The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

My recording blanks and recordings, 95% are used for educational and art purposes, 5% go to the collector community. Here is a living history display I put together locally. August actually is a busy month for me, when it comes to demonstrating the phonograph and making cylinder records. When I do these displays it is productive too, I make 9 wax blanks last Saturday, with my living history display.

I alway pictured that process being done in a "Clean Room".
Your display as pictured looks very interesting.

Certainly a clean room would make better blanks. The wax is filtered as it goes in the mould and the fact that today's stearic acid results in quieter blanks and records than the original "wax" records is interesting. Have you ever seen anyone make blank cylinders in public, and do you think it is wrong to do so?

I have never seen blank cylinders, let alone someone making them.
I don't think there is anything wrong with making them in a public setting, It would be very educational to see the process of making a recording medium.
Sort of like watching the crafts done at a colonial days type arts fair.

What was the demographic of the watchers?
Howard

What a great way to bring this part of musical history to life, lucky kids getting to see that!

All ages from 2-90 and children were surprised how sound can be made with no electricity, I showed them how the reproducer, recorder and motor worked, and everyone remarked how sensitive, and faithful the recording was. The sound engineer at the event were very interested, and asked a lot of questions, in fact he told me even though he never owned machines, he worked on the cabinets, and some spring repair on the machines as a side line, and had a shop of all hand tools made in the 19th century. There was a display of old time tools and rope making. I also set up at our local threshing bee, held only 3 miles from the farm I grew up on, and there is interest from everyone, there is some neat steam machines there, and old cars and engines. I live on main street in Princeton, IL (known for the Lincoln Douglas debates and the home of Reverend Owen Lovejoy a well known abolishonist. Next week I will be setting up the machines for a display at our fair, which is the oldest running fair in Illinois.

That's a great display and I applaud your work to teach living history.
Andreas

edisonphonoworks wrote:Here is a living history display I put together locally. [...]
The rough blank in the photo with the fuzzy outside is made according to the 1896 instructions that Startkton supplied in an early post.

I appreciate very much that you successfully put the 1896 instructions into practice.

Starkton, Thank you, and you are welcome. The mold must be very similar to the originals, although I have yet to see or find, an original blank mould as far as from the 1890s. I have seen one in a patent drawing The closest things we have are some moulds at Donley's Wild West Town, but they must have been for other purposes or were made later on, as they are all smooth bore, and do not have spiral cores. Edison Patent 414,761 from 1889 Shows a mould which is very similar to mine It does show a vent and a cap. Has anyone seen an original blank mould? Supposedly there is not even one at T.E.H.P. What I have seen for moulds mostly out and about are the copper working moulds, in brass jackets. There is felt between the jacket and the working mould, and two slip rings on each end, the jacket is split in two, you put the continuous copper mould in the jacket, and then put the slip rigs on the end. I also have seen the working moulds in steel jackets for the manufacture of Edison Blue Amberols.