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A replacement belt is needed for my Edison Fireside Model A. Who can help me locate one and give some help with the process of installing it?

Thanks in advance!

(I am also considering trading the phonograph for an Amberola.)

There are vendors that sell ready-made belts for Firesides, but I have always made my own. There have been belt discussions on other threads. Some vendors sell belt material that is too thick and stiff in my opinion. They probably buy spools of the same ¼" leather that I see at Tandy Leather, but I don't recommend the stuff.

Someone once gave me a sheet of very thin leather which I used to make belts. I used a steel ruler and Exacto knife to cut ¼" strips from. The leather should be thin, soft, supple and not stretch. After I used up that leather, I went looking for something similar and saw some Kangaroo leather at Tandy that seems ideal, but it is very expensive. If the leather is thin enough, you probably would not have to feather the ends as I have done using thicker leather. Use Superglue to fasten the overlapped ends.

The leather belt should not be too tight or it will put the motor in a bind. It is the job of the tension roller to take up the slack. Thin belts offer less resistance to the motor and provide longer playing time. I have a Standard that will play 5 2M cylinders. Until I learned to fine-tune the entire machine, I figured 3 records was the norm.

The best belting material that I have used is from Ron Sitko. It is very thin, the right width, and very supple. It is easy to work with. I'd suggest you get Eric Reiss's The Complete Talking Machine. He gives a very good article about making belts.
Harvey Kravitz

Thanks for the replies. Ron Sitko has been contacted and a belt has been ordered. The book mentioned is in my collection and will be used for the project.

I'm just curious. Why would you want to trade for an Amberola? The Fireside was introduced late in the horn era so it's seen less frequently than a Standard or Home. It's versatile because it plays both two and four minute cylinders and looks great with the little red morning glory or Cygnet horn. Unless you trade towards a 1-A, 1-B, III, or perhaps a clean V, you've got a desirable machine. This is just my opinion only. Happy collecting, Jerry

I was wondering the same thing. The key question is - for which Amberola do you want to trade?

George P.

I am not sure about the Amberola choice. Meanwhile, I will keep the Fireside.
Your comments are appreciated.

My simple solution was to own both.

Your Fireside just needs a much bigger horn ! (Size does, indeed, matter!)

The material for the belt arrived today. Ron Sitko was quite helpful. I also have a larger red horn for the phonograph. Thanks to all who replied to this post.