previous owner was good with metal and did a nice job modifying an Exhibition reproducer. He milled the back so it's flat and dished the inside removing all information and installed a piece of tubing so it fits nice and tight in the horn. I rebuilt the reproducer and when I had it apart, I glued a "Victor Junior" label on the inside. I visited a print shop and had them print a page of labels. On the first attempt you'll see from an earlier posted photo some dotted lines to indicate where the hole should be cut and the outside diameter. I found it very difficult to cut a nice round hole and I was not pleased with the end results. I asked the shop to print another page minus the dotted lines. I glued the label to the face of the reproducer and used my Dremel to cut both the interior hole and outside edge. I used a very fine sanding cylinder and very lightly touched the edges and it did a very nice job.
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Jerry Blais

That came out really nice, Jerry

Hi Jerry,
You did a great job!! The new decal looks very good and I also like the nicer tone of oak stain you used on the cabinet.
Pete

Nice result!

Clay

Hi Jerry
That looks good, I think you did the right thing going the hole hog with it well done. Gordon